This thesis aims to explore the legends about King Arthur and his historical and literary character which changed through time in line with social and political changes that influenced the writers’ imagination. As a result, stories and legends about him differ based on the time in which they originated. The figure of the perfect king has long existed in Arthur. He embodies all the characteristics of a legendary leader: bravery, strength, agility, and stealth. A great number of literary texts (primarily medieval romances) explore his adventures with the Knights of the Round Table. This paper will analyse Thomas Malory’s Le Morte d’Arthur (1469-70) because, if there is one text that stands as a connection to all later Arthurian romances, it is the work of Sir Thomas Malory. Geoffrey Bryce Elliott’s dissertation “The Establishment of Malory’s Le Morte d’Arthur as the Standard Text of English-Language Arthurian Legend,” establishes the supremacy of Malory’s work over other English texts contributing to the legend of King Arthur, calling it an “ur-text of English-language Arthurian legend” (1). Important research has been conducted in an attempt to discover the nature of the real Arthur, as opposed to the one from legends. Two of these works will be very significant for the thesis: Geoffrey Ashe’s “The Origins of the Arthurian Legend” discusses the beginnings of Arthurian legends and first written texts on the subject, and Mark Allen’s “The Image of Arthur and the Idea of King,” which tends to present the person behind the great name, even though it is still unclear whether that person existed. Because of the imaginative representations of King Arthur as an absolute hero, the Arthurian legend remains one of the most interesting narratives, appealing both to audiences and scholars with its timeless allure.