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He also introduced the esoteric Merlin the Magician, Arthur's adviser and court sorcerer, who now has as great a following as Arthur, if not more. Not content with introducing just friendly wizards, magical islands and new fantastic conquests, Geoffrey states that Arthur did not die at the battle of Camlann, but was borne away by the good sisters of Avalon, to be healed and live with them there.
Geoffrey's work was rather successful, and the Anglo-Norman monarchs who ruled Britain were apparently pleased to believe in him, and associate themselves with the heritage of the Kingdom their ancestors had conquered.
Wace is generally the first European writer to be influenced by Monmouth and he composed a poem entitled Roman de Brut (The Romance of Brutus) in 1155. Although Wace doesn't feature prominently as an architect in the Arthurian mythos, he was the first to introduce an item that is inseparable from Arthur, his magnificent 'Round Table' around which sat his fifty greatest knights. Geoffrey gained considerable literary support, and as the imaginations of a medley of writers flourished the Arthurian Romances were born. Arthur's kingdom became a chivalric utopia after the five stories from Chretien de Troyes between 1160 and 1180AD, with Arthur as a steadfast but fair Christian ruler, with a polished order of goodly knights. Chretien was the first to introduce Guinevere as Arthur's wife, and Sir Lancelot, the king's champion, friend and the queen's lover. Chretien set his stage for courtly romance, and was the first to name it as Camelot.
During the period of the Arthurian Romances, Camelot changed from being a castle to a magnificent city. Separate tales were told of the round table knights, such as Gawain and the Green Knight, the quest for the Holy Grail, and the drama surrounding the sword in the stone and the rightful heir to the kingdom. Many of the classic tales mirror those of older Celtic tradition, updated, modernised, and told in medieval terms.
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It was at this time that the monks of Glastonbury Abbey took notice of Arthur and his popularity. In 1184 the abbey had been gutted by a great fire, and the monks were in need of financial support for the restoration. It was thus extremely convenient that they discovered Arthur's tomb fifty feet from the South door of Lady's Chapel. Apparently the location of the tomb had been entrusted to one of the previous Abbots by Henry II a good many years earlier. Henry had been told of the grave's location by a Welsh bard that he encountered while he was travelling in Wales. The monks dug down to a depth of seven feet, and encountered a leaden cross bearing an inscription in Latin;
Hic iacet sepultus inclytus rex arthurius in insula avallonia cum uxore sua secunda wenneveria (Here lies the renown King Arthur in the Isle of Avalon with his second wife Guinevere)
Further excavation down another nine feet revealed a large coffin carved from a solid oak, this contained the skeleton of a large man with a head wound, and a lock of golden hair, that is supposed to have been Guinevere's; this turned to dust when handled. The grave was either a fake, or a complete stroke of luck, for the monks could now profit from Arthur's popularity. Not only that but the cross labelled Glastonbury as the magical mythical Isle of Avalon, an added bonus. But what about Guinevere being Arthur's second wife, again this was fortuitous, for at that time there were two equally popular Arthurian sagas, one naming his wife as Guinevere, and the other as Ganhumara. So everybody was kept happy.
Some years later it became generally accepted that Guinevere was Arthur's one true wife. It was then claimed by the monks that the cross had purely stated:
Hic iacet sepultus inclitus rex arturius in insula avalonia (Here lies the renown King Arthur in the Isle of Avalon)
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