The coexistence of paganism and Christianity in the Arthurian legends

Most medieval Arthurian literature is written by Christian authors trying to support their religious ideology. As a result, it is surprising the prevalence of pagan and supernatural elements in these texts. Many of the most well-known characters and symbols in these stories embody the tension between paganism and Christianity. This thesis evaluates how Christian characters can interact with and employ pagan abilities for their own means while attempting to embody Christian ideals. A closer examination of these interactions suggests the need for a new perception of the myths as a whole while simultaneously illustrating the fluctuations in society's views of Christianity and paganism.;The current explanation for this strange cohabitation of pagan and Christian symbology is that the pagan elements are simply remnants of the original pagan tales, elements that the Christian author was simply unable to Christianize. However, this theory fails to account for a number of pagan elements that could easily have been Christianized, but were not. It also fails to explain why a society that was experiencing a thorough cleansing of all pagan elements as a result of the spread of Christianity would allow these elements to remain in its literature.;To make these implications even more interesting and relevant, in addition to analyzing the medieval versions, this paper also examines some texts that are part of the modern reemergence of Arthurian legends and analyze them for their use of pagan symbology and characters.;Ultimately, the combination of pagan and Christian elements in Arthurian literature creates a curious tension that reflect the religious trends of the period. While many of the pagan elements originated in the folklore from which the legends were derived, the theory that all pagan remnants are a result of their origin seems short-sighted. Authorial manipulation of the material could certainly have eliminated pagan references and symbols if so desired. The continuance of pagan elements in the Arthurian legends could be a result of ignorance or oversight, or it could suggest a sympathy or nostalgia for paganism.