What makes an Arthurian Legend?

What allows a piece of literature to withstand nearly 600 years of analysis and skepticism to solidify itself as a masterpiece and cornerstone of tradition and culture? The answer is that the stories of King Arthur and his followers offer a "larger than life" situation that captivates the reader into taking the literary all the way to the end. Only a truly special story could create the kind of buzz and fascination that King Arthur did. Since the publishing of Le Morte d'Arthur, in 1485, there have been numerous variations of film and literature adaptations that give their own spin to the tale and provide a new aspect for readers to feast upon. The stories are so rich in detail and thought that there are uncountable areas for someone to focus; whether it be a tyrannical king's ploy to bed a lady and create a future king, or a young squire's rise to the crown and fame, or the forbidden love of a knight and a queen, or the indescribable magic laden throughout the stories.

Take, for prime example, Le Morte d'Arthur that serves as the basis for any and every Arthurian adaptation there has been. The simple yet thought-provoking wording allows for the reader to escape into the world of old England and trail the knights of Camelot on their journey to glory.
" 'Because Gwynevere is destined to love Sir Launcelot, and he her, and many disasters will result from their love.' "(Malory 57)
From this quote stems one of the great stories within the tale that is King Arthur's life, the secret love of Lancelot and Gwynevere. That love has caused various subsequent stories and films that have probably been a strong piece in the backbone that is the survival of this legend. Malory uses foreshadowing and illustrious story-telling skills to lay the foundations of Arthur's downfall while playing the reader into the love triangle that is involved. The epic romance and betrayal has caught the attention of many since its inception in 1485.

Probably the second most well known Arthurian piece is T.H. White's adaptation The Once and Future King. In his adaptation, White, uses beautifully romantic language to paint the picture of what each character encounters and their ordeals. This version of the stories is actually alluded to a lot more than Malory's work but is actually derived from Malory's work so not much is lost. Somethings are changed, such as Lancelot's lack of amazingnessosity and Merlin's odd aging, but that is what allowed for lovers of the tales to enjoy a fresh new twist.
"Arthur proved that he was not quite done, by lifting his head. There was something invincible in his heart, a tincture of grandness in simplicity."(White 634)
The detail and structure of White's legend gives insight into the characters inner thoughts and mind plots. Through this more readers can relate to the story and its inhabitants which explains its use in other modern day works. Other adaptions are films, such as First Knight with the legendary Sean Connery, which combine bits and pieces from both works as well as taking other liberties to create a condensed Hollywood version for die-hards to rejoice over.

It doesn't matter in what form, film or literary, there is no escaping the everlasting love for the Arthurian Legends. It is the simplistic yet detailed, modern yet old, beautiful yet dark, fantasmic yet gloomorous ways that the stories are presented that keep it fresh yet classic. As long as creativity and ingenious survive so will these amazing tales.