King Arthur Obtaining the Sword Excalibur from the Damsel of the Lake

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King Arthur Obtaining the Sword Excalibur from
the Damsel of the Lake by John Hungerford Pollen
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Who is this John Hungerford Pollen?

• Lived 1820-1902
• Architect, Painter, Writer, Editor
• An Englishman who came to Ireland in 1855 and
  settled in Dublin
• A recently converted Catholic
• A friend of Cardinal John Henry Newman
• Appointed Professor of Fine Arts in Dublin by
  Newman

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What did he write and edit?

• Wrote Furniture and Woodwork
• Wrote English Catholics in the Reign of Queen
  Elizabeth A Study of Their Politics, Civil Life
  and Government
• Edited Biographies of English Catholics in the
  Eighteenth Century

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What did he do as an architect?

• Designed the University Church in Dublin

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As a painter?

• Painted at Blickling in the Long Gallery
• Painted Merton chapel ceiling at Merton College
  in Oxford
• Painted a mural in the Oxford Union Library

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Did he belong to the Pre-Raphaelite brotherhood?

• Secret society who liked art from before the 16th
  century
• Going against the conventions of the time
• Pollen was part of the second group of the
  brotherhood which included William MorrisEdward
  Burne-Jones, Arthur Hughes,Valentine Cameron
  Prinsep, and John Spencer Stanhope

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The Scene of King Arthur Obtaining the Sword
Excalibur from the Damsel of the Lake

• Two explanations of Arthur and the sword
• Contest vs. Divinity
• Right to the throne
• Acquisition of Arthurs sword
• The swords eventual return

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The Sword

• Excalibur and Caliburn
• Origins
• Arthurs lance, Ron, and his shield Pridwen

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The Lady of the Lake

• Possibly based on fairies in Welsh stories
• Various Names Nimue, Vivien, Morgan, Eviene
• "A knight should have two hearts, one as hard and
  impenetrable as diamond, and the other as soft
  and pliable as hot wax.
• Merlins infatuation

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