Greg Jenner

That's your Disney Sword in the Stone, your boisterous King Arthur with Keira Knightley and Clive Owen, your John Borman's weird and wonderful Excalibur. You've got the kid who would be king. You've got the sing-along Camelot. You've got the BBC series Merlin. There's Dev Patel in the swoon-worthy Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. Quite weird, but good.

Obviously, the best Arthurian movie ever is Monty Python and the Holy Grail. A film I love so much, I wrote my master's thesis about it. I am on home turf today. Amazing. Finally, something I know about. And that's not mentioning all the operas, plays, poems, video games, paintings and books about King Arthur. But where do these stories come from?

Obviously, the best Arthurian movie ever is Monty Python and the Holy Grail. A film I love so much, I wrote my master's thesis about it. I am on home turf today. Amazing. Finally, something I know about. And that's not mentioning all the operas, plays, poems, video games, paintings and books about King Arthur. But where do these stories come from?

Was the medieval Arthur the same as our Arthur today? And just how big was a round table anyway? Let's find out. Right, Dr. Mary, Hollywood's vision of Arthur, or Arthuriana, I think is what we call it, the collective world of King Arthur. Hollywood makes it all sort of shiny armor, knights riding around, ladies in pointy hats, dangerous forests. It's very 14th century.

Was the medieval Arthur the same as our Arthur today? And just how big was a round table anyway? Let's find out. Right, Dr. Mary, Hollywood's vision of Arthur, or Arthuriana, I think is what we call it, the collective world of King Arthur. Hollywood makes it all sort of shiny armor, knights riding around, ladies in pointy hats, dangerous forests. It's very 14th century.

Is that where we start our quest for King Arthur?

Is that where we start our quest for King Arthur?

So King Arthur, not necessarily a king, possibly a Roman. Yes. Might be a Briton or a Romano-British. Right.

So King Arthur, not necessarily a king, possibly a Roman. Yes. Might be a Briton or a Romano-British. Right.

I learned it was Nennius when I was at university.

I learned it was Nennius when I was at university.

Pseudo-Nennius. I know people like that.

Pseudo-Nennius. I know people like that.

Yeah. Wearing woolens. Going to a farmer's market on a Sunday.

Yeah. Wearing woolens. Going to a farmer's market on a Sunday.

They've been looking after the environment.

They've been looking after the environment.

And then Brutus shows up. Yeah. With his Greek ways and stabs them. Exactly. Swinging it about.

And then Brutus shows up. Yeah. With his Greek ways and stabs them. Exactly. Swinging it about.

That's right. It's not very nice. No. Come on. So this document, Historia Britannum, or The History of the Britons. Yes. We're not sure who writes it. Maybe Nennius, Pseudo-Nennius. He doesn't call Arthur King Arthur.