6A-King Arthur Prologue: The Once and Really Only that One Time King

Myths and Legends

Jason Weiser, Carissa Weiser

Fiction, History, Arts, Books

4.8 • 25.4K Ratings

🗓️ 12 August 2015

⏱️ 31 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

The King Arthur legends don't actually start with Arthur, but with several years of war, intrigue, and betrayal among the Britons, and a slippery earl by the name of Vortigern not-so-subtly engineering the deaths of two kings to become king himself. We'll start at the very beginning, with Arthur's grandfather being murdered and his father fleeing across the channel to protect himself from assassins working for a usurper king. We'll also meet Merlin as a child, as he's being hunted by the king's men in the Welsh highlands.
On the creature of the week, if you're thinking about a career change into the medical field, forget all that annoying education and just become a Fairy Doctor. This somehow completely real profession from the middle ages doesn't involve any of that pesky schooling that a boring old MD requires, but allows you to heal people from this week's creature, an extremely dangerous and extremely adorable fairy from Gaelic folklore.
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0:00.0	This week on myths and legends, we'll start at the very beginning of the Arthurian legends,
0:04.6	way before Arthur himself was born.
0:07.1	You'll see that, in order to get people to like you, it's somehow a bad idea to hire
0:11.6	armed thugs to keep them from saying anything bad about you.
0:15.2	Also, England learns for the very first time that Germanic, seafaring warriors who worship
0:19.7	a variation of Odin really, really don't respect the sanctity of monasteries.
0:25.1	In the creature of the week, you'll see that even if you threaten to kidnap children
0:28.2	in the dead of night, it's hard to be taken seriously if you and your friends take adorable
0:32.4	hunting trips, with tiny horses and even tinier rainbow-colored hounds.
0:43.6	This is myths and legends, episode 6A, the once and really only that one time came.
0:55.4	This is a podcast where I tell the stories that have shaped cultures throughout history.
0:59.5	Some are popular stories you think you know, but with surprising origins.
1:03.4	Others are stories you probably haven't heard, but really should.
1:06.7	I know I said I would be starting the King Arthur story this week, and I would have
1:09.9	loved to, but unfortunately I'm going to take about three steps back from the birth
1:13.6	of Arthur, because the story doesn't really start with him.
1:17.0	Luckily, the story is an interesting one, and it'll establish the world for all the future
1:21.0	King Arthur shows.
1:22.4	Also, we'll finish the episode by meeting the famous British wizard who's not Gandalf
1:27.2	or Dumbledore.
1:29.3	This Arthur's Stent will take us from the rule and death of Arthur's grandfather up
1:32.8	until Arthur pulls that famous sword from the stone, revealing his true lineage.
	...

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