#kingarthur — Public Fediverse posts
Live and recent posts from across the Fediverse tagged #kingarthur, aggregated by home.social.
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Learning is the thing for you.
I was tidying up today and came across my copy (right) of The Once and Future King by T.H. White. This comprises four novels and is a sort of re-telling of the Arthurian legends. I remember buying it when I was at school, at which time I was reading a lot of fantasy novels of the swords-and-sorcery type, but although it is a fantasy, this book was not at all what I anticipated. It’s very funny in places and also full of anachronisms. White uses the legend of King Arthur as a kind of metaphor or political allegory and his novels are only loosely based on the familar stories of Thomas Malory’s Morte D’Arthur. The first novel was first published as a standalone book in 1938…
Anyway, I kept this book intending to read it again but never got around to doing that. The edition I bought is in quite small type so I might find it a struggle now! I’ve kept it to one side, though, as I know a certain person whom I think will enjoy it and is young enough to still have good eyesight. I will give it to him when we next meet.
The other day somebody shared the following (wonderful) extract from the first novel, The Sword in the Stone, which is largely about the education of the young Arthur (known by his nickname “Wart”) by the wizard Merlyn. The quote remains extremely relevant today as an expression of the joy – which I wish more people shared – of learning for learning’s sake.
#ArthurianLegends #KingArthur #THWhite #TheOnceAndFutureKing #TheSwordInTheStone“The best thing for being sad,” replied Merlyn, beginning to puff and blow, “is to learn something. That is the only thing that never fails. You may grow old and trembling in your anatomies, you may lie awake at night listening to the disorder of your veins, you may miss your only love, you may see the world about you devastated by evil lunatics, or know your honour trampled in the sewers of baser minds. There is only one thing for it then—to learn. Learn why the world wags and what wags it. That is the only thing which the mind can never exhaust, never alienate, never be tortured by, never fear or distrust, and never dream of regretting. Learning is the thing for you. Look at what a lot of things there are to learn—pure science, the only purity there is. You can learn astronomy in a lifetime, natural history in three, literature in six. And then, after you have exhausted a milliard lifetimes in biology and medicine and theo-criticism and geography and history and economics—why, you can start to make a cartwheel out of the appropriate wood, or spend fifty years learning to begin to learn to beat your adversary at fencing. After that you can start again on mathematics, until it is time to learn to plough.”
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Learning is the thing for you.
I was tidying up today and came across my copy (right) of The Once and Future King by T.H. White. This comprises four novels and is a sort of re-telling of the Arthurian legends. I remember buying it when I was at school, at which time I was reading a lot of fantasy novels of the swords-and-sorcery type, but although it is a fantasy, this book was not at all what I anticipated. It’s very funny in places and also full of anachronisms. White uses the legend of King Arthur as a kind of metaphor or political allegory and his novels are only loosely based on the familar stories of Thomas Malory’s Morte D’Arthur. The first novel was first published as a standalone book in 1938…
Anyway, I kept this book intending to read it again but never got around to doing that. The edition I bought is in quite small type so I might find it a struggle now! I’ve kept it to one side, though, as I know a certain person whom I think will enjoy it and is young enough to still have good eyesight. I will give it to him when we next meet.
The other day somebody shared the following (wonderful) extract from the first novel, The Sword in the Stone, which is largely about the education of the young Arthur (known by his nickname “Wart”) by the wizard Merlyn. The quote remains extremely relevant today as an expression of the joy – which I wish more people shared – of learning for learning’s sake.
#ArthurianLegends #KingArthur #THWhite #TheOnceAndFutureKing #TheSwordInTheStone“The best thing for being sad,” replied Merlyn, beginning to puff and blow, “is to learn something. That is the only thing that never fails. You may grow old and trembling in your anatomies, you may lie awake at night listening to the disorder of your veins, you may miss your only love, you may see the world about you devastated by evil lunatics, or know your honour trampled in the sewers of baser minds. There is only one thing for it then—to learn. Learn why the world wags and what wags it. That is the only thing which the mind can never exhaust, never alienate, never be tortured by, never fear or distrust, and never dream of regretting. Learning is the thing for you. Look at what a lot of things there are to learn—pure science, the only purity there is. You can learn astronomy in a lifetime, natural history in three, literature in six. And then, after you have exhausted a milliard lifetimes in biology and medicine and theo-criticism and geography and history and economics—why, you can start to make a cartwheel out of the appropriate wood, or spend fifty years learning to begin to learn to beat your adversary at fencing. After that you can start again on mathematics, until it is time to learn to plough.”
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#ScribesAndMakers 5. August: What book are you currently reading, or have you finished most recently?
Currently reading:
* How to Be Eaten, by Maria Adelmann. Recontextualising the so-called classic fairy tales in a self-help group. Recommended to me. A little too in-your-face American for my taste, I think.
* A Case of Witchcraft: A Novel of Sherlock Holmes, by Joe Revill. I am enjoying this one immensely. Aleister Crowley temps for Dr Watson on a case in the Scottish isles. I had contact with the author a few years back, and he either sent me a copy, or I bought it; I don't remember.
Most recently finished:
* The Aubrey–Maturin series, by Patrick O’Brian. There are no more novels to read 😟.
* The King Arthur Trilogy, by Rosemary Sutcliff. Does much to make the 800 year-old legends enjoyable for a modern readership.
#MariaAdelmann #JoeRevill #AleisterCrowley #AubreyMaturin #RosemarySutcliff #KingArthur
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#ScribesAndMakers 5. August: What book are you currently reading, or have you finished most recently?
Currently reading:
* How to Be Eaten, by Maria Adelmann. Recontextualising the so-called classic fairy tales in a self-help group. Recommended to me. A little too in-your-face American for my taste, I think.
* A Case of Witchcraft: A Novel of Sherlock Holmes, by Joe Revill. I am enjoying this one immensely. Aleister Crowley temps for Dr Watson on a case in the Scottish isles. I had contact with the author a few years back, and he either sent me a copy, or I bought it; I don't remember.
Most recently finished:
* The Aubrey–Maturin series, by Patrick O’Brian. There are no more novels to read 😟.
* The King Arthur Trilogy, by Rosemary Sutcliff. Does much to make the 800 year-old legends enjoyable for a modern readership.
#MariaAdelmann #JoeRevill #AleisterCrowley #AubreyMaturin #RosemarySutcliff #KingArthur
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Often dismissed as a myth, was there a real man behind the legend of #KingArthur?
🔓 Ken Dark’s new History Matters is free for 7 days
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Often dismissed as a myth, was there a real man behind the legend of #KingArthur?
🔓 Ken Dark’s new History Matters is free for 7 days
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In this week’s email newsletter: the case for #KingArthur
📬 Sign up for Miscellanies at https://buff.ly/PuyaWjm, and we’ll send it to you on Thursday.
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In this week’s email newsletter: the case for #KingArthur
📬 Sign up for Miscellanies at https://buff.ly/PuyaWjm, and we’ll send it to you on Thursday.
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The Trials of Arthur: The Biker Who Would Be King – Hilaritas Press. A book for the ages. A tale of re-enchantment, identity and myth so funny, brave and profoundly magical it would make any Bard proud. – John Higgs, Author https://www.hilaritaspress.com/portfolio-item/the-trials-of-arthur-the-biker-who-would-be-king/ #music #musicians #stonehenge #KingArthur
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The Trials of Arthur: The Biker Who Would Be King – Hilaritas Press. A book for the ages. A tale of re-enchantment, identity and myth so funny, brave and profoundly magical it would make any Bard proud. – John Higgs, Author https://www.hilaritaspress.com/portfolio-item/the-trials-of-arthur-the-biker-who-would-be-king/ #music #musicians #stonehenge #KingArthur
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Lady of the Lake
6-link #Rengay
@extraspecialbitter
@NaraMooreImages: Nara Moore
#Poetry #詩 #NMPoetry #Tanka #DailyHaikuPrompt #Glade #MastoPrompt #barb #Camalot #KingArthur #Haiga #俳画 #Photography #マストドン写真部 #写真 #Sunset #Sunrise #Rainbow
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In this week’s Miscellanies: the case for #KingArthur
📬 Sign up for our email newsletter at https://buff.ly/PuyaWjm, and we’ll send it to you on Thursday.
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In this week’s Miscellanies: the case for #KingArthur
📬 Sign up for our email newsletter at https://buff.ly/PuyaWjm, and we’ll send it to you on Thursday.
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In this week’s Miscellanies: the case for #KingArthur
📬 Sign up for our newsletter at https://buff.ly/PuyaWjm, and we’ll send it to you on Thursday.
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In this week’s Miscellanies: the case for #KingArthur
📬 Sign up for our newsletter at https://buff.ly/PuyaWjm, and we’ll send it to you on Thursday.
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"The Lady of Shallott," John William Waterhouse, 1888.
Although he was never actually a member of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, which split up while he was a child, Waterhouse (1849-1917) adopted their style with enthusiasm and is now strongly associated with them.
He loved painting scenes from Shakespeare and from famous poems, and this is from a popular poem by Tennyson, about a woman who is under a curse and can only look at the world through a mirror, or else she would die. She spends her time weaving a tapestry of what she sees. Finally, she decides to face the world, no matter the consequences, and sets off in a boat to see Camelot...and then to die.
The colors and subject matter are definitely Pre-Raphaelite, and it's also very naturalistic, with the plants and birds on the river. She sits on the tapestry she wove, which drags in the water. She has a crucifix and three candles on the boat; two of them are out already, indicating her coming death. Her expression is vulnerable and sad; she knows she will die, but feels she has to see the world for herself.
It's an iconic and popular painting, and gorgeous to boot.
From the Tate Britain, London.
#Art #JohnWilliamWaterhouse #PreRaphaelites #WomenInArt #Tennyson #LadyOfShallott #KingArthur #ArthurianTales
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"The Lady of Shallott," John William Waterhouse, 1888.
Although he was never actually a member of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, which split up while he was a child, Waterhouse (1849-1917) adopted their style with enthusiasm and is now strongly associated with them.
He loved painting scenes from Shakespeare and from famous poems, and this is from a popular poem by Tennyson, about a woman who is under a curse and can only look at the world through a mirror, or else she would die. She spends her time weaving a tapestry of what she sees. Finally, she decides to face the world, no matter the consequences, and sets off in a boat to see Camelot...and then to die.
The colors and subject matter are definitely Pre-Raphaelite, and it's also very naturalistic, with the plants and birds on the river. She sits on the tapestry she wove, which drags in the water. She has a crucifix and three candles on the boat; two of them are out already, indicating her coming death. Her expression is vulnerable and sad; she knows she will die, but feels she has to see the world for herself.
It's an iconic and popular painting, and gorgeous to boot.
From the Tate Britain, London.
#Art #JohnWilliamWaterhouse #PreRaphaelites #WomenInArt #Tennyson #LadyOfShallott #KingArthur #ArthurianTales
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Movies of the day (4/8)
🎬 The Spy Who Loved Me(1977)
🎬 Lethal Weapon 2(1989)
🎬 Species(1995)
🎬 King Arthur(2004)
© TMDB
#TheSpyWhoLovedMe #LethalWeapon2 #Species #KingArthur #Action #Adventure #Comedy #Crime #History #Horror #ScienceFiction #Thriller #War #Movie #MovieOfTheDay -
Movies of the day (4/8)
🎬 The Spy Who Loved Me(1977)
🎬 Lethal Weapon 2(1989)
🎬 Species(1995)
🎬 King Arthur(2004)
© TMDB
#TheSpyWhoLovedMe #LethalWeapon2 #Species #KingArthur #Action #Adventure #Comedy #Crime #History #Horror #ScienceFiction #Thriller #War #Movie #MovieOfTheDay -
The Questing Beast is a mythical creature with disparate animal parts, symbolizing an unattainable pursuit. Known for its baying sound and elusive nature, it represents themes of sin, desire, and the challenges of Camelot’s knights. #kingarthur https://connectparanormal.net/2026/06/25/the-questing-beast-mythical-creature-of-arthurian-legend/