He traces the story back to the 5th-century King Arthur and beyond, all the time testing his ideas with archaeological evidence, and showing how the story was manipulated through the ages for various historical and literary purposes, by Geoffrey of Monmouth and Malory, among others. Delving into history, literary sources -- ancient, medieval and romantic -- and archaeological research, Francis Pryor creates an original, lively and illuminating account of this most British of legends.