y Norman conquerors, the heart of the Celtic world
was profoundly stirred. Ancient memories awoke, and, yearning for the
restoration of British greatness, men rehearsed the deeds of him who had
been king, and of whom it was prophesied that he should be king
hereafter. At this moment of newly awakened hope, Geoffrey's 'Historia'
appeared. His book was not in reality a history. Possibly it was not
even very largely founded on existing legends. But in any case the
chronicle of Geoffrey was a work of genius and of imagination. "The
figure of Arthur," says Ten Brink, "now stood forth in brilliant light,
a chivalrous king and hero, endowed and guarded by supernatural powers,
surrounded by brave warriors and a splendid court, a man of marvelous
life and a tragic death."

Geoffrey's book was immediately translated into French by Robert Wace,
who incorporated with the legend of Arthur the Round Table legend. In
his 'Brut,' the English poet-priest Layamon reproduced this feature of
the legend with additional details. His chronicle is largely a free
translation of the 'Brut d'Engleterre' of Wace, earlier known as 'Geste
des Bretons.' Thus as Wace had reproduced Geoffrey with additions and
modifications, Layamon reproduced Wace. So the story grew. In the mean
time, other poets in other lands had taken up the theme, connecting with
it other cycles of legend already in existence. In 1205, when Layamon
wrote his 'Brut,' unnumbered versions of the history of King Arthur,
with which had been woven the legend of the Holy Grail, had already
appeared among the principal nations of Europe. Of the early Arthurian
poets, two of the more illustrious and important are Chrestien de
Troyes, in France, of highest poetic repute, who opened the way for
Tennyson, and Wolfram von Eschenbach, in Germany, with his 'Parzival,'
later the theme of Wagner's greatest opera. The names of Robert de
Borron in France, Walter Map in England, and Heinrich von dem Tuerlin in
Germany, may also be mentioned.

In divers lands, innumerable poets with diverse tastes set themselves
to make new versions of the legend. Characteristics of the Arthurian
tale were grafted upon an entirely different stock, as was done by
Boiardo in Italy, making confusion worse confounded to the modern
Arthurian scholar. Boiardo expressly says in the 'Orlando Innamorato'
that his intention is to graft the characteristics of the Arthurian
cycle upon the Carlovingian French national epic stock.