Joseph Campbell
c/joseph-campbell
Mythologist and guide to the hero's journey. Campbell revealed the universal patterns in every culture's greatest stories - and how to live our own.
c/joseph-campbell
Mythologist and guide to the hero's journey. Campbell revealed the universal patterns in every culture's greatest stories - and how to live our own.
…in the dream of contuermors, he stands there on his horse looking at the snow. And this is when dawn comes in the camp of King Arthur and one of the pages looks out and he sees this knight on a horse there gazing at the snow. And he comes rushing…
…looks out and he sees this knight on a horse there gazing at the snow. And he comes rushing into the camp and says: Arthur this whole round table is disgraced there's an enemy here trampling down your tent ropes. So the whole camp wakes up in commotion…
…down your tent ropes. So the whole camp wakes up in commotion and one young man the nephew, one of the nephews of King Arthur and queen Guinevere goes rushing into that tent, pulls the bedclothes off the King and queen who are lying there in bed, and…
…into that tent, pulls the bedclothes off the King and queen who are lying there in bed, and says: let me be first. So Arthur, laughing, lets him go and this youth rides out full tilt at the knight who is gazing at the snow. Well the knight's horse,…
…circle on the grass and all the knights and ladies sit around and they're ready for the feast. But it's a custom of King Arthur never to commence a feast on a day unless an adventure occurs. So they're sitting around the round table, round cloth waiting…
…with a strange figure in black riding on it approaches and this is kundry the sorceress. She rides around and then stops before King Arthur and abuses him says the court is disgraced. She takes off her veil and what do you see? You see a hog's Face.…
…and how loyal he must be to his beloved. But they would all like very much to destroy that loyalty. And so Arthur and all prepare for another roundtable party welcoming fairfiz and parsifal. Again, party is prepared, engaged in big horse comes along with…
…for that grail. The grail showed itself with a covering over it and they are to quest for the grail without the covering. Arthur is greatly disturbed by this because his whole court is going to depart from him and it does depart. But the reason I'm…
…comes right at the opening of this adventure. The knights are all going to start out on the same morning they're going to leave Arthur they say goodbye to him and the text says they thought it would be a disgrace to start out in a group, to start…
…of them, translations of them and so forth the most important for the English speaking world being Mallory's Morte D Arthur. But there's no more important creativity after about the date 1230. Now the backgrounds of this European Consciousness are very,…
…germanic tribes, the inadequate defenses of the Catholic people, particularly of Britain, that is the background of the arthurian legend. Arthur is described in the old chronicles, the chronicles of Gildas and Nennius, of his time shortly after, of the 6th…
…Denmark. The southern part of Britain was the field of the collisions. The chronicles tell of twelve great battles in which Arthur, Dux bellorum, this roman trained military man like, say some senegalese officer trained by the French, was assisting the kings…
…some senegalese officer trained by the French, was assisting the kings of the south and at the last of those battles Arthur is killed and the German Triumph is confirmed. During the course of this invasion there were of course refugees, particularly from…
…who were refugees from Britain and there grew up in their world what is called the hope of the bretons, the hope that Arthur would return and restore to them their homeland in the south of England. So we have as the historical moment underlying the…
…for one's own quests and realizations. Let's take a typical myth that most people would be familiar with, say the myth of the King Arthur and the knights of the round table and the search for the holy grail. How would that myth be relatable to present…
…hero that tells us that when the vow was proposed that the grail quest should be undertaken, sir gawain, who was the nephew of King Arthur stood up and said: I propose a vow that we should go on this quest and then text says: they thought it would be…
…Christ coming as the second coming? This is a standard motif in mythologies of the one who has died coming back, and King Arthur is going to come back too, and I think probably Hiawatha, Huh, Guinevere the whole shebang, that isn't what's surprising to…
…there for one's own quests and realizations. Let's take a typical myth that most people would be familiar with, say the myth of King Arthur and the knights of the round table and the search for the holy grail. How would that myth be relatable to present…
…he is known as the lady's knight. I think gawain probably is the sort of primal arthurian knight adventurer. He's the nephew of King Arthur. Now with respect to this celtic mythology as it comes to us, perhaps we just let these people find a place to…
…of their mythology and their way of life. That is perfectly good anthropology and it's out of that base that the idea of King Arthur first emerges. At that period he's not a King, he is a god. There's a very interesting young scholar named Charles Muses…
…to France, but he discovered around the lake lucerne area in Switzerland no end of evidence of the presence of a god named Arthur. And you know when there's a god named Arthur, then there may be people who are named after the god, and sometimes these…
…lucerne area in Switzerland no end of evidence of the presence of a god named Arthur. And you know when there's a god named Arthur, then there may be people who are named after the god, and sometimes these two get mixed up: the person named Arthur and…
…a god named Arthur, then there may be people who are named after the god, and sometimes these two get mixed up: the person named Arthur and the god Arthur. The person then becomes thought of as a god and so forth and so on, and he shows that it's…
…man. To this the greatest of Medieval stories, Joseph Campbell Attributes the highest inspiration of western mythology. When the story of Arthur went to France as it did, the French were not interested in Arthur. He was the English King they already had…
…inspiration of western mythology. When the story of Arthur went to France as it did, the French were not interested in Arthur. He was the English King they already had their native King, Chalmaine, with his stories. What they became interested in were…
…armor is coming out carrying a golden chalice. Now this is a King One of the greatest kings in the world, who feels that King Arthur has stolen some of his property. So he goes in to challenge King Arthur and he does it by riding into the court,…
…the greatest kings in the world, who feels that King Arthur has stolen some of his property. So he goes in to challenge King Arthur and he does it by riding into the court, going right to the table where Arthur and his knights are sitting and Guinevere…
…property. So he goes in to challenge King Arthur and he does it by riding into the court, going right to the table where Arthur and his knights are sitting and Guinevere by Arthur's side and he takes the wine glass from Guinevere and throws the wine in…
…morning I presented some of the historical backgrounds, spoke of Geoffrey of Monmouth's History of the kings of Britain where the story of Arthur as a King first appears. We now know from the chronicles he was not a King, he was a dux bellorum, a war…
…of the troubadours. Now the arthurian tradition through the bards goes to the continent. The continent isn't interested in Arthur It's interested in his knights, the stories of these celtic heroes transformed into Christian Armor clad knights. And meanwhile…
…talk about now, the appearance of arthurian romances on the continent. We've spoken about it in England with the whole history of King Arthur, the appearance on the continent with the stories of the knights. The first writer was the court poet of Marie De…
…Menelaus. And Helen kept being abducted. And this time she's abducted by the lord of a castle which is equated with the underworld Arthur. Doesn't go to get her back. Lancelot goes and he goes with such speed that he rides two horses to death. Well…
…married man and a self motivated figure. And then there is a another grail romance it's the one that gives us in the Mont D Arthur in English he translated it from old French a text known as the quest de del st graal in old French who pronounced the…
…of st graal, the quest of the holy grail, the opening tells of the nights of Arthur's court in the great dining hall, and Arthur will not let the meal be served until an adventure will have occurred. Now in those days adventures occurred, and so no one…
…was then withdrawn. That was the adventure, and gawain there's a name that's going to be occurring all day. Gawain, the nephew of King Arthur, stood up and said: I propose a quest, I propose that we now should go in quest of that grail, each to behold…
…okay so if we can have the machine begin to illuminate the screen here, here is a 14th century representation of merlin and Arthur. Merlin is the great guru of the arthurian world. He had the whole program for this in his mind and the world of…
…3 000 to 2 000 BC in that area there that's the deep ground. Now this is a mosaic from the 11th century showing Arthur Rex arctus, Arthur in hell riding a goat. He was associated by the orthodox you might say, with demons worship, because you know, in…
…the journey is essentially the same: one shape shifting story of the vision quest that transforms the world, whether it is Odysseus, King Arthur or luke skywalker. The hero is the one who responds to the call to adventure. The stories often open with the…
…man and a self motivated figure. And then there is another grail romance it's the one that Mallory gives us in the bois d Arthur in English he translated it from old French a text known as the queste de saint graal, where the grail is interpreted as…
…saint graal, the quest of the holy grail, the opening tells of the nights of Arthur's court in the great dining hall, and Arthur will not let the meal be served until an adventure will have occurred. Now in those days adventures occurred, and so no one…
…was then withdrawn. That was the adventure, and gawain there's the name that's going to be occurring all day. Gawain, the nephew of King Arthur, stood up and said: I propose a quest. I propose that we now should go in quest of that grail, each to…
…armor is coming out carrying a golden chalice. Now this is a King One of the greatest kings in the world, who feels that King Arthur has stolen some of his property. So he goes in to challenge King Arthur and he does it by riding into the court,…
…the greatest kings in the world, who feels that King Arthur has stolen some of his property. So he goes in to challenge King Arthur and he does it by riding into the court, going right to the table where Arthur and his knights are sitting and Guinevere…
…He begins by looking at the birth of the modern European Emphasis on the individual through the glorious Medieval Legends of King Arthur and his court. Though based on ancient stories, the arthurian legends explored an idea that was new to the world:…
…from Menelaus. Helen kept being abducted and this time she's abducted by the lord of a castle which is equated with the underworld. Arthur Doesn't go to get her back. Lancelot goes and he goes with such speed that he rides two horses to death. Well…
…aristocracy of Europe regarded this as intolerable and you have the whole theme of love. Joe has shown us how the stories of Arthur, his knights and their ladies began to define the modern western idea of individualism, of a sense of honor not based on…
…easy as that. No to the adventure, yeah the adventure of being alive of living. When I was growing up tales of King Arthur, Tales of the Medieval Knights, tales of the dragon slayers were very strong in my world. Dragons represent greed. Really, the…
…return and restore to them their homeland in the south of England. So we have as the historical moment underlying the image of Arthur this period in the late 5th and early 6th centuries and say let's say from about 450 to 550 or something like that,…
…period of oral legendry reciting the deeds of this great deedsman and the building up of the hope of the breton legend, namely of Arthur as one who will return to restore their world to them. It's out here in this country it's a little bit like, say…
…there again. This is the kind of thing that is a common motif in the traditions of defeated peoples. Now where is Arthur? Meanwhile, there are three principal interpretations of where Arthur is residing. One is that he is under a burial mound, sleeping in…
…is a common motif in the traditions of defeated peoples. Now where is Arthur? Meanwhile, there are three principal interpretations of where Arthur is residing. One is that he is under a burial mound, sleeping in the hill. You might say this is a motif…
…Angus and horsa into Britain to defend him against the picts and the celts and you find the story, the beginning story of Arthur, the legend of Arthur as it then had developed. So that's my little prelude to what I'm going to call the whole history…
…Britain to defend him against the picts and the celts and you find the story, the beginning story of Arthur, the legend of Arthur as it then had developed. So that's my little prelude to what I'm going to call the whole history of Arthur. In England…
…the legend of Arthur as it then had developed. So that's my little prelude to what I'm going to call the whole history of Arthur. In England it is King Arthur that was the most important figure of these cycles. When the material was brought by bards to…
…had developed. So that's my little prelude to what I'm going to call the whole history of Arthur. In England it is King Arthur that was the most important figure of these cycles. When the material was brought by bards to the courts in France, Arthur…
…Arthur that was the most important figure of these cycles. When the material was brought by bards to the courts in France, Arthur was not so important. France already had its hero King Namely Charlemagne. What became important were the knights of the round…
…the round table and their various careers, so that in the English Version, the original English Versions we have the story of Arthur as most important whereas when we get to the continent it's going to be the French. What had happened in England…
…the old celtic stories turned to the new ideas. With that, let me now go into the stories, the whole history of Arthur as it occurs in Geoffrey of Monmouth. Behind Arthur is this wonderful figure, merlin. Geoffrey of Monmouth wrote another work, a shorter…
…With that, let me now go into the stories, the whole history of Arthur as it occurs in Geoffrey of Monmouth. Behind Arthur is this wonderful figure, merlin. Geoffrey of Monmouth wrote another work, a shorter work called the vita merlini, the life of…
…be defeated. Then his next work was to produce the King who would now govern the happy new world. This was going to be Arthur, the beginning of Arthur. He was to be from the house of a certain queen, igraine. His father was to be uthopendragon, who…
…work was to produce the King who would now govern the happy new world. This was going to be Arthur, the beginning of Arthur. He was to be from the house of a certain queen, igraine. His father was to be uthopendragon, who was not igraine's husband.…
…the form of igraine's husband and while the husband was away, have intercourse with her, she thinking it was her husband. Thus Arthur is forgotten in extramarital magic. Merlin next has this whole theme of the sword in the stone. The sword is the sword…
…of the stone with the sword in it that could be drawn only by the one to whom it was destined. Merlin produces Arthur who draws the sword. So there's the beginning of a whole context of imperial story and development. Guinevere becomes the wife of…
…who draws the sword. So there's the beginning of a whole context of imperial story and development. Guinevere becomes the wife of Arthur the King of Rome the emperor of Rome sends a challenge to Arthur to submit to the King of Rome. Arthur arranges…
…imperial story and development. Guinevere becomes the wife of Arthur the King of Rome the emperor of Rome sends a challenge to Arthur to submit to the King of Rome. Arthur arranges an expedition to go against Rome and while Arthur is on expedition against…
…of Arthur the King of Rome the emperor of Rome sends a challenge to Arthur to submit to the King of Rome. Arthur arranges an expedition to go against Rome and while Arthur is on expedition against Rome, his nephew Mordred Seduces Guinevere and attempts…
…a challenge to Arthur to submit to the King of Rome. Arthur arranges an expedition to go against Rome and while Arthur is on expedition against Rome, his nephew Mordred Seduces Guinevere and attempts to take over the throne before conquering Rome.…
…on expedition against Rome, his nephew Mordred Seduces Guinevere and attempts to take over the throne before conquering Rome. Therefore, Arthur is called back, gives battle to Mordred. Mordred is killed, Arthur Mortally wounded and carried off to. It's the…
…and attempts to take over the throne before conquering Rome. Therefore, Arthur is called back, gives battle to Mordred. Mordred is killed, Arthur Mortally wounded and carried off to. It's the whole history of Arthur. You see there the germ of what comes up…
…is called back, gives battle to Mordred. Mordred is killed, Arthur Mortally wounded and carried off to. It's the whole history of Arthur. You see there the germ of what comes up later in the Lancelot story with Mordred. Only Lancelot is an honorable man…
…later in the Lancelot story with Mordred. Only Lancelot is an honorable man and simply caught in this invincible passion, which Arthur recognizes as something even more well I'm going ahead of the story even more important and sacred than marriage itself.…
…downgraded and the female does not have the celebration and value that she has in the later stories. So much for the story of Arthur. That's as it comes up in the history of the kings of Britain, in wassa's brute and in Laman. Now the stories go to…
…from celtic story and then picked up by writers and turned into a literary form. To summarize very briefly again the period of Arthur in the 5th and 6th and 7th centuries, the early chronicles telling of his life, the oral tradition of the hope of the…
…French court, celebrating old celtic tales as though they were knightly tales, linking the knights of their tales to the Court of Arthur and these tales then finally, at the end of the 12th century, being turned into French and German. The German Tristan…
…then there may be people who are named after the god, and sometimes these two get mixed up: the person named Arthur and the god Arthur. The person then becomes thought of as a god and so forth and so on, and he shows that it's around the lake lucerne…
…many of the themes, the little particles of themes that pop up in the arthurian romances can be identified in place. Now Arthur, Arcturus, artemis this is a name associated with the bear, a bear god, and the earliest deity worshipped in Europe almost…
…in Switzerland, Bern, and when you see the flags of the different provinces of Switzerland, the bear keeps turning up. Well Arthur Apparently was a personification of this ancient, ancient bear god of perhaps deep paleolithic times, bronze age times and the…
…Kings were no match for these pagans from the mainland, the anglo saxons. They were assisted in their battles by a man named Arthur. Now he's not a King. This is very clear. There are chronicles that tell us about him. There's a chronicle by a man…
…British Kings in their fight for to protect themselves from the invading English. That's the first step so the man has the name Arthur and we've learned already that Arthur was a god of the celts in Switzerland and Southern France so the two things begin…
…to protect themselves from the invading English. That's the first step so the man has the name Arthur and we've learned already that Arthur was a god of the celts in Switzerland and Southern France so the two things begin to run together a man with…
…do that twelve always tells you we're on a zodiac, you know he's a sun god already. So much for the actual historic Arthur. Now as always when invaders come in there are refugees and the refugees from Southern Britain went to Brittany in France, that…
…Brittany in France, that little peninsula that points out this way, and the people in Brittany began to talk about the day when Arthur would return and recover for them their land, and this is called the hope of the bretons. These are people in France…
…called the hope of the bretons. These are people in France who hoped that England would be wiped out and Britain restored and Arthur would come back in a second coming. So between the fifth century a d and the twelfth century a d these stories percolate…
…of a lot of tales based on celtic lore and historical recollections, with the idea of Arthur's return. So where is Arthur Meanwhile? Well we hear of Arthur being carried off by three glorious celtic Queens after he's wounded carried off to Avalon…
…based on celtic lore and historical recollections, with the idea of Arthur's return. So where is Arthur Meanwhile? Well we hear of Arthur being carried off by three glorious celtic Queens after he's wounded carried off to Avalon which is a celtic word for…
…among the pygmies down there. All these various ideas but here's the notion and you recognize the second coming of Christ in this too Arthur is going to return. You have this idea of the dissolution of life and the world as it is by someone who will…
…that magnificent tragedy of lear. But the whole thing ends with the story of the invading anglo saxons and the British Kings and Arthur. Now the story of Arthur as it was developed in England is as follows: that he was the protégé of merlin. Merlin is…
…lear. But the whole thing ends with the story of the invading anglo saxons and the British Kings and Arthur. Now the story of Arthur as it was developed in England is as follows: that he was the protégé of merlin. Merlin is an old kind of English poet…
…like should assume the form of igern's husband. So he goes in and they have a night together and the fruit of this is Arthur who becomes then as I say the protege of merlin with his great plan. Now what is merlin's plan anyhow, merlin's plan is for…
…that develop the story. He is interested in the political conquest but then in the spiritual adventures that are to follow. Arthur marries Guinevere and shortly after marrying Guinevere he gets the idea of conquering Rome. So he gets an army together and…
…Guinevere. He kills Mordred and Mordred Sorely wounds him, so he's about to die. Sir bedivere one of his knights, comes and Arthur says: here is excalibur, my sword go and throw it into the lake. Well maybe lake lucerne originally. So bedivere goes and…
…thinks: I can't throw this into the lake. So he puts it down and he comes back and says: well okay I did the job. Arthur says: what did you see? He says: I saw a splash. Go back, try again. Everything has to happen three times before it works. So…
…I guess I'd better do it throws the sword and the hand of the lady of the lake comes up and takes it back down and Arthur is then carried away on a boat by three fairy Queens. You can see how the things are mixed up here the old fairy queen…
…up here the old fairy queen mythology and the warrior mythologies coming together. Well this is known as the whole history of Arthur and it is the aspect of the arthurian nomances that was cultivated particularly in Britain. In England he was as it were…
…was as it were their ideal King. The stories go to the continent, the continent, France in particular. They're not interested in Arthur. They have a Great King of their own, xiaomeng. So they become more interested in the stories of his knights, bedivere…
…and kay and Wayne and so forth and so on. So when we carry the arthurian romance from England to the continent, Arthur becomes just a figurehead he's just there and these marvelous adventures of the various knights at his round table begin to take…
…visor into his eye and kills the knight. It's not the proper way to kill a knight. So Arthur's court is now twice shamed. Arthur Meanwhile has sort of caught on something's on here my god what's happening and he sends a young page out to see what's…
…during the course of the next few months a number of people arrive in Arthur's court saying this red knight sent me and Arthur says: boy we really lost something there. So the court starts out to find him. That's another part of the story. When parsifal…
…and here's this knight sitting on his horse just gazing at the snow and he runs into Arthur's Tent, pulls the covers off Arthur and Guinevere. There they are stark naked and he says there's a knight out there. Well Arthur says: send someone out for him.…
…Arthur's Tent, pulls the covers off Arthur and Guinevere. There they are stark naked and he says there's a knight out there. Well Arthur says: send someone out for him. So they send sir kay who is the lout of Arthur's Group sir kay. Comes running out…
…London Hat which is hanging down over on her back back. This is the grail messenger. And she comes and she says to Arthur: you are disgraced forever receiving into your court this foul monster here. And she goes to pontefract and says: despite the beauty…
…000 BC in that area there that's the deep ground. Now this is a mosaic from the 11th century showing Arthur Rex arctus, Arthur in hell riding a goat. He was associated by the orthodox you might say, with demons worship, because you know, in the…
…5th century in Europe. The gods of the gentiles are devils and in the name of god you must get rid of them. And so Arthur himself is put down there. This is the part of Europe that belongs to this period of the great megalithic monuments and this is…
…at that time teaching in Santa Barbara named Charles Muses, and what it shows is that already in the period of the roman Europe, Arthur Artaeus was revered as a god. He's originally a celtic god and the place where we find him revered is down here in…
…and the place where we find him revered is down here in the Pyrenees, a couple of miles from Lourdes and the name artaeus Arthur is related to artemis arcturus. All of these are related to the deity the bear, and the bear is the oldest worship deity…
…anglo saxons, the Danes, the people the Frisians the people from Denmark and Germany came pouring in. This is the period of the Arthur Warrior. The earlier god is down here now we come to the fourth and fifth centuries AD. There is a man named Arthur…
…Arthur Warrior. The earlier god is down here now we come to the fourth and fifth centuries AD. There is a man named Arthur who fights for the britons let's say the people against the invading English. We have the britons, the British and the English…
…who fights for the britons let's say the people against the invading English. We have the britons, the British and the English Arthur. This particular Arthur was not a King. The chroniclers of the time, Gildas and Nennius speak of him, the chroniclers of…
…britons let's say the people against the invading English. We have the britons, the British and the English Arthur. This particular Arthur was not a King. The chroniclers of the time, Gildas and Nennius speak of him, the chroniclers of the seventeenth and…
…I was a student in Paris, there were a lot of senegalese troops in Paris. These were native troops trained by the French. Arthur was such a figure in Britain. He was a native fighter trained by the romans, and he assisted the native British Kings in…
…emigrated to Brittany. The bretons are the people who left south of England to go to Brittany and a legend grew up among them. Arthur was the great defender. He will return, he will restore us to our motherland. This is known as the hope of the bretons…
…this legendary comes, refreshed by material particularly from Ireland and Wales Ireland, Wales and Brittany this is the land from which the Arthur cycle comes, the hope of the bretons. There are a lot of old celtic stuff associated with the Arthur story in…
…the land from which the Arthur cycle comes, the hope of the bretons. There are a lot of old celtic stuff associated with the Arthur story in the oral tradition. What has been going on meanwhile? A whole new problem. In the 7th century AD, the rise of…
…So he goes in to challenge King Arthur and he does it by riding into the court, going right to the table where Arthur and his knights are sitting and Guinevere by Arthur's side, and he takes the wine glass from Guinevere and throws the wine in…
…visor into his eye and kills the knight. That's not the proper way to kill a knight. So Arthur's court is now twice shamed. Arthur, Meanwhile has sort of caught on something's on here oh my god what's happening and he sends a young page out to see…
…during the course of the next few months a number of people arrive in Arthur's court saying: this red knight sent me. And Arthur says: boy we really lost something there. So the court starts out to find him. That's another part of the story. When…
…and here's this knight sitting on his horse just gazing at the snow and he runs into Arthur's Tent, pulls the covers off Arthur and Guinevere there they are stark naked and he says: there's a knight out there. Well Arthur says: send someone out for him…
…Arthur's Tent, pulls the covers off Arthur and Guinevere there they are stark naked and he says: there's a knight out there. Well Arthur says: send someone out for him so. They send sir kay who is the lout of Arthur's Group. Sir kay comes running out…
…fashionable London Hat which is hanging down over her back this is the grail messenger. And she comes and she says to Arthur, you are disgraced forever receiving into your court this foul monster here. And she goes to posseval and says: despite the beauty…