The Discovery of King Arthur PDF
Preview The Discovery of King Arthur
D thc ISCOVCRYOF ] ^ N Q ^ RTHUR Qeoffrey Ashe in Aaeociation with Dcbrctt’e peerage From the great medieval romances to the works of T. H. White and Mary Stewart, King Arthur has inspired more works of fiction than almost any other legend. But what about the real King Arthur.7 In this exciting historical detective story, the distinguished historian Geoffrey Ashe cuts through the myths and proves Arthur not only existed, hut was more like the Arthur of legend than historians ever suspected. Ashe first traces the myth of King Arthur to its roots in the twelfth-century writings of Geoffrey of Monmouth and shows how much of Geoffrey’s fifth- century history was based on fact. Then, by challenging scholars’ previous assump tions about where Arthur could he found, Ashe identifies the real King Arthur, and shows how his theory fits several strands of evidence. Finally, Ashe describes the growth of the Arthur myth, a myth which even in the twentieth century still holds us firmly in its spell. Main Selection of The History Book Club TH6 DISCOVeRYOf K1NQ ARTHUR Qeoffrey Ashe in Association with Debrett’s peerage Çy/ *\/A'' K W THe àl DISCOVCRY ifc « .Ä ) ÍÉÉ MT« Of ip, iw m >r K1NÇ ARTHUR Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data Ashe, Geoffrey. The discovery of King Arthur. Bibliography: p. 211 Includes index. 1. Arthur, King. 2. Geoffrey, of Monmouth, Bishop of St. Asaph, 1100P-1154. Historia Britonum. 3. Arthurian romances. 4. Great Britain—Kings and rulers—Biography. I. Title. DA152.5.A7A793 1985 942.01*4 [B] 83-45168 ISBN 0-385-19032-8 Designed by Virginia M. Soulé Anchor Press Edition 1985 Copyright © 1985 text by Geoffrey Ashe Copyright © 1985 illustrations and captions by Debrett’s Peerage Ltd. All Rights Reserved Printed in the United States of America Content# Introduction ix PART I A LEGEND AND ITS ROOTS 1 The Kingmaker 3 As a British monarch with a supposedly authentic career, Arthur is the creation of one man, Geoffrey of Monmouth. Writing in the twelfth century, Geoffrey portrays him as a great warrior and ruler, reigning in the period after Britain’s severance from the Roman Empire. How was Geoffrey’s narrative meant to be taken? Did Geoffrey’s readers, and the romancers who followed him, regard it as truth or fiction? And what is special about King Arthur? Does his legend look like a medieval invention, or does it seem to belong in the age when he is said to have lived? 2 The Unextincuished Light 19 The later Roman Empire, plagued by barbarian incursions and civil strife, cherished a dream of a World-Restorer—a Restitutor Orbis. He was pictured as an Emperor who would turn back the destructive forces and renovate Roman civilization, with some sort of divine aid. The hope could persist because it had been fulfilled, to a certain extent, by a series of able emperors. Even amid disasters after their impact waned, the Roman ideal stayed powerful, and a Restitutor was still a thinkable figure. One result of the disasters was that Britain, alone among Roman lands, attained independence. Arthur’s legend is fundamentally the legend of a Restitutor in Britain. vi Contents 3 Arthur’s Context 40 The fifth-century “history ” which Geoffrey presents is founded on fact. Saxons were allowed to settle in Britain as auxiliary troops, and got out of hand. After a phase of ruin the violence ebbed and the Britons partially recovered, even having a share in the politics of the Continent. PART II ARTHUR 4 The Old Welsh Trail 63 Geoffrey of Monmouth makes statements about his sources which are partly helpful, partly baffling. He can be shown to have used an older Welsh “history” which gives a list of Arthur’s battles. There are also other early Welsh references. Using these, and the results of archaeology, scholars have tried to reconstruct a “historical Arthur." 5 New Discoveries 86 By challenging an assumption which scholars have made, the original Arthur can be identified. Several different kinds of evidence converge upon the same conclusion. 6 The Wellsprings of Romance 112 Arthur, as identified, fits in with the Welsh matter and with archaeological findings. The battles and the legend-making can now be better understood. PART III THE UNFOLDING MYTH 7 Saints, Bards, Heroes 129 The “Arthur” phase in Britain led to a long survival of small kingdoms where the Britons’ Welsh and Cornish descendants carried on. Among these an Arthurian saga took shape over the centuries, drawing on the traditions of bards and churchmen, and a medley of Celtic mythology.
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