King Arthur Quotes:

It is all true, or it ought to be; and more and better besides.

- Winston Churchill

source: Winston Churchill (1956). “A History of the English-speaking Peoples: The birth of Britain”, McClelland & Stewart

topic: King Arthur, Ought

Yet some men say in many parts of England that King Arthur is not dead, but had by the will of our Lord Jesu into another place; and men say that he shall come again, and he shall win the holy cross.

- Thomas Malory

source: Sir Thomas Malory (1996). “Le Morte Darthur”, p.793, Wordsworth Editions

topic: Kings, Winning, Men, Holy Cross, King Arthur

This is beyond understanding." said the king. "You are the wisest man alive. You know what is preparing. Why do you not make a plan to save yourself?" And Merlin said quietly, "Because I am wise. In the combat between wisdom and feeling, wisdom never wins.

- John Steinbeck

source: John Steinbeck (2008). “The Acts of King Arthur and His Noble Knights: (Penguin Classics Deluxe Edition)”, p.85, Penguin

topic: Wise, Kings, Winning, King Arthur, Save Yourself

The cold hand of history, which is for ever robbing us of some of our oldest and best cherished stories, points rigidly to the fact that no such person as King Arthur ever presided over a Round Table. Be this as it may, romance still hugs her heroes to her heart as possessions to be not willingly let die.

- H. A. Guerber

source: H. A. Guerber (1909). “Myths and Legends of the Middle Ages”, p.285, Courier Corporation

topic: Kings, Hero, Heart, King Arthur

You don't have to believe that there was a King Arthur to get the significance of those stories, but Christians say we have to believe there was a Christ, or the miracles don't make sense.

- Joseph Campbell

source: Joseph Campbell, Bill D. Moyers (1988). “The Power of Myth”, Harmony

topic: Christian, Kings, Believe, King Arthur

Listen, strange women lyin' in ponds distributin' swords is no basis for a system of government.

- Graham Chapman

source: "Fictional character: Dennis". "Monty Python and the Holy Grail", www.imdb.com. March 14, 1975.

topic: Lying, Government, Holy Grail, King Arthur, Systems Of Government

I was very aware of the legend, from such an early age. Being a Brit, you are so aware of King Arthur, Camelot, Guinevere and Morgan, the witch. Merlin is this mad magician who's cloaked in mystery. It has that mystery about it. And, it's a lead role for a woman that's strong and has a real journey to take.

- Tamsin Egerton

source: Source: collider.com

topic: Strong, Kings, Real, King Arthur, Camelot

Listen -- strange women lying in ponds distributing swords is no basis for a system of government. Supreme executive power derives from a mandate from the masses, not from some farcical aquatic ceremony.

- Michael Palin

topic: Lying, Government, Ponds, King Arthur, Supreme Power

So a man jumps into a taxi and says "King Arthur's close" and the taxi driver says, "don't worry we'll lose him at the next lights".

- Tommy Cooper

topic: Kings, Men, Light, King Arthur

She always did like tales of adventure-stories full of brightness and darkness. She could tell you the names of all King Arthur's knights, and she knew everything about Beowulf and Grendel, the ancient gods and the not-quite-so-ancient heroes. She liked pirate stories, too, but most of all she loved books that had at least a knight or a dragon or a fairy in them. She was always on the dragon's side by the way.

- Cornelia Funke

source: Cornelia Funke (2011). “Inkheart”, p.139, Scholastic Inc.

topic: Kings, Book, Hero, King Arthur, Ancient Gods

I think too many people presume to read the divine Scriptures and fall into such terrors as this,' said Patricius sternly. 'Those who presume on their learning will learn, I trust, to listen to their priests for the true interpretations.' The Merlin smiled gently. 'I cannot join you in that wish, brother. I am dedicated to the belief that it is God's will that all men should strive for wisdom in themselves, not look to it from some other. Babes, perhaps, must have their food chewed for them by a nurse, but men may drink and eat of wisdom for themselves.

- Marion Zimmer Bradley

topic: Brother, Fall, Men, King Arthur

King Arthur is profoundly stupid and inept.. then there's Clive Owen, rising above it all. Aloof yet watchful, the actor cultivates an inner stillness that is perfect for faintly ironic brooders. He neither distances himself from this risible material nor pulls out the stops and opens himself to ridicule. His King Arthur tells us little about Arthur, but much about protecting one's flank. The mark of a box-office king?

- David Edelstein

topic: Kings, Distance, Stupid, King Arthur

I think the most fun I ever had was playing King Arthur in Spamalot on the West End.

- Alan Dale

source: "Alan Dale: The Nicest Bad Guy in The Biz". Interview with Jarett Wieselman, www.etonline.com. February 6, 2013.

topic: Kings, Fun, Thinking, King Arthur, West End

Youth is a predominant factor. We are seeing a young King Arthur, and thereby a young-ish - as I'm into my 40s - Merlin. It was about how to tackle it, from that point view.

- Joseph Fiennes

source: "Joseph Fiennes, Tamsin Egerton & Exec. Producer Chris Chibnall Interview CAMELOT". Interview with Christina Radish, collider.com. April 1, 2011.

topic: Kings, Views, Youth, King Arthur

The last TV show I binged on was 'Hannibal' because it stars two of my friends, Mads Mikkelsen and Hugh Dancy, who I first met filming 'King Arthur' back in 2003, and I just lapped this show up; loved it.

- Joel Edgerton

topic: Kings, Stars, Tv Shows, King Arthur

John Kerry wants to be the hero in his own drama. He likes King Arthur and the Round Table. He likes the young swashbuckling Churchill, and he loved the early antics of Theodore Roosevelt.

- Douglas Brinkley

topic: Kings, Drama, Hero, King Arthur, Theodore

How much he was shaped by being in the hospital so much as a kid. Because he was sick, he was a reader, and because he was a reader, Kennedy had heroes. Because he had heroes, he went into politics. [Kennedy liked Sir Walter Scott, King Arthur's knights, and biographies of political leaders.] If he hadn't been sick, he might have been like everybody else in the family, a jock.

- Chris Matthews

source: "Searching for the human JFK". Interview with Thomas Fitzgerald, www.philly.com. November 1, 2011.

topic: Kings, Hero, Kids, King Arthur

I also wanted to have fun with it. I wanted to have the scope, which I felt Merlin has, in his Machiavellian bi-polar way. He's not to be trusted, yet he is fighting for this great power and is really a master, to some degree, in orchestrating Camelot and King Arthur. He's a strange, dark devious character, and I just wanted to have fun, and get away from the cloak and long beard and pointy hat.

- Joseph Fiennes

source: "Joseph Fiennes, Tamsin Egerton & Exec. Producer Chris Chibnall Interview CAMELOT". Interview with Christina Radish, collider.com. April 1, 2011.

topic: King Arthur, Camelot, Devious

I had to ride a horse once. In 'King Arthur.' I said I could ride, but I had to call for lessons on the day the deal was signed. I started out on this little chunky thing and slowly moved up. It was months of work.

- Clive Owen

topic: Horse, Kings, Lessons, King Arthur

They always pencil in my boobs. I was only angry when they were really droopy... For King Arthur, for a poster, they gave me these really strange droopy tits. I thought, well if you're going to make me fantasy breasts, at least make perky breasts.

- Keira Knightley

source: "Topless Keira Knightley: I'm Not Anorexic" by Evann Gastaldo, www.newser.com. November 13, 2012.

topic: Kings, Strange, Fantasy, King Arthur, Perky

King Arthur and his armored goons of the Round Table functioned as the Politburo of a slave state: Camelot. Of all who have written on the Matter of Arthur, from Malory to White, only Mark Twain understood this. But Mark Twain was a great writer.

- Edward Abbey

source: Edward Abbey (2015). “A Voice Crying in the Wilderness”, p.21, RosettaBooks

topic: Kings, White, Tables, King Arthur, Camelot

You end up with this succession of periods when everything was marvellous - from King Arthur to the medieval times, Ivanhoe, chivalry, Henry VIII, Merry England, the Blitz

- Ian Hislop

topic: Kings, England, Chivalry, King Arthur, Marvellous

Contemporary fantasists all bow politely to Lord Tennyson and Papa Tolkien, then step around them to go back to the original texts for inspiration--and there are a lot of those texts. We have King Arthur and his gang in English; we've got Siegfried and Brunhild in German; Charlemagne and Roland in French; El Cid in Spanish; Sigurd the Volsung in Icelandic; and assorted 'myghtiest Knights on lyfe' in a half-dozen other cultures. Without shame, we pillage medieval romance for all we're worth.

- David Eddings

source: David Eddings, Leigh Eddings (2007). “The Rivan Codex: Ancient Texts of THE BELGARIAD and THE MALLOREON”, p.6, Del Rey

topic: Kings, Inspiration, Knights, King Arthur, Assorted