he legends of King Arthur in art follow the same patterns as Arthur in literature. In medieval times, art was used almost solely for the purpose of manuscript illustration and religious purposes. Very little art survived the chaos of the Dark Ages and it is therefore not surprising that there are almost no representations of Arthur in art prior to the thirteenth century. Early Arthurian art was mainly in the form of illustrations to works such as "La Mort Artus" ( French, late thirteenth century),

"Lancelot du Lac" (French, early fourteenth century) and "Guiron le Courtois" (Flemish, late fifteenth century).

After the fifteenth century, the art world was largely silent on the subject of Arthurian legends. Yet like Arthurian literature, art flourished during the nineteenth century, at the hands of a group of artists known as the Pre-Raphaelites. The Pre-Raphaelites were a group of artists who produced artworks with semi-religious and mythical themes as a reaction against the materialism of the Victorian age.