The Legends of King Arthur and His Knights

The Legends of King Arthur and His Knights is a book by Sir James Knowles, first published in 1862. In this concise Victorian retelling, Knowles arranges and abridges the sprawling Arthurian material—drawing largely on Sir Thomas Malory and earlier chronicles—into a more or less consecutive narrative that emphasises chivalry, adventure, and the tragic tensions that build to Camelot’s fall.

The prose is straightforward and popular in tone, making the medieval cycles of Merlin, Excalibur, Lancelot, Guinevere, and the Round Table accessible to general readers. Beyond mere retelling, the work played a part in the nineteenth-century revival of Arthurian interest.

Knowles’ edition helped to popularise Malory’s episodes for a Victorian audience and is linked in critical accounts to the period’s broader fascination with medievalism and with poets such as Tennyson. Readers seeking classic Arthurian tales presented in a readable Victorian style—suitable for study, enjoyment, or adaptation—will find this collection a useful bridge between medieval sources and later nineteenth-century revivals of the legend.