By Emma Laws, Cathedral Librarian
This week, visitors to Exeter Cathedral have been enjoying the spectacular Luxmuralis show, ‘The Storytellers’ – an immersive sound and light journey through stories, legends and myths. The last day to see the show is Saturday 10 January, with new earlier time slots recently made available due to popular demand. Click here to find out more book your tickets.
Stories are part of our collective imagination – memories passed down from generation to generation, shaping our understanding of the past and the present. Libraries, of course, are full of stories and storytellers.
This illustration by the Irish literary painter, Daniel Maclise (1806-1870), appears in the Cathedral Library’s 1864 edition of the collected works of poet laureate, Alfred Lord Tennyson. It depicts Sir Bedivere, the last remaining Knight of the Round Table, returning the sword, Excalibur, to the Lady of the Lake. King Arthur is close to death and, fearing his sword may get into the wrong hands, instructs Sir Bedivere to return the sword. At first, Sir Bedivere is dazzled by the beauty and power of the sword and twice decides to hide the sword rather than fling it into the lake. However, King Arthur senses that Sir Bedivere is lying and threatens to kill him if he fails to carry out his request a third time.
Tennyson’s poem, ‘Morte d’Arthur’, was published in 1842 and was the first of Tennyson’s poems to reimagine Sir Thomas Malory’s Le Morte d’Arthur, printed by William Caxton in 1485. Tennyson went on to publish Idylls of the King, a cycle of twelve poems that tell the story of King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table. Evidently, Arthurian legends were popular in the 19th century with King Arthur embodying Victorian ideals of manhood and courtly love. However, Tennyson ultimately shows the fragility and futility of these ideals – following the death of Arthur, Camelot falls into ruin, a reminder of the transience of earthly power.
To discover more stories in the Cathedral Library, come along to our free In Focus display of Stories and Storytellers on Thursday 15th January 2026 between 1pm and 3pm. This is a free drop-in session; no booking is required. We look forward to seeing you.