The Legend of King Arthur in History Erin Pevan in Collaboration with Dr
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The Legend of King Arthur in History Erin Pevan In collaboration with Dr. Matthew Waters Department of History University of Wisconsin – Eau Claire The Legend of King Arthur The fanciful tales of the adventures of King Arthur provide manywith a romanticized vision of the M iddle Ages. In popular legend, King Arthur embodies the ideal of medieval chivalry and the quest for justice. The most popular of the stories included his acquisition of power from his father Uther Pendragon (the Sword in the Stone), Arthur’s marriage to Guinevere, the quest for the Holy Grail, the adventures of Sir Tristram (or Tristan), the life and madness of Sir Launcelot (or Lancelot), the adulterous affair between Guinevere and Launcelot, the birth and strife of M ordred, and the death of Arthur and his journey to Avalon. The life of the real historical Arthur, if such existed, resembled very little of the life of the legendary hero. The real Arthur most likely came from a time in the later fifth century, when Britain suffered invasions from Saxons, Scots, and Picts after the departure of the Roman forces in 410 C.E. In this world, no Round Table or romantic intrigues existed; Arthur’s world saw much hardship, blood, tyranny, and death. The real Arthur existed as a figure far removed from the chivalrous king of M alory’s story, and he led a life protecting the people of Britain from invasion. The Sources: Literary and Historical Literary: Fictional tales containing information on King Arthur Le M orte d’Arthur by Sir Thomas M alory (c. 1450 - 1470) The M abinogion Author unknown (11th century) HistoriaRegum Britanniae (The H istory of the Kings of Britain)by Geoffrey of M onmouth (c. 1136 - 1138) Historical: M edieval documents containing information of historical figures and events that resemble the stories of King Arthur Easter Annals: confirmed author unknown, but often attributed to Victorius of Aquitaine (late 5th century) De Excidio et Conquestu Britanniae (Concerning the Ruin and Complaint of Britain)by Gildas (c. 530- 540) Letter to Riothamus, King of the Britons [Brittones] bySidonius Apollinaris (c. 470) HistoriaEcclesiasticaGentis Anglorum (The Ecclesiastical History of the English People) by Bede (c. 731) HistoriaBritonum (H istory of the Britons)by Nennius (c. 800) King Arthur, Charles Ernest Butler Annales Cambriae (Welsh Annals) Author unknown (c. 950 - 970) The Court of King Arthur, artist unknown The Three Candidates for the Historical Arthur Riothamus Ambrosius Aurelianus Lucius Artorius Castus Riothamus lived in the early fifth century as a warlord, and possibly a king, fighting throughout Ambrosius Aurelianus remains a favorite of scholars as the historical King Difficulty develops in trying to establish Lucius Artorius Castus as the historical King Britain, Ireland, and the area of modern-day France. His ethnicity remains unknown, but Arthur. The historical sources researched spoke of Ambrosius directly, and Arthur. The reasons for this difficulty have derived from a variety of sources, including scholars believe Riothamus lived as a king of Britain, Ireland, Brittany, or of a British colony stated his name in situations specifically associated with the historical King the name, time period, and ethnicity of Lucius Artorius Castus. The historical Lucius called Armorica (modern day France). While although relatively little has been discovered about Arthur. The works of Gildas and Bede mentioned an Ambrosius Aurelianus, Artorius Castus lived in the second century, long before the accepted period ofthe the life of this man, many important parallels between Riothamus and Arthur have been assessed seemingly of Roman descent, who was the leader of the Britons following the historical King Arthur in the late fifth – sixth centuries. Few events occurred in the that suggest Riothamus could have been the legendary King Arthur. According to Geoffrey of retreat of the Saxon forces between the years of 490 and 516. Geoffrey of second century that could be parallels for the events in the literary tradition. Lucius M onmouth, Arthur traveled to the region of Gaul twice, in order to assist a Roman emperor with a M onmouth also connected Ambrosius directly to Arthur, although Ambrosius was almost certainly Roman, and much evidence from the early sources suggested that civil war caused by the emperor’s own generals. Scholars theorize Riothamus went to Gaul in 468, became the uncle of Arthur rather than Arthur himself. Little else is known Arthur was probably Welsh, or in the least, a Briton. Lucius may have been half- in order to subdue a civil war on behalf of the Roman Emperor Leo I. They also assert that about Ambrosius other than his name, his possible Roman heritage, and that he Roman, the product of a Roman-Briton union, but the evidence for this is scarce. Riothamus continued his Gallic campaigns into an area, though not specifically named, that may have led campaigns against the Saxons, much like Arthur did in the work Some scholars assert that Artorius is a Latinized version of the Welsh name Arthyr, closely resembled the setting for the adventures of Sir Launcelot in M alory’s work. Sidonius of Geoffrey of M onmouth. Despite the frequency of his name and the given to Lucius to indicate his British heritage while keeping the name itself Roman. Apollinaris spoke of the decline of the Gaulishterritories, and appealed to Riothamus to end the ambiguous connections between the person and his actions, little other Despite these problems, small parallels provide some evidence for the case of Lucius as terrible acts of the Bretons. This short letter speaks volumes in that it places Riothamus, the evidence exists which can concretely connect Ambrosius Aurelianus to King Arthur. The Lucius Artorius Castus of the second century may not have been Arthur, “King of the Brittones”, in Gaul in 470. The Gallic campaigns of Arthur, according to Geoffrey of Arthur. but a descendant of the same name could have been. Both Lucius and Arthur were M onmouth, occurred within the same time period. Arthur’s betrayer bore the name given the title dux bellorum, the latter given this name in Nennius. Also, just as Arthur “M orvandus”, rather than the traditional M ordred, while Arvandus became the nemesis of defended his people from the invasions of the Saxons and from the rebellion of Riothamus when Riothamus traveled to Gaul in the late fifth century to help Rome put down the dissidents such as M ordred, so too did Lucius defend the British territories from rebellion of its Gaulishsubjects and their allies, the Visigoths. Lastly, Arthur journeyed to Avalon invasions of the Picts and Scots, and maintained peace for the British subjects of whilst mortally wounded from his last battle. Riothamus, fatally wounded from the Battle of Rome. While the evidence presented provides ample reasons to connect Lucius Burgundy in 470, was last recorded as escaping to friendly territory near a town called Avallon. Artorius Castus with King Arthur, most of this evidence remains highly circumstantial The comparisons between Riothamus and Arthur provide the most evidence from which one at best. Little historical evidence of the life of Lucius Artorius Castus exists, and could conclude that Riothamus served as the model for the legendary King Arthur. While they do therefore we have little upon which to connect him to King Arthur. not specifically produce this conclusion in and of themselves, the similarities do provide the proper context in which to connect Riothamus to the Arthur of literary tradition. Arthur in the M ovies Works Consulted & For Excalibur (1981): film adaptation of Le M orte d’Arthur The Lady of Shalott, 1888 by John W illiam W aterhouse First Knight (1995): modern version of the classic love story Further Information M onty Python and the Holy Grail (1975): hilarious version of the adventures of King •Le M orte d’Arthur by Sir Thomas M alory Arthur & his Knights •Arthur King of Britain: History, Chronicle, Romance, & Criticism by King Arthur (2004) : film that deviates from the literary tradition and focuses upon Richard L. Brengle Acknowledgements and Special Thanks to: •The Discovery of King Arthur & The Quest for Arthur’s Britain by the story of the historical King Arthur, combining the stories of several Arthurian Dr. M atthew Waters – Department of History & Department of Foreign Languages historical candidates Dr. Thomas M iller – Department of History Geoffrey Ashe Office of Research and Sponsored Programs •Pendragon: The Definitive Account of the Origins of Arthur by Steve Faculty/Student Research Collaboration Blake & Scott Lloyd •King Arthur by Norma Lorre Goodrich Funding Provided By: Differential Tuition Office of Research and Sponsored Programs Faculty/Student Research Collaboration.