"King Arthur: Some literary, archaeological and historical..." Topic

…evidence.

"In 407 AD the Romans withdrew their last regular troops from the British provinces. The independent Romano-Britons had to fight hard against the Pict, Irish and Anglo-Saxon barbarians who were besieging their territory. Former Roman Britain was gradually divided into autonomous ‘principalities' led by warlords. However they tried to keep united their "British kingdom" as they considered their common territory, and mainly to repel the invading Anglo-Saxons who had conquered the Southeast, advancing headlong. It seems that the Britons in order to maintain their unity, elected a military commander (Dux) as a senior politico-military leader, who led the operations against the invaders and took care on preventing infighting. A sequence of inspired Dukes (Voteporix, Vortigern, Ambrosius Aurelianus) led the British resistance. Those who accept Arthur's historicity usually consider him as one of these Dukes (a theory consider him Aurelianus' son).
The Briton literary tradition and the archaeological evidence, mainly the Saxon burials, denote that the Anglo-Saxon invasion was halted on the verge of the 5th-6th centuries AD. Many scholars believe that the military action of the legendary king Arthur was the main ‘factor' for the repulse of the newcomers. However, his historicity is strongly and justifiably disputed. In this series of articles I will deal with some additional literary, archaeological and historical evidence concerning his historicity.

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The literary sources on Arthur

The first literary reference to Arthur appears in the Northern Briton epic "Y Goddodin" ("the Votadini" around AD 600) which recounts an attempt of the Votadini people (Celtic Goddodin) of the modern Scottish Lowlands and their allies, to check the advance of the Angles. Some scholars believe that the mention of Arthur in this epic was added later. The first ‘secure' reference to the legendary commander comes from Nennius in his "History of the Britons" ("Historia Britonnum", end of 8th century). Nennius' work was based mostly on the local Briton tradition. Nennius describes the legendary figure as a warlord who repelled the barbarians around the 5th-6th centuries. This was followed shortly after by another reference of Arthur in the "Annales Cambriae" (9th c.). But the author, who developed most of all Arthur's renowned image as a just and powerful warrior-king, was the Archdeacon of Oxford Geoffrey of Monmouth in his largely mythical "History of the Kings of Britain" ("Historia Regum Britanniae", AD 1133). Geoffrey relied heavily on the two aforementioned works, and possibly on the local oral tradition. In France, the late medieval chronicler Chretien de Troyes holds an analogous contribution to the Arthurian legend. The later writers of the Arthurian epic circle are based on the works of the last two authors (mostly on Geoffrey's work and less on Chretien's) going on to the enrichment of the epic with elements belonging mainly to the Late Middle Ages, such as the Round Table, the quest for the Holy Grail, etc…"
Full article here
link

Amicalement
Armand

Regurgitate, seems to be the order of the day for Arthurian wishful thinkers….

Excellent link Armand.
Thanks very much!

Willie

Regurgitation has given us the amazing tale that is Arthurian Legend. Why not just enjoy it as a tale. Many cultures embrace their tales and legends, here in the West we dissect them for kernel of truth and dismiss the rest.

Happy you enjoyed it my friend Willie!. (smile)

Amicalement
Armand

Is King Arthur out of fashion? I would have thought there would be more debate!

I think most of the problem is that Arthur is a semi-legendary figure. The researchers tend to look in several different periods for him. Sometimes seemingly too late and others a little too early. I suspect that the legend originated from Artorius Castus. We have his grave stone (technically the lid to his sarcophagus) which details his exploits including his post in Britania at the head of 1000 (if memory serves) Sarmatian Cavalry. He even may have lead an expedition to Gaul. Dead about the mid 3rd century.

If you search for one named King Arthur, likely you will never find him…at least not the one you seek. If you take him as a legendary folk hero, legends are usually born in fact. You might have better luck finding what you seek.

Part II

"According to legend, when King Arthur needed a new sword, the Lady of the Lake emerged from the water and handed him the sword Excalibur. The sword's name probably derives from the Roman ‘Caliburnus' meaning ‘steel' and indicates the material of the blade. Excalibur's episode is likely rooted in the known Celtic ritual of dropping the swords of mighty warriors who died, in lakes or rivers to symbolize their passage to the netherworld. Archaeologists have found countless ancient swords at the bottom of lakes and rivers of Britain and other Celtic lands. However, the Sarmatians had also similar traditions. The Sarmatians and the Iranian nomads generally attributed (as the Celts did) "magical properties" in their swords surrounding them with respect, a custom which survived in the tradition of Medieval European Chivalry. Here, the Celtic tradition correlates with the Sarmatian tradition.
Chretien de Troyes quotes that Arthur lived in the strong fortress of Camelot, from where he controlled his territory living a rather luxurious life. Some scholars believe that Camelot was the Roman Camulodunum (modern Colchester) because this toponym is analyzed as ‘Camelot-dun'. The Celtic word dun means the fortress, e.g. Lund-dun i.e. modern London, Lug-dun modern Lyon (Roman Lugdunum) etc. However, perhaps there were some other Briton towns also named Camelot/Camulon (Camulum). The hypothetical Camelot of the 5th-6th centuries would have been a wooden fort on a hilltop, according to the British Celtic stereotype. In 1542, John Lelant, a researcher and collector of archaeological finds, observed in modern Somerset, the existence of the River Cam and two villages known as West Camel and Queen Camel. The three toponyms are originated from the same verbal root ‘Cam' as "Camelot." In a distance of 7 km from the Camel villages, Lelant observed the Cadbury hill. In the 16th century, the hill was found surrounded by four rows of defensive ramparts and moats. These were the fortifications of a fortress of impressive size. Lelant thought that he spotted the legendary Camelot at Cadbury hill, but he had no archaeological evidence to prove it. In the 1950s, British archaeologists began excavations at Cadbury hill and confirmed the existence of a large fortress of the Dark Ages. At its southwestern part, they discovered the foundations of the main gate and confirmed the existence of a wooden wall with a very long perimeter. The inner rampart was made of wood and stones, a style unique to Britain, found only in Cadbury. The fortress was dated to the 4th-5th centuries, from the utensils and other items found inside. This is probably the biggest British fort of this age, with a probable area of 7-8,000 square meters. Although only a part of its area is excavated, it is obvious that it was the seat of a powerful commander of the 4th-5th centuries…"
From here
link

Amicalement
Armand