Aubrey Beardsley's illustration for Sir Thomas Malory's The birth, life and acts of King Arthur …, Edinburgh, Turnbull & Speats, 1927, Rare Books collection

Emerging from scattered histories and embellished legends, King Arthur (a real 6th-century leader) and the Knights of his Round Table have reigned over the British imagination for centuries. The 19th century in particular saw a revival of romanticised interest in the medieval past, known as 'neo-medievalism'. One of its most famous expressions is Aubrey Beardsley's edition of Sir Thomas Malory's Le morte d'Arthur (first published by William Caxton in 1485).