The Pendragon Cycle: Celtic Christianity in the Arthurian Legend through Bards, Prophets, and Historians

This thesis centers on The Pendragon Cycle as a late-twentieth century retelling of the Arthurian legend by the American author Stephen Lawhead. Through The Pendragon Cycle, Lawhead emphasizes the historical foundation of Arthuriana in the setting of fifth-century Britain while simultaneously incorporating mythology from the Atlanteans, to the Celtic Otherworld, to the Holy Grail. Lawhead draws inspiration from medieval Welsh and Christian characterizations of the legend such as medieval historical chronicles like The History of the Kings of Britain by Geoffrey of Monmouth; following in the footsteps of medieval historians, Lawhead uses the medium of the Arthurian legend to present a message of spiritual, evangelic Christianity in opposition to the neo-Pagan shift of Arthuriana in the late twentieth century, creating an argument for a “neo-Christianity” that is grounded in the spiritual and natural values of Celtic belief systems.