Intermediate Level

Worksheet

King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table

Stephen Colbourn

A Before Reading
1 The stories of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table are more than a thousand years old.
What do you know about the history of England around and before this time? Do you know who the
Romans, Anglo-Saxons, Vikings and Normans were and when they came to England?

Now read page 4 to check your answers.

2 These stories describe the adventures of King Arthur’s

knights and show how a good knight should behave.
What kind of adventures do you think they will have?
What difficult things will they have to do? What will
they wear and carry? What adjectives might describe
a good knight? Write your ideas in the table.

Things they have to do Things they wear/carry Adjectives to describe a good knight

save a young woman brave

Now look at page 5 and 6 to check your ideas.

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Intermediate Level Worksheet

3 a The most important story about King Arthur is The Quest for the Holy Grail. Do you know what the
Holy Grail is? Have you read any other stories which talk about the Holy Grail?

Now read the last paragraph on page 5 to check your ideas.

b Magic and the character of Merlin the Magician are important parts of the story. In The Lord of the
Rings and The Hobbit by Tolkien, the character of Gandalf the Wizard is based on Merlin. Do you
know Tolkien’s stories? Do you know any other stories which include magic and wizards? Do you
like magical stories or do you prefer reality?

B While Reading
4 a In the book, there are many examples of couples. Some fall in love and get married, some have
children, but not all are in love. As you read, keep a record of these partnerships and love stories.

Man Woman Marriage? Children?

King Gorloïs Queen Igrayne yes 3 daughters, including Morgana

b W
 hen Arthur falls in love, he asks King Leodogran if he can marry his daughter, Guinevere. The
King agrees and offers Caerleon castle as a wedding gift.
Is it or was it traditional in your own country for parents to have to give agreement for their
daughter or son to marry? What other wedding traditions do you have? What are typical wedding
gifts?

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Intermediate Level Worksheet

The two pictures show important moments in the story connected to Arthur’s swords. Write a
paragraph saying what has just happened and what is going to happen next for each picture and
explaining the importance of the swords.

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Intermediate Level Worksheet

C After Reading
6 “You shall travel through the world,” said Arthur. “You shall tell of what you saw and what you
heard – the stories of the Knights of the Round Table.” (page 78)
Choose one of the stories of the Knights of the Round Table and write a summary of the story that you
would tell others if you had received this instruction from Arthur. Possible stories include:

- The Sword in the Stone

- Sir Gawain and the Green Knight
- Tristram and Iseult
- Lancelot and the Chapel Perilous
- The Passing of Arthur

7 “It was a time of war in Britain. There was much fighting and killing. There were many small kingdoms
in Britain and each kingdom had its own king. But no king was strong enough to rule all the land.
There was no peace in Britain and people suffered.” (page 9)
War and fighting is still happening in the world today, both within countries and between different
countries. Can you think of any examples? Has your own country suffered from war and fighting? Has
it been divided or united? Do you think war and fighting are necessary or are there better ways to find
solutions to disagreements? Write a paragraph giving your opinion.

8 “When the archbishop put the crown on Arthur’s head, all the people shouted, ‘Long live the King!’”
(page 18)
Does your country have a king/queen now? How about in the past? Do you think it is a good or a bad
thing for a country to be ruled by a king or queen? Write a paragraph giving your opinion.

Macmillan Readers King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table 
This
This page
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completepages. pages.
© Macmillan Publishers Limited 2008.
© Macmillan Publishers Limited 2013. Published by Macmillan Heinemann ELT. Heinemann is a registered trademark of Harcourt Education, used under licence.