Tolkien actually addressed Arthurian legend immediately after that quote I posted: > Of course there was and is all the Arthurian world, but powerful as it is,

Tolkien actually addressed Arthurian legend immediately after that quote I posted: > Of course there was and is all the Arthurian world, but powerful as it is, it is imperfectly naturalized, associated with the soil of Britain but not with English; and does not replace what I felt to be missing. For one thing its 'faerie' is too lavish, and fantastical, incoherent and repetitive. For another and more important thing: it is involved in, and explicitly contains the Christian religion.