Download Arthurian texts (6th century/16th century)
I wanted to write down in a post all the links of the download tag but only the ones about arthurian ancient texts, the ones that are many people want when they ask about “original arthurian legends”. So you will find those arthurian texts pre-1600 that I managed to find online.
Please, if you see mistakes or if you want to add links send me a message.
*I added the symbol * to my favourite ones and the ones I consider fundamental (and this is my personal opinion).
- (~6th-century) De Excidio et Conquestu Britanniae (Gildas)
- (~9th-century) The Anglo-Saxon Chronicles
- (~10th century) Annales Cambriae *
- (~828) Historia Brittonum (Nennius) *
- (~1136) History of the Kings of Britain (Geoffrey of Monmouth) *
- (~1150) Vita Merlini (Geoffrey of Monmouth) *
- (~1155) Roman de Brut (Wace) *
- (~1170) Lanval (Marie de France)
- (~1170/1190) Four Romances (Chrétien de Troyes) *
- (~1190) Brut (Layamon)
- (~13th century) Perlesvaus (The High History of the Grail) *
- (~13th century) Morien
- (13th century) Parzival (Wolfram von Eschenbach)
- (~1375) The Avowying of Arthur
- (~14th century) Sir Gawain and the Green Knight *
- (~14th century) Libeaus Desconus
- (~14th century) Ywain and Gawain
- (~14th century) Sir Launfal (Thomas Chestre)
- (~14th century) Stanzaic Morte d’Arthur
- (~1400) The Alliterative Morte d’Arthur
- (~1400) Sir Gawain and the Carle of Carlisle
- (~1440) Sir Perceval of Galles
- (1485) Le Morte d’Arthur Volume 1 and Volume 2 (Thomas Malory) *
- (~15th century) The Awntyrs off Arthure
- (~15th century) The Wedding of sir Gawain and dame Ragnell *
- (~1500) The Greene Knight
- (~1500) The Knightly tale of Gologras and Gawain
- (1590/1596) The Faerie Queene (Edmind Spenser)
- (~16th-century) The Misfortunes of Arthur (Thomas Hughes)
- (~16th-century) Melora and Orlando suggested by marytennant
WELSH TEXTS with arthurian references
from the Red Book of Hengest
from the Black Book of Carmarthen
from the Book of Taliesin
Triads
- The triads of the horses *
- Welsh triads (Peniarth MS 54) *
- The twenty-four knights of the round table) *
Other
- Arthur and the Kaledywlch
- King Urien and Modron
- The quarrel of Arthur and Huail
- Trystan and Esyllt
- The dialogue of Melwas and Gwenhyfer (and the second version)
LIFE OF THE SAINTS
And the fact that these span a millennium and most of Western Europe should tell everyone as much as they need to know about the idea of any kind of ‘original’ Arthurian text.
Arthuriana is the ultimate fans-took-over-the-canon project. And it’s still ongoing.




