Table of Contents

ARGUMENTS INTRODUCTION......1 Chapter I - King Arthur a Vivid Legend..2 Chapter II - King Arthur Before the Romances....5 Chapter III - King Arthur a Real Hero.7 Chapter IV - The real King Arthur..9 Chapter V -King Arthur,death and burial......11 CONCLUSIONS....12 BIBLIOGRAPHY

Argument
A reason for which I have chosen King Arthur between legend and truth is that I am a big fan of this legendary king who has fascinated me from am early age.I first heard of this legend at the age of nine,when I saw the movie,King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Tableand,since then,I have kept it very close to my heart.I like,as well as believe in this old theme,that the good always win over the evil,and from this tale,I also found my determination,my concept of courage,pride,as well as honor. King Arthur was a semi-legendary British king, often representing the ideal of chivalry, both in war and in peace. This legendary king appeared either as a great warrior defending Britain from human and supernatural enemies sometime in the late 5th to early 6th century ,or as a magical figure of folklore. Throughout centuri es stories about King Arthur's popularity has grown beyond the borders of Great Britain. In Europe and America in particular have appeared numerous legends, stories, books and films that enhance the fictional universe of these legends . Solving the mystery about King Arthur is like trying to assemble a huge jigsaw puzzle.Many have tried to complete the picture,but very often the pieces were wrongly arranged and until recently some were missing entirely. This paper work is one of those which come to support the later hypothesis-the existance of King Arthur as a defendant of the poor, a good warrior,and last but not least a great Christian and truth-seeker in search for the Holy Grail. And last but not least,is the irony of the entire story.Every detail that we are certain of originates from France.So really King Arthur,the King of the

B r i t o n s w a s p r o b a b l y a f r en c h i n v en t i o n , a s t h e r e a r e s o m a n y d e t a i l s o f t h e l e g e n d that come from these early French writers.For this purpose I decided to analyse his personality and deeds as they occurred in chronicles,legends,myths and romances.

Introduction
Literature could not have existed whithout great heroes like: Ulysses, Orpheus, Beowulf,as from its very beginning it consisted mainly of myths, legends and heroic poems. It is well known that they all appeared as a result of peoples need to listen to thrilling adventures and thales about courageous heroes and to believe in their power to subdue the forces of nature. The personality of Arthur,both disputed and challenging, continuously stir the interest of many writers and critics who devoted all their knowledge and time in the attempt to reveal the truth about him.The myths about his existence may have a basis as there is possible that the historical King Arthur did indeed exist i n t h e s i x t h c e n t u r y A . D . , b u t i t i s a l s o p o s s i b l e t h a t s u c h a f i gu r e d i d n o t e x i s t . Thus,my work consists of four chapters .The first chapter is a sort of round up of the Arthurian legends and the way they were reflected both in the works of the most important romancers and historians of the Middle Ages . The second chapter as its title King Arthur Before the Romances ,deals with King Arthur as he was depicted in the oral tradition, folklore and old manuscripts and how constituted a starting point for later writings. The third and fourth chapter , come to prove that one of the most disputed warlord in English literature-King Arthur-really existed,the same as other characters belonging to his entourage were proved to have existed.

The

last

part

of

the

paper

contains

conclusions

focused

on

the

demonstration of Arthurs existence as warrior and chieftain descendant from a rulling family of the Kingdom of Gwynedd.

I. King Arthur a vivid legend

Undoubtedly the personality of king Arthur,though enveloped in mistery,has been over the years a chalenge to every researcher both in literature and in the historical domain.From this point of view,King Arthur has always represented a l a n d m a r k . Th u s , f a s c i n a t e d b y t h e g r a n d o u r o f h i s c h a r a c t e r a n d o f h i s d e e d s , t h e t r u t h s e e k e r s t h r o u gh o u t c e n t u r i e s s e t o f f t o e l u c i d a t e t h e m i s t e r y w h i c h s u r r o u n d s his myth. Let us take a look now at the way the legends and stories concerning King A r t h u r e n v o l v e d i n t i m e . T h e l e g e n d s a y s t h a t i n a f a r - o f f t i m e , w h en B r i t a i n w a s devided and without a king ,barbarian hords laid waste the once man who could free the people .But only he,who drew from the stone a magnificent sword could prove himself the rightfull heir .After many years ,a young man succeeded where even the strongest had had failed.The people rejoiced;the king had come and his name was Arthur. After building the impregnable fortress of Camelot and founding an order of valiant warriors,the knights of the Round Table ,the King swore forth to sweep aside the evil wich had beset the land.The liberated peasants quickly took him to their hearts,and Arthur reigned justly over his newly prosperous kingdom,taking for his queen the beautiful Lady Guinevere. Arthurs subjects mounted a quest to descover the Holy Grail ,the fabulous chalice that held the secret cure for all ills. Soon,a rebellion tore the kingdom a p a r t , a n a r m y l e d b y M o d r e d , A r t h u r s t r a i t o r o u s n ep h ew . Y e t , t h e r e w a s o n e possessed by dark forces who lay at the heart of the strife: the mysterious and satanic Morganna. In a final battle,Modred was at last defeated and Morganna

destroyed by Merlin,the court magician .But all did not go well,for Arthur himself was mortally wounded. As he lay dying on the field of battle ,the last request by the mighty king was that Excalibur,the source of all his power,be cast into a s a c r e d l a k e a n d l o s t f o r e v e r t o m o r t a l m a n . Wh e n t h e m a g i c a l s w o r d f e l l t o t h e water ,a sylphid arm rose from the surface,catching it by the hilt and taking it d o w n i n t o t h e c r y s t a l d e p t h s . Wh e n t h e g r e a t k i n g w a s c l o s e t o d e a t h h e w a s spirited away on a barge to the isle of Avalon ,accompanied by three mysterios maidens,each dresser completely in white. Many say that he died and was buried upon the isle,yet there are those who believe that Arthurs soul is not to be found amongst the dead.It is said that he only sleeps and will one day return. Th i s i n e s s e n c e i s t h e t a l e o f King Atrhur and the knights of the Round Table as most people know it.There were many authors that wrote about this legend and also films like Camelot were made after it .With the passing of time King Arthur has been many things to mant people,but in recent years Arthurian myth-making has surpassed any limits.Some of the more extreme notions are mindboggling,from Arthur being an extraterrestrial,to his being the king of Atlantis..One recent theory that actually gained a degree of acceptance claimed t h a t h e w a s t h e f i r s t E u r o p e a n t o d i s c o v e r A m e r i c a . O b s s e s i v e s h a v e s p en t f o r t u n e s trying to track him down.Some even claimed to hev discovered his remains . As we could see the multitude of stories concerning his personality have constituted the starting point for many fascinated authors starting with the Middle Ages and continuing till present.The story of King Arthur we know today was the w o r k o f S i r T h o m a s M a l o r y . H e d i d n o t i n v en t t h e s t o r y , h e s i m p l y c o l l e c t e d together wide variety of existing tales which were popular at the time and retold them. As one the first book to be printed, Malorys established itself as the standard version. Yet from t h e M i d d l e A g e s , t h e e r a o f c h i v a l r y a n d k n i gh t s i n a r m o u r i n which the tales seem to be set ,there are no records of such a king actually ruling either in England or elsewhere .Even if we go back to the Norman Conquest in 1066,we find no Arthur. If we go back still further to the ninth century when Athelstan became the first Saxon king of all England ,again no such monarchs existed. So who was Arthur?How did he become so famous?

According

to

the

welsh

cleric

Geoffrey

of

Monmouth

in

his

1135s

work,Arthur was born at Tintagel Castle in Cornwall as the sun of the British king Uther Pendragon.After becoming king ,Arthur unifies the nation and reigns peacefully twelve years with his queen Ganhumara.Being away in battles with his a r m i e , h e i s f o r c e d t o r e t u r n t o B r i t a i n t o q u e l l a r e v o l t l e d b y h i s n ep h e w M o d r e d unwisely left to rule as regent in his absence.Althoungh he succeeds in crushing the rebellion at the battle of Camlann having his magical sword Caliburn by his side,Arthur in mortally wounded and taken to the isle of Avalon for his wounds to be tended.Geoffrey of Monmouth failes to tell us what than became of king Arthur.The author also wrote two poetic works about Merlin,the guiding influence behind the throne.

II.

King Arthur Before the Romances

After we have taken into account and discussed the works of some romancers from the Middle Ages,it would be interesting to go back in time,more precisely in Arthurs time,to see how the oral tradition and folklore contributed to the development of these romances. We know that over the years much has been made of King Arthurs inclusion in early Welsh literature,many writers having employed it in support of various Arthurian theories.Unfortunately,any examination of Welsh literature in the search for historical accuracy encounters a serious drawback:none of the surviving copies of those works mentioning King Arthur dates from the time before the Arthurian Romances had become firmly established. Nonetheless, maybe this Celtic poetry a n d p r o s e p r o v i d e u s w i t h i n s i gh t i n t o t h e s t a t u s o f t h e A r t h u r i a n l e g e n d s a s t h e y existed when Geoffrey of Monmouth and his immediate successors composed their works.This is precisely why I decided to present the sources which could have b r o u g h t i n s p i r a t i o n t o t h e p r e v i o u s l y m en t i o n e d r o m a n c e r s . T h e o l d e s t s u r v i v i n g m a n u s c r i p t i s t h e s e v e n t h c e n t u r y p o em Y G od d o d i n which contains one of the first references to Arthur and wich tells us of a defeat inflicted on the Britons by the Angles at Yorkshire,and may have a historical b a s i s . T h e s e c o n d m a n u s c r i p t c o n t a i n i n g a W e l s h p o e m w h i c h m en t i o n s A r t h u r i s The Black of Book of the C a r ma r t h e n , c o m p i l e d poems for supplies us details concern around with he only the midthirteenth concerning the with century.Unfortunately historicity nothing

Arthur,but

encounters

demons,monsters and mystical beasts. However,the traditional king and warrior Arthur is also found in The Triads.The battle of Camlann is mentioned as a conflict between Arthur and M o d r e d . O n e o f t h e s t o r i e s i n T h e T r i a d s - T h e Wi c k e d U n c o v e r i n g s h a s A r t h u r blamed for the ultimate defeat of the Britons,being guilty of removing the head of the god Bran that had been buried Londons Tower Hill as a talisman against f o r e i g n i n v a s i o n . W o r s e s t i l l , i n T h e T h r e e R a v a g e s , A r t h u r i s d ep i c t e d a s a c u r s e upon the land itself;where he goes no grass will grow for seven years. From this early Welsh literature two conclusions can be drawn:either Arthur was interpolated into Welsh folklore after he had become a theme of popular

romance,or Geffrey of Monmouth and the romancers drew material from such tales to elaborate their own stories. There is also an archway on the north portal of Modena Cathedral in Northern Italy carved with figures that appear to be from Arthurian scenes.Besides one of the figures is the inscriptionArtus de Bretania.The carving was dated by experts as somewhere between 1120-1140.There is therefore a strong possibility t h a t i t p r e d a t e s G e o f f r e y o f M o n m o u t h . I t i s p o s s i b l y t h e e a r l i e s t m o n u m en t a l sculpture to feature the Arthurian legend.

III. King Arthur a Real Hero

Before lifting the cloak of mystery that has concealed Arthurs true identity we should try to review what we know about him so far. As we have already seen much of Geoffrey of Monmouths Arthurian story cannot be supported by historical evidence,but it is almost certain that he did not invent King Arthur.That is why the aim of this chapter and the subsequent subchapters is to prove that one of the most disputed characters in history,King Arthur really existed and moreover,that he was a great warrior and leader. As far as his birth place and court are concerned there are many versions:The Arthur of popular imagination was born at Tintagel Castle on the N o r t h c o a s t o f C o r n w a l l . T h e e a r l i e s t m en t i o n o f T i n t a g e l i n a s s o c i a t i o n w i t h K i n g Arthur appears in Geoffrey of Monmouths Historia Brittonumwhere Uther Pendragon,the father of Arthur,has desires for Ygerna,wife of Gorlois,the Duke of Cornwall.Aided by a magic potion,prepared for him by Merlin the magician,Uther is transformed for a time into the form of Gorlois and as such he visits the Dukes c a s t l e a t T i n t a g e l a n d s p en d s t h e n i g h t s w i t h h i s w i f e . T h u s A r t h u r i s c o n c e i v e d . O n the death of Gorlois,Uther makes Ygerna his queen and Arthur is born at Tintagel Castle.But in reality the present castle could not have been the birthplace of a warrior who lived centuries before the battle of Hastings(1066).It was only built in the early twelfth century for Reginald,Earl of Cornwall. During the thirteenth century later Romancers began to make much more of Camelot,describing in graphic detail the splendid city and its impregnable c a s t l e . B u t a l t h o u gh t h e y d i f f e r c o n s i d e r a b l y i n t h e i r d e s c r i p t i o n s , t h e y a r e u n i t e d in their failure to specify its whereabauts.According to Thomas Mallory an English w r i t e r , i t w a s s i t e d a t W i n c h e s t e r i n H a m p s h i r e , a n d i n t h e G e a t H a l l o f Wi n c h e s t e r Castle the most famous of all Arthurian relics,the Round Tablestill exists.Unfortunately as with Tintagel the existing castle is not nearly old enough to be of the Arthurian period,having been built late as the eleventh century by William the Conqueror. As far as the Round Table is concerned,it was proved by means of radiocarbon dating that it was made during the reign of Edward III,probably in 1 3 4 4 w h en t h e k i n g c o n c e i v e d t h e n o t i o n o f a n o r d e r o f c h i v a l r y b a s e d o n t h e

knights of the Round Table as depicted in the popular romances, around the edge o f t h e t a b l e a r e t h e n a m e s o f K i n g A r t h u r ' s k n i gh t s . H e n c e t h e r e i s n o l i n k w i t h t h e real Arthur of the sixth century.

There are also other possible places in England which could be Camelot such as Cadbury Castle,an Iron Age hill fort in Somerset associated with King Arthur .This place was for many years proposed as the site of Camelot.The tradition may have arisen as a result of the word Camel being found in the names of the nearby villages:Queen Camel and West Camel.

IV.

The Real King Arthur

Now that we have traced King Arthur back in time and elucidated the mistery of his famous Camelot,let us go on and find out his true identity. Some historical evidence shows us that he lived around late 5th and early 6th c e n t u r i e s . H e w a s a m i l i t a r y l e a d e r w h o f o u gh t t h e h i s t o r i c a l b a t t l e o f M o u n t Badon and stopped a devastating invasion.We start with the battle of Mount B a d o n . Th e r e w e r e n o e y e w i t n e s s a c c o u n t s t h e r e w a s a n y o n e n a m e d A r t h u r a t t h e scene,but there was someone whos story seems to revolve around the defeat of t h e s a x o n s . Th e t a l e i s t o l d i n a b o o k w r i t t e n i n t h e 6 t h c e n t u r y . I t d e s c r i b e s a great leader,which name is Ambrosius Aurelianus,a roman.At least one ancient text credits him with the victory of Mount Badon,but beyond that ,we know nothing about him. Th e r e i s a n o t h e r r o m a n w h o s e m i l i t a r y e x p l o i t s m i gh t h a v e b e e n m i x e d u p with Aurelianuss story.Artorius Castus,latin for Arthur,a Roman military commander from Britain in the second century.But that makes him about four hundred years too young to have been fighting the Saxons.Over the centuries ,some very Arthurlike legends have come to be connected with Artorius.The reason for this is an asosiation with the unit of cavalry soldiers knoun as sarmatians.The sarmatians were also known to worhip the sword stuck in the ground during some religious ritual.Furthermore,sarmatian legends tells about a fearless warrior who had by his side an unstoppable sword.With connections to a magical water ritual ,which sounds a lot like Excalibur.The name,the look,and the sword,all seem to point to king Arthur.But not anyone agrees that Arthur was a roman import.Geoffrey Ashe begun to study Arthur fifty years ago,and after decades of shifting threw evidence he thinks he has a preety good idea of who A r t h u r w a s . H e s a y s t h a t Th o m a s w e n t t o F r a n c e o n a r e s c u e m i s s i o n h e l p i n g t h e romans to fight a barbarian army.King Arthur was traveling abroad as well, and not just anywhere.Like Reo Th o m a s , h e traveled to France.Reo Thomass campaign ultimate ended in defeat,and much the same thing supposedly happened to King Arthur.According to legend,he left Modred to guard Camelot,but Mordred was the sun of the sorceress Morgana.It was the traitorous Mordred who took his

t h r o n e a n d m o r t a l l y w o u n d e d A r t h u r . T h i s e n j u r y f o r c e d h i m t o d ep a r t f o r t h e legendary Avalon.Here is again an intersection between Arthur and Reo Thomas.Shortly after he was betrayed,Thomas desappeared and was last seen in the town of Avalon.Thomass story has a striking resemblance to the Arthurs l e g e n d . T h e o n l y p i e c e i t d o e s n t s e e m t o f i t i s t h e n a m e . R e o Th o m a s i s apparently a title,is what the Irish called the supreme king.But surely the real King Arthur should be a homegrown hero who made his name fighting in England,rather than France. As another clue, a tenth-century manuscript detailing the family trees of important Dark Age chieftains, provides us with the answer. He is one Owain Ddantgwyn the son of a warlord named Enniaun Girt, whom the manuscript lists a s a k i n g o f P o w y s i n t h e l a t e f i f t h c e n t u r y . W h en t h e y f i r s t d i s c o v e r e d t h e n a m e of this king, Graham Phillips and Martin Keatman were disappointed. It seemed that the king who rebuilt and refortified Viroconium, had not been King Arthur after all .Viroconium was the particular place that was considered to be the place of a very important post-Roman chieftain,possibly Arthur. That was until they discovered that the name "Arthur" may not have been a personal name but a battle- name,a title. The language of the Romano-Britons was Brythonic (a cross between Latin and the native Celtic tongue) and it survives almost intact in modern Welsh. Th e r e a s o n b e i n g t h a t m a n y o f t h e B r i t o n s w e r e d r i v e n i n t o Still preserved in Welsh is the word Arth, Wales during the Saxon invasion.

meaning "Bear", and many linguists believe that the name Arthur derived from t h i s w o r d . I f t h i s i s r i gh t t h e n A r t h u r m a y a c t u a l l y h a v e b e e n t h e k i n g s b a t t l e name - The Bear. The name of an animal, in some way typifying the qualities of the individual, was given to many Dark Age kings as an honorary title. There is compelling evidence that Owain Ddantgwyn, the king of Powys around AD 500, h a d i n d e e d b e e n c a l l e d T h e B e a r . Th e i r d i r e c t d e s c e n d a n t w a s t h e S p e n c e r f a m i l y . T h e S p e n c e r s h a s t h e f a m o u s d a u g h t e r P r i n c e s s D i a n a . H e r s u n , Wi l l i a m i s second in line to the British thone,which means that if the bear was the real K i n g A r t h u r , P r i n c e Wi l l i a m w o u l d b e h i s d i r e c t d e s c e n d a n t . T h e i n t e r e s t i n g t h i n g is that his middle name is Arthur.The theories about King Arthurs true identity

a r e n u m e r o u s , a n d e a c h i s c o n v i n c i n g i n i t s o w n r i gh t . T h e t h e o r i e s a r e n o t h i n g more until weve got some proof,and ancient documents can certantly be helpful.

V.King Arthur,de ath and burial

Th e d i s a p p e a r a n c e o r d e a t h o f K i n g A r t h u r i s a v e r y i n t r i g u i n g p a r t o f t h e Arturian legends.In some accounts,King Arthur was taken to the isle of Avalon to b e h e a l e d , a n d w h a t h a p p en e d t o h i m a f t e r r e a c h i n g t h e i s l a n d i s a m i s t e r y . S o m e say he lies in a cave awaiting the day he is needed again by his country;others say he died at Avalon.Apart from the somewhat dubious claim by the monks at Glastonbury to have found King Arthurs grave in the Middle Ages,no real evidence has emerged for an Arthurian grave. Th e e a r l i e s t s o u r c e s s h o w u s d i f f e r e n t a n d m u t u a l l y i n c o m p a t i b l e c o n c e p t s of his death emerged from local Arthurian folk-tales by the 10th century at least.Th e early legends allow for the possibility of King Arthurs returning,and claim that he is sleeping in a magical cave until Britain needs him again.Candidates for this cave are Alderley Edge and King Arthur near the town of Ganarew.Some writers say he was transformed into a raven. Th e c o n c e p t o f K i n g A r t h u r n e v e r h a v i n g d i e d a p p e a r s i n t h e B l o a c k B o o k of Carmarthen of the mid to late 9th century,which may well represent much older t r a d i t i o n s . T h e p o em i s a r e c o r d o f t h e b u r i a l p l a c e s o f a n c i e n t h e r o e s , n a m e d a s belongingto legend and folklore rather than to history.The notion of Arthurs f u t u r e r e t u r n w a s w i d e s p r e a d b y t h e 12 t h c e n t u r y , a n d i t w a s r e c o r d e d i n Breton,Welsh and Cornish folklore. Th e b a l a n c e o f p r o b a b i l i t y i s t h a t K i n g A r t h u r w a s a f o l k l o r e f i g u r e , r a t h e r t h a n a h i s t o r i c f i gu r e . H e w a s p o r t r a y e d a s a P r o t e c t o r o f B r i t a i n w h o w a n d e r s a c r o s s B r i t a i n w i t h h i s b a n d o f c h i v a l r o u s k n i gh t s . I f t h i s i s t h e c o n t e x t t h e n i n his death either Camlann was a genuine historical conflict to which King Arthurs name was attached;or that both the battle and Arthur were folklore contrivings.The evidence that Camlann is a genuine historical conflict is weak.It i s o n l y f i r s t m en t i o n e d a s a h i s t o r i c a l b a t t l e i n a m i d 1 0 t h c e n t u r y d o c u m e n t , o v e r 400 years after it is supposed to have occurred.