All language subtitles for The.UnXplained.S04E12.1080p.WEB.H264-SPAMnEGGS.10

King Arthur.

A noble warrior, who
embodied honor and chivalry,

wielded the legendary blade
Excalibur

and went on epic quests with
the Knights of the Round Table.

For more than a thousand years,

tales have been
told about a peasant boy

who pulled a sword out of
a stone and became a king.

Is the legend of
King Arthur and the Knights

of the Round Table just a myth?

Or is it possible that the story
we all know was based on fact?

Was King Arthur a real person?

Well, that is what
we’ll try and find out.

Every year,
thousands of people gather at

the Gulf Coast Renaissance Faire

to experience
a taste of medieval life.

The fair is one of many similar
events held around the globe

that are inspired
by age-old tales

of King Arthur and
the Knights of the Round Table.

I don’t know what child,
growing up, doesn’t want

to be a knight in shining armor.

It’s such a romanticized
time period that the stories of

King Arthur and Knights of
the Round Table and all of their

quests and adventures
have branched and become

bigger and bigger right
through today’s modern age.

It has such a collective

grab on our imagination
and our soul.

King Arthur is everywhere today.

You’d be hard-pressed to find
another legendary figure that is

as popular all over the world,
in so many times

and so many places, whether
it’s in the 12th century,

or the 15th century,
or the 21st century.

Since the Middle Ages,
the legend of King Arthur

has captured the imagination
of countless people

all over the world.

But what are the origins
of this powerful story?

The Arthur
story begins with a boy raised by farmers.

One time, his brother is
in a sword-fighting contest,

and his brother’s sword breaks.

And Arthur said, "No, don’t
forfeit, hold off for a second.

I saw a sword."

And he saw a sword
stuck in a stone.

As the story
goes, the sword that Arthur saw

was no ordinary blade.

It had been prophesied that
only the future king of England

could draw the
sword out of the stone.

Many men had tried to
remove it, but all of them failed.

That is, until Arthur
pulled the sword,

and it slid out of the stone.

This is the earliest that
Arthur begins to understand that

something is happening
in his life beyond his grasp.

Gradually, this
unusual young man

does become king of all Britain.

The Arthurian
legend basically tells about

a young person who
discovers their destiny,

and discovers how
to achieve this destiny.

He becomes the center of
these medieval romances,

where he is the
quintessential leader.

He is Rex Quondom,
Rexque Futurus;

the Once and Future King.

It’s amazing how
much of that story

has permeated our culture
just sort of by osmosis.

And the image we all
have is that King Arthur

lives in Camelot, which
is a big stone castle.

He had a wife, Guinevere,
and also he is assisted

by a wizard named Merlin.

His knights of the Round
Table looked for the Holy Grail.

And he has a fabulous
sword named Excalibur.

It is this wonderful repository

of symbols and
themes and adventures

that are all interlinked,

because they all
relate to the court

of this one marvelous figure.

The vast
influence of the Arthurian legend

is undeniable.

But for more than 1,000 years,

a fascinating
question has lingered.

Is it possible that King
Arthur wasn’t merely a myth

but rather a real man?

If we go back to the original
accounts of King Arthur,

written during the Dark
Ages, around about 500 AD,

the Roman Empire collapsed,
and the Roman soldiers

withdrew from Britain.

And this country turned
into complete anarchy.

There were various separate
tribes fighting each other.

And what was needed
was one single warrior

or chieftain or king
to unite them all.

And Arthur is said to have been
that person in myth and legend.

There are
lots of theories on who King Arthur

might really have been.

And really, there’s
no clear answer.

The Arthur that we
think we know came from

many hands, many
authors, many writers,

who had slightly different
takes on the Arthur story.

We know the basic
elements of the story,

but the man himself
remains a mystery.

According to historians,
there are numerous versions of

the King Arthur legend, many
of which have been lost to time.

But the most influential
telling of the story

dates to the 12th century,

when a Welsh monk
named Geoffrey of Monmouth

claimed he’d discovered
a long-lost account of early

British history that
recorded King Arthur

as being an actual person who
lived around the year 500 AD.

Monmouth then published a
translated version of this text,

which he called The
History of the Kings of Britain.

Geoffrey of Monmouth, in
his text in the 12th century,

this is what breaks the
Arthurian legend wide open.

What’s fascinating is
that so many of the things

and places and events he
writes about in recent times

have been proven to
be correct in terms of

being the right
time, the right place,

and the right elements
to be based on,

many historians
believe, real events.

Could it
be possible that the tales

of King Arthur are
more than mere fantasy?

Perhaps a clue may be
found by examining a castle

in southwest England that
Geoffrey of Monmouth claimed

to have been the site
where King Arthur was born.

Overlooking the rocky cliffs of

Bristol Channel are the
ruins of Tintagel Castle.

Built in the 13th century,
this once-mighty fortress

is now a popular
tourist attraction

with a fascinating history.

Well, Tintagel is a really
wondrous and mysterious location

because it hides an
enormous amount of

knowledge about our past.

There’s this fantastic
castle that is 900 years old.

But below the ground,
there’s tons of information

about hundreds
of years before this,

in the period when,
perhaps, Arthur existed.

What’s
really fantastic and incredible

about this spot
in particular is that

Geoffrey of Monmouth tells us

that Arthur’s born in Tintagel,
and that has now been

very conclusively proven to
have very, very strong links.

Excavations beneath
Tintagel have revealed the remains of

an earlier castle that dated
back to the sixth century AD.

And a curious inscription found
among the prior castle’s remains

offers evidence in support of
Geoffrey of Monmouth’s claim

that the real King Arthur

had a profound
connection to Tintagel.

In 1998, Glasgow University
were excavating here,

and they found a drain cover
behind one of the buildings.

And that drain cover...
They were amazed to find

it had an inscription on it.

At the top of the stone
is very clearly Artognou.

A-R-T-O-G-N-O-U.

It was securely dated to
the sixth century, based on

the items around it,

and on that stone

was carved a name that looks

very much like
"Arthur." "Artognou."

When you have
the site of Tintagel

that has been associated with

Arthur’s supposed
birthplace for centuries,

and the discovery of a stone

that has a name on
it that begins A-R-T,

you have all the elements

coming together at the
right time in the right place.

The mere possibility that
one day we’ll be able to verify

the birthplace of the
real King Arthur is thrilling.

But could there be
other parts of the legend

that might also be
historically accurate?

Well, perhaps the answer
can be found by examining

two of the most iconic
elements of Arthurian lore:

Merlin the Magician
and Excalibur.

One of the most iconic stories

from the tales of King Arthur

is that of a young
Arthur singlehandedly

pulling a sword out of a stone.

It was a feat that revealed him

to be the one
true king of Britain.

But there’s another
sword in the Arthur legend

that is no less compelling.

There are two swords
in the Arthur story.

One comes out of
that stone, and later,

he gets a sword as a gift
from the Lady of the Lake.

This is the goddess of the lake.

And her arm comes up out
of the water holding a sword.

And that is Excalibur, a
sword beyond other swords.

Excalibur, we are
told, had a golden hilt,

and had magical powers.

It’s a sword that’s supposed
to make Arthur invincible.

Arthur’s story
is the hero’s journey,

because it has the
magic and the sacred

and all the mystical dimensions.

In the hero’s journey,

the protagonist gains a
special tool or weapon.

This is the magical thing.

It will be just the
thing you needed,

although you might
not know it at the time.

And then the moment
will arise and you see

exactly why you have it.

According to
legend, King Arthur used Excalibur

to win many battles and unite
Britain under his leadership.

But, alas, Arthur finally
died on the battlefield

when he was mortally
wounded by his son, Mordred.

As King Arthur lies dying
on the field of battle...

he asks that his
sword, Excalibur,

the source of all his power,

be taken by a knight and
thrown into a nearby lake.

When this happens, the
hand of the Lady of the Lake

breaks through the
surface of the water,

grabs hold of the
sword and takes it down

into the crystal
depths to keep it

until some future
king may need it

when Britain is
again threatened.

Many scholars believe
that magic is an important part of

what makes the King
Arthur story so powerful.

And curiously, the supernatural
elements of Excalibur

may not have been
merely a fantasy.

The story of Excalibur may seem
one of the medieval additions,

if you like, to the
tale of King Arthur,

that sounds the least likely.

But in fact, the
story of Excalibur

and the knight throwing
it to the Lady of the Lake

could be based
on historical events.

The Celtic warriors of
the time Arthur existed had

a tradition that
their soul, if you like,

was in their sword.

And at their funerals, their
swords were often thrown

into a sacred lake, or pool,

as an offering to
a water goddess.

And in fact, archaeology has
discovered many ancient swords

that had been thrown into
lakes that have since dried up.

So the story of the
Lady of the Lake,

this strange nymph-like
woman that takes the sword,

could have originated
with the tradition of casting

a warrior’s sword as an
offering to a water goddess.

Is it possible that
some of the mystical aspects

of the legend of King
Arthur are based on fact?

Perhaps a clue can be
found by examining the origins

of the most mysterious
character in Arthurian lore:

Merlin the Magician.

Merlin is almost as
fascinating as Arthur.

He’s such a wonderful
character who might have been

an alchemist or a wizard.

Merlin is Arthur’s advisor,
and we think of Merlin, really,

as a dignified old man
with a long white beard.

Merlin is the classic sorcerer.

We’ve had many more recent

reincarnations,
really, of Merlin:

Dumbledore, Gandalf,
Obi-Wan Kenobi, Yoda.

It comes back again and again.

Because we need
characters in stories

that represent a higher knowing.

Even though Merlin
represents a supernatural character,

there is growing evidence that

this wizard could
have been based

on a real person who
lived in the sixth century AD.

It’s believed
that the chroniclers

who first wrote the
story of King Arthur,

when they came upon
the character of Merlin,

they were actually referencing
an ancient wizard who was known

in either Welsh or
northern British folklore.

Somebody who had
once really existed.

The name Merlin is a title.

It’s old Brythonic for Eagle.

And we know of at
least three people

during the late fifth
and early sixth centuries,

all around Arthur’s time,
with the name Merlin.

The first person to write
one of the medieval romances

about Arthur, Geoffrey
of Monmouth, tells us

one of them is a character
called Ambrosius Aurelius,

and this was Merlin’s real name.

He’s an historical figure,

a warrior in Britain
just before Arthur’s time,

who seems to have retired
from the field of battle to become

advisor to the various
kings, including Arthur.

That’s quite amazing.

Merlin appears in Wales,
he appears in Scotland,

and he appears deeply
in the Breton legends.

The energy and the power behind

this character and
this story is so strong

that we cannot write
it off as strictly legend.

It was the representation of
a man who had a particularly

spiritual power within
the British world.

Was Merlin the Magician
based on an actual

sixth-century mystic who
lived in northern Britain?

It’s a compelling theory,

but in recent years, researchers

have put forth an idea
that’s even more incredible.

One involving the origins of
England’s once and future king.

In the Scottish highlands,

30 miles northwest of Edinburgh,

lies Stirling Castle.

Built in the 12th century,
this hardened fortress

is surrounded by
cliffs on three sides,

and is protected by
massive stone walls.

For centuries, Scottish
kings used this stronghold

to defend their
country’s independence.

Although Stirling Castle was
built in the 12th century AD,

archaeological records
indicate that Scottish clans

built numerous
structures on this same site

going back nearly 4,000 years.

Perhaps what’s
most intriguing about the site

where Stirling Castle sits
is that, according to yet

another interpretation
of medieval texts,

the real King Arthur may
not have been from England...

but rather from this
sacred ground in Scotland.

Is it possible
that England’s so-called

"Once and Future King"
was actually Scottish?

In recent years,
many researchers have

suggested that it’s possible,

and they claim that there may be

physical evidence
of Arthur’s presence

deep beneath the
grounds of Stirling Castle,

under an ancient
earthen formation

known as King’s Knot.

In 2011, archaeologists
conducting underground scans

discovered the presence
of a large, circular structure

buried beneath the
center of King’s Knot.

And there are those who believe
that this subterranean formation

may have actually been
King Arthur’s Round Table.

One of the
biggest parts of the Arthurian tradition

is the idea that he has

the Knights of the Round Table.

Round is important, because
the traditional thing was for

the king to sit at
the head of the table,

to sort of be the
authoritarian leader.

But King Arthur
wanted his knights

to be all equally empowered,

so he created the Round Table.

For centuries,
people have wondered whether

the Round Table
could have been real,

and searched for
evidence of its existence.

Is it actually possible that
it’s been beneath King’s Knot

at Stirling Castle
all this time?

Many researchers
believe the answer is yes.

And as proof, they point to
an historical account written by

a Scottish poet
in the year 1375.

Curiously, there
is another group of people

who believe that King
Arthur and his Round Table

were located in Scotland,
instead of England.

It’s an ancient Scottish family
line known as Clan MacArthur,

who claim that they are

descendants of
King Arthur himself.

The idea that the
King’s Knot was

the location of the Round Table

brings the legend of King
Arthur to life in a profound way.

And if these noble knights
were, in fact, real people,

then perhaps we should
examine their most epic adventure:

the quest to find
the Holy Grail.

In 2010, medieval
literature scholar Carol J. Chase

published a translation of
The History of the Holy Grail,

a 13th-century French text.

The original ancient manuscript
is one of the earliest sources

documenting the story of
King Arthur and his knights’

epic quest to find
the Holy Grail...

the most sacred
artifact in Christian lore.

The Holy Grail is
supposed to be a chalice

that was once used by
Jesus at the Last Supper,

when he shared his last
meal with his disciples.

This cup was eventually
used to collect a few drops

of Jesus’s blood when
he was on the cross.

And it was imbued with magical,

mysterious, holy healing powers.

Anyone that drank from it
could be cured from any ill.

The signal for King
Arthur to go on his quest

to find the Holy Grail is
when a knight called Galahad

sits in a seat at
the Round Table.

And when Galahad sits
in that seat, the Holy Grail

appears miraculously
above the Round Table.

When the knights
see the Grail in this manner,

this vision of this incredibly
mysterious, veiled object,

they realize that
this is sacred,

and that this is something
that they must go in search of,

but also that it’s
going to be a quest.

It’s not going to
be an easy task.

As the story goes,
the Knights of the Round Table

embarked on a perilous
journey to find the Holy Grail.

Multiple accounts of
the legend describe how

their quest led
them to distant lands

and mysterious castles in
search of this sacred artifact.

All the Knights of
the Round Table are involved

in the quest, but the
great unsolved mystery

is did King Arthur
eventually find the Holy Grail?

Well, it depends which
legend you want to follow.

But it’s still supposed
to be hidden

somewhere in Britain today.

If King Arthur and
the Knights of the Round Table

were, in fact, real people,

then is it possible that they
actually found the Holy Grail?

And if so, is the
Grail still hidden

somewhere in England today?

There are
lots of theories on where

the Holy Grail was
allegedly buried.

But if you believe
in King Arthur,

if you believe that he went
on a quest for the Holy Grail,

you have to go to the area

around the Chalice
Well, at Glastonbury.

The Chalice Well
in Glastonbury is a beautiful area

that is also known
as the Blood Well,

because the water
that flows from it is red.

Now, one of the legends
is that it flows this way,

because the Holy Grail
was once buried within it.

And because the Grail was
related to the blood of Jesus,

that the spring itself then
flowed with the blood of Jesus.

There’s a long-standing
story in England

that Joseph of Arimathea,
the great-uncle of Jesus,

brought the Holy
Grail to Glastonbury,

where he concealed it.

In the early
legends, there’s an account of how

Joseph of Arimathea
plants his staff

where there is a spring, at
the bottom of Glastonbury Hill,

which grows into a thorn tree.

And so, the idea grew
up over the centuries that

the Holy Grail has been hidden
in the bottom of the spring.

Once he did that, the
water from the well gushed forth red.

Red as blood. Warm as blood.

Coagulating even like
hemoglobin, it’s said.

And that this water is very
literally the blood of Christ.

It’s been a very durable legend
because the water is stained

because the sand which it flows

out of is rich in iron.

And the iron stains it red,

so, naturally, people
must have looked at that,

and they must have thought,
"This looks like blood."

According to some
versions of the Grail legend,

after being gravely
wounded in battle,

King Arthur sought healing from
the waters of the Chalice Well,

perhaps indicating
that he knew that

the Grail was hidden there.

The idea that the Holy
Grail is buried near

the Chalice Well
was so inspiring

that in 1959, a man named
Wellesley Tudor Pole decided to

spend a fortune in the
hope of recovering the Grail.

Wellesley Tudor Pole was
an eccentric English aristocrat.

He bought the area
around the Chalice Well,

and commissioned an
archaeologist, Philip Rahtz,

to conduct some digs
there to find evidence

that Joseph of
Arimathea had been there.

He did a great dig,
and what he found was that

there is a well house
around the well,

and it goes right back
to 2,000 years ago.

So that would be about AD 63,

when people thought Joseph
of Arimathea sailed to Britain.

Could the
Holy Grail really be hidden

somewhere near the Chalice Well?

Perhaps. But whether or
not the Grail is buried there,

the legend of King Arthur
and his knights’ quest

to find this sacred object

still inspires people to
visit the Chalice Well today.

For a small fee,
a tourist can have a drink

from the Chalice Well.

If you long for transcendence,

it is good to make
such a pilgrimage.

It doesn’t matter
whether it’s true or not.

It’s true in the heart.

The idea
of the Grail is our human

quest for something
that is bigger than we are.

This is what the Arthurian
legends are all about.

The legend of Arthur and
the legend of the Holy Grail

will always be intertwined.

The Holy Grail is
one of the most popular aspects

of Arthurian lore, and the
quest to find it is ongoing.

But there’s another
elusive relic that many hope

could prove King Arthur’s
existence. His body.

And believe it or not, some
people claim they know

where it just might be buried.

Rising
above the clay roofs of this

humble town in the
English countryside

is the ancient hill known
as Glastonbury Tor.

Atop its peak lies the ruins
of a 14th-century church,

the last remnants of what
many researchers believe

was a series of religious
sites constructed here.

Glastonbury Tor is
the very center of Glastonbury.

This hill has always been
a sacred place, going back

to the Christians, to
the Romans, to the Celts,

and right back to the
dawn of civilization

as a center of prayer,
sacrifice, and ritual.

Perhaps what’s most
intriguing about Glastonbury Tor

is that many believe it to be

the place where
King Arthur was buried

after legends say
he died in 537 AD.

The legend is that, um,

Arthur’s mortally
wounded in battle,

at a battle called Camlann,

where his son,
Mordred, was also killed.

The Battle
of Camlann is first attested

in a 10th-century Welsh text.

And it seems as if it may be

referring to earlier texts

that had accounts of this
battle, that it was well known,

and seems to be based on, many
historians believe, real events.

The Battle of Camlann
is Arthur’s final battle.

It’s against Mordred.

And as Arthur’s dying, he’s
taken away from there by

a bunch of mysterious maidens

and buried on a nearby island,

seemingly in the
middle of a lake.

An island known as Avalon.

For centuries,
people have been fascinated

by the idea of a
mystical island where

this brave warrior
was supposedly buried.

But if it’s true that
King Arthur was buried

on the Isle of Avalon,

then where is this
supposed island located?

Well, one popular theory
suggests that the Isle of Avalon

and Glastonbury Tor
are one and the same.

There’s a very, very
strong tradition in England

that Glastonbury Tor is
Avalon, the Isle of Avalon.

Now, you might say, wait
a minute, this is inland,

it is not an island,

but Glastonbury Tor
actually has a lot going for it

as a potential site for
the Arthurian tradition.

When you’re looking
at Glastonbury Tor,

it stands out from
this misty valley floor.

It is this massive mound
that comes out of an otherwise

flat ground, surrounded
very often by mist.

So, it looks like an island
When you’re looking at it.

Glastonbury was
surrounded by a misty swamp,

more than likely a malarial
swamp, for thousands of years.

So, in Arthur’s time, those
approaching Glastonbury

literally would have
had to sail across,

because what we see
today... the hill, the Tor...

Was essentially an island.

The Isle of Avalon.

Is it possible
that King Arthur was laid to rest

somewhere on Glastonbury Tor?

It’s a fascinating theory.

But many researchers
claim that Arthur’s remains

weren’t buried
on the massive hill

but rather at another
location that is nearby.

Less than a mile away
from Glastonbury Tor

lie the ruins of
Glastonbury Abbey,

an ancient monastery that
some believe was Arthur’s

real final resting place.

And as proof, they
point to a discovery made

by the monks who lived there
almost a thousand years ago.

In the year 1191,
the monks at Glastonbury Abbey

claimed that they all
had this collective vision

which led them to the
secret tomb of King Arthur,

which was allegedly
buried in Glastonbury.

What they found
there was a huge coffin.

And within it was a skeleton,

which they claimed
had to be King Arthur,

and next to him a female
skeleton, obviously Guinevere.

A cross was
apparently discovered

in the excavation in 1191,

and it had Latin
letters on it that said,

"Here lies the famous
Arthur in the Isle of Avalon."

We know from the
12th century that a grave was found.

And there’s a lot of
evidence that there might be

something to this; this idea
of Arthur being buried here.

And there are at least
six different sources,

some going back to the
latter part of the Dark Ages,

that indicate that Guinevere
was buried in Glastonbury as well.

According to historical
records, Arthur’s supposed tomb

and remains were destroyed
in a fire in the 16th century.

But people still come from
all around the world today

to see the site and pay their
respects to the deceased king.

There’s not much to see
at the King Arthur grave site,

but you can see the outline

of where the marble
tomb once was.

It’s just grass everywhere
around and a modern sign

telling you King Arthur
was once buried here.

So, of course, there’s a
certain degree of skepticism,

but that is the story that
was told in the Middle Ages.

There’s also
another interesting factor

with the Arthurian tradition,

and that is there’s a
long-standing belief

among many people in England

that Arthur is the
once and future king.

In other words, he’s
not really dead yet.

He’s going to come back.

And so, wherever Arthur’s buried

then becomes a
potential site for his rebirth,

for his reemergence
into our world.

Will further
investigation uncover

King Arthur’s
final resting place?

Perhaps.

But while Arthur
may be long dead,

there are many around
the world who believe

that his spirit
can still be found.

Scholars at Bristol University

make an astonishing discovery

hidden inside the bindings of a
16th-century French manuscript.

They find seven
ancient handwritten notes

revealing a previously
unknown tale of Merlin

inspiring King Arthur
and his knights in battle.

It’s always
incredible when anybody finds a new remnant

of the works of King
Arthur for the very first time.

Subsequent analysis
has suggested

that it was written
probably in the 13th century

in the language which
is known as Old French.

And we now believe it belongs
to the so-called Vulgate Cycle

of the legends of King Arthur.

It’s one of those things
which makes you sit up

and think, well, what
else is out there?

What else can
we potentially find?

The discovery of
each new ancient manuscript or

fragment of medieval poetry adds

a new piece to the puzzle
of King Arthur and his origins.

But what’s even more intriguing
is that there are scientists

who believe that by
using new technology,

we might find evidence that
this mythical hero was real.

Scientists working
at Family Tree DNA

conduct an analysis
of genetic samples

from 400 ancestral
British families,

whose lineage date back
to the sixth century AD.

The goal of the study is to
determine whether these families

could be descendants
of the real King Arthur.

Will genetic analysis be able

to prove that King
Arthur was real?

For now, that question
is unanswered,

but one thing is certain.

The appeal of the
legend of King Arthur

will endure for
generations to come.

Arthur has really
become, in many ways, immortal.

He represents
what’s best of the past.

Heroicism, courtliness,
even an element of magic.

He represents to us the
past that we want to recapture.

He’s still the hero that
everybody wants to be,

and so he is really the
Once and Future King.

People look at the
Arthurian legends

and the stories about King
Arthur in different ways.

Some look at it
for the brotherhood.

Some look at it for the action.

And some look at it
for the love stories.

Some look at it as a piece
of history throughout time.

And that’s why I think we’ll
always be chasing the legend

of Arthur and the Knights
of the Round Table.

Was King Arthur a
flesh and blood man,

or just a
larger-than-life legend?

Well, some parts of the story
are almost certainly fantasy

while others definitely
make you wonder

whether there was
a real man behind the myth.

So, while our quest
to find answers continues,

the truth behind
this iconic king remains...

unexplained.

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