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King Arthur

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  1. Introduction
  2.  
  3. Perhaps no medieval monarch, historical or legendary, has had as wide and lasting an impact as King Arthur. From the bardic poetry of early medieval Wales to the epic blank verse of Tennyson, from the royal pedigrees of the Plantagenets and the Tudors to the modern myth of John F. Kennedy’s Camelot, and most recently films and Internet sites almost too numerous to count, the Arthurian myth has proved both enduring and adaptable. Does the myth rest, however, on a historical foundation? Was there a historical king or warrior named Arthur whose martial deeds served as the basis for the legend?
  4.  
  5. General Overviews
  6.  
  7. Most who believe in the historicity of Arthur would place him in Britain in the years immediately following the fall of Rome; that is, the late 5th and 6th centuries CE. Due to the scarcity of historical texts from this period, the Arthurian “problem” is by necessity an interdisciplinary one. Linguistics, paleography, literary-source criticism, and archaeology have been employed to help solve this historical problem. This interdisciplinarity is reflected in the general overviews on Arthur and post-Roman Britain (e.g., Halsall 2013). Chambers 1967, one of the earliest, is particularly good on the written sources; White 1998 provides something of an update but includes only English translations of the Arthurian texts. Beginning in the late 1960s, archaeology began to be seen as more relevant to the issue of Arthur’s identity, and both Alcock 1970 and Ashe 1968 reflect this. Snyder 2000 and Lupack 2005 have an even broader scope. For general historical overviews of the period, without an Arthurian focus, see Dark 1993 and Snyder 1998.
  8.  
  9. Alcock, Leslie. Arthur’s Britain: History and Archaeology, AD 367–634. London: Penguin, 1970.
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  11. Director of the excavations at South Cadbury and Dinas Powys, author surveys both the archaeological and written evidence to produce a model for a historical Arthur and British society in the late 5th and 6th centuries.
  12. Alcock, Leslie. Arthur’s Britain: History and Archaeology, AD 367–634. London: Penguin, 1970.
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  14. Ashe, Geoffrey, ed. The Quest for Arthur’s Britain. London: Paladin, 1968.
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  16. In addition to the author’s introductory and concluding essays, features chapters written by such archaeologists as Ralegh Radford (on Tintagel and Glastonbury Abbey), Philip Rahtz (on Glastonbury Tor), and Leslie Alcock (on Dinas Powys and South Cadbury).
  17. Ashe, Geoffrey, ed. The Quest for Arthur’s Britain. London: Paladin, 1968.
  18. Find this resource:
  19. Chambers, E. K. Arthur of Britain. New York: October House, 1967.
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  21. Sound textual criticism of the earliest written sources to mention Arthur. Includes the Latin of such texts (excerpted) as the Gallic Chronicles, Gildas, Bede, Nennius, the Annales Cambriae, the Life of St Goeznovius, William of Malmesbury, Henry of Huntingdon, and Geoffrey of Monmouth. First published in 1927.
  22. Chambers, E. K. Arthur of Britain. New York: October House, 1967.
  23. Find this resource:
  24. Dark, K. R. Civitas to Kingdom: British Political Continuity, 300–800. Leicester, UK: Leicester University Press, 1993.
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  26. Good survey of the textual and archaeological evidence. Argues for continuity of native Brittonic political institutions into the post-Roman period.
  27. Dark, K. R. Civitas to Kingdom: British Political Continuity, 300–800. Leicester, UK: Leicester University Press, 1993.
  28. Find this resource:
  29. Halsall, Guy. Worlds of Arthur: Facts & Fictions of the Dark Ages. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2013.
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  31. Discussion of the historical Arthur debate, and an alternative view of the Saxon advent, written by an Arthurian agnostic—if not skeptic—and expert on early medieval politics and warfare.
  32. Halsall, Guy. Worlds of Arthur: Facts & Fictions of the Dark Ages. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2013.
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  34. Jones, Michael E. The End of Roman Britain. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 1996.
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  36. Argues for failed Romanization in Britain and environmental factors influencing population change in the 5th and 6th centuries.
  37. Jones, Michael E. The End of Roman Britain. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 1996.
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  39. Lupack, Alan. The Oxford Guide to Arthurian Literature and Legend. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2005.
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  41. Solid and comprehensive, both a readable narrative and useful reference work.
  42. Lupack, Alan. The Oxford Guide to Arthurian Literature and Legend. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2005.
  43. Find this resource:
  44. Snyder, Christopher A. An Age of Tyrants: Britain and the Britons, AD 400–600. University Park: Pennsylvania State University Press, 1998.
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  46. Two-part study of the sociopolitical terminology used by Patrick and Gildas and comprehensive survey of the archaeology of the Britons c. 400–600.
  47. Snyder, Christopher A. An Age of Tyrants: Britain and the Britons, AD 400–600. University Park: Pennsylvania State University Press, 1998.
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  49. Snyder, Christopher A. The World of King Arthur. New York: Thames and Hudson, 2000.
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  51. Broad general discussion of the historical and archaeological background, the historical texts and medieval romances, the use of Arthurian propaganda by British dynasts, historical Arthur theories, and such modern Arthuriana as novels, movies, and websites. Heavily illustrated, with gazetteer of Arthurian sites. Published in the United Kingdom under the title Exploring the World of King Arthur.
  52. Snyder, Christopher A. The World of King Arthur. New York: Thames and Hudson, 2000.
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  54. White, Richard. King Arthur in Legend and History. London: Routledge, 1998.
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  56. Maps and brief introductions accompany this nearly comprehensive collection of Arthurian texts (in translation) from the 6th to the 16th centuries.
  57. White, Richard. King Arthur in Legend and History. London: Routledge, 1998.
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  59. Reference Works
  60.  
  61. The major international scholarly journal for Arthurian studies is the quarterly Arthuriana. The International Arthurian Society publishes an annual bibliography, organized by geographic region, while publisher D. S. Brewer’s bibliographic series (Pickford, et al. 1970–2002) is now supplemented by Nastali and Boardman 2004. More-specialized bibliographies (e.g., Arthurian films) are published online by Arthuriana and the Camelot Project. Still the most useful general reference works in Arthurian studies are Lacy 1991 and Lacy, et al. 1997.
  62.  
  63. Arthuriana. 1994–.
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  65. Scholarly journal of the International Arthurian Society (North American Branch), the successor both of Arthurian Interpretations (1968–1993) and Quondam et futurus (1979–1990). Edited by D. Armstrong.
  66. Arthuriana. 1994–.
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  68. Arthuriana/Camelot Project Bibliographies.
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  70. Online bibliographies on the historical Arthur, Gaelic Arthurian literature, Arthurian films, Arthurian music, and other Arthurian subfields.
  71. Arthuriana/Camelot Project Bibliographies.
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  73. Bibliographic Bulletin of the International Arthurian Society / Bulletin Bibliographique de la Société Internationale Arthurienne. 1949–.
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  75. Comprehensive on the literary side, but will not include all historical and archaeological studies of the period.
  76. Bibliographic Bulletin of the International Arthurian Society / Bulletin Bibliographique de la Société Internationale Arthurienne. 1949–.
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  78. Lacy, Norris J., ed. The New Arthurian Encyclopedia. 3d ed. Garland Reference Library of the Humanities 931. New York: Garland, 1991.
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  80. Scholarly encyclopedia covering folklore, history, literature, music, film, and most aspects of Arthurian studies.
  81. Lacy, Norris J., ed. The New Arthurian Encyclopedia. 3d ed. Garland Reference Library of the Humanities 931. New York: Garland, 1991.
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  83. Lacy, Norris J., ed. A Concise History of Arthurian Scholarship. Woodbridge, UK: Boydell & Brewer, 2006.
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  85. Bibliographic essays devoted to most of the Arthurian subfields, including the historical origins.
  86. Lacy, Norris J., ed. A Concise History of Arthurian Scholarship. Woodbridge, UK: Boydell & Brewer, 2006.
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  88. Lacy, Norris J., and Geoffrey Ashe, with Debra N. Mancoff. The Arthurian Handbook. 2d ed. New York: Garland, 1997.
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  90. Good introductory essays covering the historical background (Ashe), Arthurian literature in all its guises (Lacy), and Arthurian art (Mancoff).
  91. Lacy, Norris J., and Geoffrey Ashe, with Debra N. Mancoff. The Arthurian Handbook. 2d ed. New York: Garland, 1997.
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  93. Nastali, Daniel P., and Phillip C. Boardman. The Arthurian Annals: The Tradition in English from 1250 to 2000. 2 vols. New York: Oxford University Press, 2004.
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  95. Extensive bibliography both of Arthurian literature and scholarship.
  96. Nastali, Daniel P., and Phillip C. Boardman. The Arthurian Annals: The Tradition in English from 1250 to 2000. 2 vols. New York: Oxford University Press, 2004.
  97. Find this resource:
  98. Pickford, Cedric E., Rex Last, and Christine R. Barker, eds. Arthurian Bibliography I–IV. Arthurian Studies. Woodbridge, UK: D. S. Brewer, 1970–2002.
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  100. Organized by author list and subject index, covering three periods: beginnings to 1978 (Vols. 1 and 2), 1978–1992 (Vol. 3), and 1993–1998 (Vol. 4).
  101. Pickford, Cedric E., Rex Last, and Christine R. Barker, eds. Arthurian Bibliography I–IV. Arthurian Studies. Woodbridge, UK: D. S. Brewer, 1970–2002.
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  103. Primary Sources
  104.  
  105. Primary-source evidence for Arthur, or at least for the period in which he is thought to have lived, exists in Latin texts, Latin texts produced in a Welsh context (sometimes called Cambro-Latin), and in Welsh poetry and prose romances. All the relevant written sources have been published in modern editions, either alone or in collections, and most have also been translated. John Morris and Phillimore launched a scheme to publish new scholarly editions of all the Arthurian sources, but of the eight volumes only three were published in full, critical editions.
  106.  
  107. Collections
  108.  
  109. The Celtic Arthurian sources have been collected in Koch 1995, while White 1998 has the relevant Latin, French, and English material. For the Roman and Celtic background, see, respectively, Ireland 1996 and Koch 1995. The corpus of inscribed stones from the Celtic West has now been published online (CISP: The Celtic Inscribed Stones Project).
  110.  
  111. CISP: The Celtic Inscribed Stones Project.
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  113. Online database from the Institute of Archaeology at University College, London, includes every non-runic inscription raised on a stone monument within Celtic-speaking areas (Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Dumnonia, Brittany, and the Isle of Man) in the early Middle Ages (400–1000 CE). Includes photos and discussion of over 1,200 inscriptions.
  114. CISP: The Celtic Inscribed Stones Project.
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  116. Ireland, Stanley. Roman Britain: A Sourcebook. 2d ed. London: Routledge, 1996.
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  118. Comprehensive collection of excerpts from the written sources relating to Roman Britain from Caesar to Gildas. Also includes a selection of stone and coin inscriptions.
  119. Ireland, Stanley. Roman Britain: A Sourcebook. 2d ed. London: Routledge, 1996.
  120. Find this resource:
  121. Koch, John T., ed. The Celtic Heroic Age: Literary Sources for Ancient Celtic Europe and Early Ireland and Wales. 2d ed. Translated by John Carey. Celtic Studies Publication Series. Malden, MA: Celtic Studies, 1995.
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  123. Collection of text excerpts relating to the Continental Celts as well as Britain and Ireland from the 5th century BCE to the early Middle Ages.
  124. Koch, John T., ed. The Celtic Heroic Age: Literary Sources for Ancient Celtic Europe and Early Ireland and Wales. 2d ed. Translated by John Carey. Celtic Studies Publication Series. Malden, MA: Celtic Studies, 1995.
  125. Find this resource:
  126. White, Richard. King Arthur in Legend and History. London: Routledge, 1998.
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  128. Contains all the written sources relating directly to Arthur, in English translations and with brief introductory comments.
  129. White, Richard. King Arthur in Legend and History. London: Routledge, 1998.
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  131. Latin Texts
  132.  
  133. Although neither Patrick nor Gildas mentions Arthur, these are the two most crucial witnesses to events in Britain in the late 5th and 6th centuries. Gildas 1978 and Hood 1978 contain the Latin texts, English translations, and some annotation. More-extensive discussion of Patrick’s writings and the manuscript tradition can be found in Freeman 2008. Wright 1985 is a scholarly edition of Geoffrey of Montmouth’s History of the Kings of Britain, which contains parts of Gildas’s and Nennius’s accounts of the British-Saxon wars along with much that is fanciful.
  134.  
  135. Freeman, Philip. A Transcription of the Latin Writings of St. Patrick from Seven Medieval Manuscripts (Dublin, Paris, London, Rouen, Arras, Salisbury). Lewiston, NY: Edwin Mellen, 2008.
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  137. Transcriptions of the earliest extant manuscripts of Patrick’s writings, with extensive introductions and notes.
  138. Freeman, Philip. A Transcription of the Latin Writings of St. Patrick from Seven Medieval Manuscripts (Dublin, Paris, London, Rouen, Arras, Salisbury). Lewiston, NY: Edwin Mellen, 2008.
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  140. Gildas. “The Ruin of Britain” and Other Works. Edited and translated by Michael Winterbottom. London: Phillimore, 1978.
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  142. Scholarly Latin edition and English translation of Gildas’s De excidio Britanniae, De poenitentia, and Fragmenta. Controversial and complex, Gildas’s De excidio is still our best written source for Britain in the 5th and early 6th centuries. Mentions the Battle of Badon Hill but not Arthur.
  143. Gildas. “The Ruin of Britain” and Other Works. Edited and translated by Michael Winterbottom. London: Phillimore, 1978.
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  145. Hood, A. B. E., ed. St. Patrick: His Writings and Muirchu’s “Life.” Translated by A. B. E. Hood. Arthurian Period Sources 9. London: Phillimore, 1978.
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  147. Though he does not mention Arthur either in his Confessio or his Epistola, St. Patrick was a fellow Briton and perhaps a contemporary.
  148. Hood, A. B. E., ed. St. Patrick: His Writings and Muirchu’s “Life.” Translated by A. B. E. Hood. Arthurian Period Sources 9. London: Phillimore, 1978.
  149. Find this resource:
  150. Wright, Neil, ed. The “Historia regum Britannie” of Geoffrey of Monmouth I: Bern, Burgerbibliothek, Ms. 568. Woodbridge, UK: Boydell & Brewer, 1985.
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  152. Best scholarly edition of the key Arthurian text (published c. 1138) in establishing Arthur’s international reputation.
  153. Wright, Neil, ed. The “Historia regum Britannie” of Geoffrey of Monmouth I: Bern, Burgerbibliothek, Ms. 568. Woodbridge, UK: Boydell & Brewer, 1985.
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  155. Cambro-Latin Texts
  156.  
  157. Although its attribution to the Welsh monk Nennius has been disputed by some scholars, few would argue that The History of the Britons is not the most important link in establishing Arthur’s historicity. Morris’s translation (Morris 1980) is accessible and also includes an edition and translation of the Welsh Annals. A very different version of Arthur appears in the Welsh saints’ Lives, here in the translation of Doble (Evans 1971). Gerald of Wales’s two accounts of the discovery of Arthur’s grave at Glastonbury have been translated by Lewis Thorpe (Gerald of Wales 1978).
  158.  
  159. Evans, D. Simon, ed. Lives of the Welsh Saints. Translated by Gilbert H. Doble. Cardiff: University of Wales Press, 1971.
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  161. The standard translation of the text.
  162. Evans, D. Simon, ed. Lives of the Welsh Saints. Translated by Gilbert H. Doble. Cardiff: University of Wales Press, 1971.
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  164. Gerald of Wales. The Journey through Wales; and, The Description of Wales. Translated by Lewis Thorpe. London: Penguin, 1978.
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  166. Giraldus Cambrensis, or Gerald of Wales, published two accounts of the excavation of Arthur’s grave at Glastonbury in 1191, in De principis instructione and in Speculum ecclesiae. Relevant passages are included here.
  167. Gerald of Wales. The Journey through Wales; and, The Description of Wales. Translated by Lewis Thorpe. London: Penguin, 1978.
  168. Find this resource:
  169. Morris, John, ed. Nennius’ “History of the Britons” and the “Welsh Annals.” Translated by John Morris. London: Phillimore, 1980.
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  171. Latin edition with English translation of the Historia Brittonum (c. 831) and the Annales Cambriae (10th century), the earliest texts to describe the deeds of Arthur.
  172. Morris, John, ed. Nennius’ “History of the Britons” and the “Welsh Annals.” Translated by John Morris. London: Phillimore, 1980.
  173. Find this resource:
  174. Welsh Texts
  175.  
  176. The first appearance of Arthur in a written work may be in the poem Y Gododdin, attributed to the British bard Aneirin (late 6th century). A. O. H. Jarman’s edition (Aneirin 1988), from the 13th-century Book of Aneirin, is good but not easy to find. The Welsh Triads include more than two dozen references to Arthur, translated by the author of Bromwich 1978, an advocate for a historical Arthur. Dating to around the same time (11th century) is Culhwch and Olwen, available in scholarly editions of Bromwich and Evans 1992 and Ford 1977.
  177.  
  178. Aneirin. Y Gododdin: Britain’s Oldest Heroic Poem. Edited and translated by A. O. H. Jarman. Welsh Classics. Llandysul, UK: Gomer, 1988.
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  180. Facing Welsh and English versions of the controversial poem that may contain the earliest references both to Arthur and Merlin (Myrddin).
  181. Aneirin. Y Gododdin: Britain’s Oldest Heroic Poem. Edited and translated by A. O. H. Jarman. Welsh Classics. Llandysul, UK: Gomer, 1988.
  182. Find this resource:
  183. Bromwich, Rachel, ed. Trioedd Ynys Prydein: The Welsh Triads. Translated by Rachel Bromwich. Cardiff: University of Wales Press, 1978.
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  185. Arthur and several Arthurian figures appear in these short Welsh poems.
  186. Bromwich, Rachel, ed. Trioedd Ynys Prydein: The Welsh Triads. Translated by Rachel Bromwich. Cardiff: University of Wales Press, 1978.
  187. Find this resource:
  188. Bromwich, Rachel, and D. Simon Evans, eds. Culhwch ac Olwen: An Edition and Study of the Oldest Arthurian Tale. Cardiff: University of Wales Press, 1992.
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  190. The early (c. 1100) Welsh prose tale featuring a colorful band of warriors attending King Arthur at Celliweg, who help the young hero Culhwch win the hand of the giant’s daughter Olwen.
  191. Bromwich, Rachel, and D. Simon Evans, eds. Culhwch ac Olwen: An Edition and Study of the Oldest Arthurian Tale. Cardiff: University of Wales Press, 1992.
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  193. Ford, Patrick K., ed. The Mabinogi and Other Medieval Welsh Tales. Translated by Patrick K. Ford. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1977.
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  195. Includes the Welsh Arthurian tale Culhwch and Olwen along with the Four Branches of the Mabinogi.
  196. Ford, Patrick K., ed. The Mabinogi and Other Medieval Welsh Tales. Translated by Patrick K. Ford. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1977.
  197. Find this resource:
  198. Scholarship
  199.  
  200. Since the 1960s or so, there has been a good deal of scholarship both on the historical sources related to Arthur and on the material evidence for the 5th and 6th centuries CE.
  201.  
  202. Historical/Textual
  203.  
  204. Issues relating to the sources, dating, and chronology both of Patrick and Gildas have been explored by specialists in two major collections of essays—Dumville, et al. 1993 and Lapidge and Dumville 1984—and the reputation of these and the Cambro-Latin authors has been rescued by David Howlett in several publications (e.g., Howlett 1998). The contexts and protonationalism of these Brittonic writers as well as Nennius, Geoffrey of Monmouth, and Gerald of Wales have been explored in Davies 1996, Dumville 1986, Gillingham 1990, and Snyder 2003. Thomas 1994 uses epigraphic evidence to write a history of the post-Roman West.
  205.  
  206. Davies, Rees R. The Matter of Britain and the Matter of England. Oxford: Clarendon, 1996.
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  208. Explains how Arthur and the Matter of Britain were “hijacked” by Anglo-Norman writers and made to serve English politics.
  209. Davies, Rees R. The Matter of Britain and the Matter of England. Oxford: Clarendon, 1996.
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  211. Dumville, David N. “The Historical Value of the Historia Brittonum.” Arthurian Literature 6 (1986): 1–26.
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  213. Good example of Dumville’s strict methodology; here, the Historia is disqualified as a primary source for the 5th century.
  214. Dumville, David N. “The Historical Value of the Historia Brittonum.” Arthurian Literature 6 (1986): 1–26.
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  216. Dumville, David N., Thomas M. Charles-Edwards, K. R. Dark, et al. St Patrick, AD 493–1993. Studies in Celtic History. Woodbridge, UK: Boydell & Brewer, 1993.
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  218. Collection of brief essays (most of them by Dumville) focusing on key and controversial issues surrounding both the historical and the legendary St. Patrick.
  219. Dumville, David N., Thomas M. Charles-Edwards, K. R. Dark, et al. St Patrick, AD 493–1993. Studies in Celtic History. Woodbridge, UK: Boydell & Brewer, 1993.
  220. Find this resource:
  221. George, Karen. Gildas’s De excidio Britonum and the Early British Church. Studies in Celtic History 26. Woodbridge, UK: Boydell & Brewer, 2009.
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  223. The most thorough analysis of Gildas’s writing style and context. Includes the complete Latin text of De excidio.
  224. George, Karen. Gildas’s De excidio Britonum and the Early British Church. Studies in Celtic History 26. Woodbridge, UK: Boydell & Brewer, 2009.
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  226. Gillingham, John. “The Context and Purpose of Geoffrey of Monmouth’s History of the Kings of Britain.” Anglo-Norman Studies 13 (1990): 99–118.
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  228. Argues for Geoffrey’s acquaintance with southeast Wales and the Welsh language. Sees Geoffrey’s History as a counter to the defamation of the Britons revived by William of Malmesbury.
  229. Gillingham, John. “The Context and Purpose of Geoffrey of Monmouth’s History of the Kings of Britain.” Anglo-Norman Studies 13 (1990): 99–118.
  230. Find this resource:
  231. Howlett, David. Cambro-Latin Compositions: Their Competence and Craftmanship. Dublin, Ireland: Four Courts, 1998.
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  233. Howlett, a lexicographer known for his “biblical style” theory, examines the writings of Patrick, Gildas, Nennius, Geoffrey of Monmouth, Gerald of Wales, and other Cambro-Latin authors. Argues that the encoded signatures, invective, wit, and wordplay of these authors betray them as sophisticated and unique transmitters of Latin and biblical traditions.
  234. Howlett, David. Cambro-Latin Compositions: Their Competence and Craftmanship. Dublin, Ireland: Four Courts, 1998.
  235. Find this resource:
  236. Lapidge, Michael, and David N. Dumville, eds. Gildas: New Approaches. Studies in Celtic History. Woodbridge, UK: Boydell & Brewer, 1984.
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  238. Essays by specialists examining dating, chronology, sources, and other issues surrounding Gildas and his writings.
  239. Lapidge, Michael, and David N. Dumville, eds. Gildas: New Approaches. Studies in Celtic History. Woodbridge, UK: Boydell & Brewer, 1984.
  240. Find this resource:
  241. Snyder, Christopher A. The Britons. Peoples of Europe. Oxford: Blackwell, 2003.
  242. DOI: 10.1002/9780470758366Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  243. History of the Britons from the Iron Age to the late Middle Ages. Role of the Arthurian legends in the formation of Brittonic/Welsh identity is discussed.
  244. Snyder, Christopher A. The Britons. Peoples of Europe. Oxford: Blackwell, 2003.
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  246. Thomas, Charles. And Shall These Mute Stones Speak? Post-Roman Inscriptions in Western Britain. Cardiff: University of Wales Press, 1994.
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  248. Quirky discussion of the inscribed stones, applying Howlett’s “biblical style” theory to the language of the inscriptions.
  249. Thomas, Charles. And Shall These Mute Stones Speak? Post-Roman Inscriptions in Western Britain. Cardiff: University of Wales Press, 1994.
  250. Find this resource:
  251. Archaeological
  252.  
  253. There are several broad studies of the archaeological evidence related to the end of Roman Britain (e.g., Esmonde Cleary 1989 and Faulkner 2000) and the medieval Celtic West (e.g., Laing 2006), and some that are more regionally focused (e.g., White 2007). Monographs devoted to the major excavated rural sites of the 5th and 6th centuries include several related to Arthur: Glastonbury (Abrams and Carley 1991), South Cadbury (Alcock 1995), and Tintagel (Thomas 1993). Radford and Swanton 2002 summarizes these excavations and places them in context.
  254.  
  255. Abrams, Lesley, and James P. Carley, eds. The Archaeology and History of Glastonbury Abbey: Essays in Honour of the Ninetieth Birthday of C. A. Ralegh Radford. Woodbridge, UK: Boydell & Brewer, 1991.
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  257. Adds wider historical context to the Abbey and Tor sites and examines Glastonbury’s grail connections.
  258. Abrams, Lesley, and James P. Carley, eds. The Archaeology and History of Glastonbury Abbey: Essays in Honour of the Ninetieth Birthday of C. A. Ralegh Radford. Woodbridge, UK: Boydell & Brewer, 1991.
  259. Find this resource:
  260. Alcock, Leslie. Cadbury Castle, Somerset: The Early Medieval Archaeology. Cardiff: University of Wales Press, 1995.
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  262. Much-anticipated full publication of the famous excavations at South Cadbury, an ancient hillfort refortified in the 5th century CE.
  263. Alcock, Leslie. Cadbury Castle, Somerset: The Early Medieval Archaeology. Cardiff: University of Wales Press, 1995.
  264. Find this resource:
  265. Dark, K. R., ed. External Contacts and the Economy of Late Roman and Post-Roman Britain. Woodbridge, UK: Boydell & Brewer, 1996.
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  267. Essays investigating inscribed stones, imported ceramics, land clearance, and other material evidence for agriculture and trade in 5th- and 6th-century Britain.
  268. Dark, K. R., ed. External Contacts and the Economy of Late Roman and Post-Roman Britain. Woodbridge, UK: Boydell & Brewer, 1996.
  269. Find this resource:
  270. Esmonde Cleary, A. S. The Ending of Roman Britain. London: Batsford, 1989.
  271. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  272. Sound and moderate picture of the archaeological evidence for the last years of Roman Britain and the first half of the 5th century.
  273. Esmonde Cleary, A. S. The Ending of Roman Britain. London: Batsford, 1989.
  274. Find this resource:
  275. Faulkner, Neil. The Decline and Fall of Roman Britain. Stroud, UK: Tempus, 2000.
  276. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  277. Using material evidence to write a history of Roman Britain “from below,” Faulkner paints a picture of Roman imperialist exploitation of the common people, leading to a catastrophic collapse, symptomatic of the fall of the Roman West.
  278. Faulkner, Neil. The Decline and Fall of Roman Britain. Stroud, UK: Tempus, 2000.
  279. Find this resource:
  280. Fleming, Robin. Britain after Rome: The Fall and Rise, 400–1070. Penguin History of Britain 2. London: Penguin, 2010.
  281. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  282. Important new history, written by an Anglo-Saxon historian but from the perspective of the material culture of non-elites.
  283. Fleming, Robin. Britain after Rome: The Fall and Rise, 400–1070. Penguin History of Britain 2. London: Penguin, 2010.
  284. Find this resource:
  285. Higham, N. J., ed. Britons in Anglo-Saxon England. Publications of the Manchester Centre for Anglo-Saxon Studies 7. Woodbridge, UK: Boydell & Brewer, 2007.
  286. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  287. Published papers from a 2004 conference in Manchester, dominated by archaeological and linguistic explanations for the presence of Britons in areas coming under Anglo-Saxon control in the late 5th and 6th centuries.
  288. Higham, N. J., ed. Britons in Anglo-Saxon England. Publications of the Manchester Centre for Anglo-Saxon Studies 7. Woodbridge, UK: Boydell & Brewer, 2007.
  289. Find this resource:
  290. Laing, Lloyd. The Archaeology of Celtic Britain and Ireland, c. AD 400–1200. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2006.
  291. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  292. Exhaustive survey of archaeological evidence from the early medieval Celtic West. Organized by artifact and settlement categories as well as by geographic region.
  293. Laing, Lloyd. The Archaeology of Celtic Britain and Ireland, c. AD 400–1200. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2006.
  294. Find this resource:
  295. Radford, C. A. Ralegh, and Michael J. Swanton. Arthurian Sites in the West. Rev. ed. Exeter, UK: University of Exeter Press, 2002.
  296. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  297. Excavations at Cadbury-Camelot, Castle Dore, and Tintagel are placed in historical context.
  298. Radford, C. A. Ralegh, and Michael J. Swanton. Arthurian Sites in the West. Rev. ed. Exeter, UK: University of Exeter Press, 2002.
  299. Find this resource:
  300. Thomas, Charles. Tintagel: Arthur and Archaeology. English Heritage. London: B. T. Batsford, 1993.
  301. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  302. Accessible discussion of the excavations at Tintagel and the site’s Arthurian associations. Believes that Tintagel was a major emporium and perhaps royal residence of the Dumnonian kings c. 500.
  303. Thomas, Charles. Tintagel: Arthur and Archaeology. English Heritage. London: B. T. Batsford, 1993.
  304. Find this resource:
  305. White, Roger. Britannia Prima: Britain’s Last Roman Province. Stroud, UK: Tempus, 2007.
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  307. From the excavator of Wroxeter, an archaeologically based history of the western British province Britannia Prima, arguing for Roman continuity well into the 5th century.
  308. White, Roger. Britannia Prima: Britain’s Last Roman Province. Stroud, UK: Tempus, 2007.
  309. Find this resource:
  310. Historical Arthur Theories
  311.  
  312. Since the late 20th century, many books and websites have claimed to have discovered the real king Arthur. The following are some of the most serious and thoughtful cases made for a historical King Arthur and a historical Merlin, as well as criticism of these theories by skeptical scholars.
  313.  
  314. Ancient Arthurs
  315.  
  316. The first group of theorists includes those who see a Roman Arthur or an Arthur whose roots lay in Antiquity. Darrah 1981 sees references in the Arthurian legends to prehistoric British rituals, while Anderson 2004 looks to ancient Greek accounts of Arthur-type kings of Arcadia and Lydia. The “Sarmatian connection” theory in Littleton and Malcor 1994, which is based in part on the earlier work of Kemp Malone (Malone 1925), has gathered a large popular following via the Internet and a Hollywood film adaptation. Geoffrey Ashe turned to another candidate for Arthur—Riothamus—in a 1981 Speculum article and, more fully, in Ashe 1985.
  317.  
  318. Anderson, Graham. King Arthur in Antiquity. London: Routledge, 2004.
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  320. Unique theory turns to ancient Greek accounts of Arktouros of Arcadia, Ardus of Lydia, and other ancient prototypes for the medieval Arthur.
  321. Anderson, Graham. King Arthur in Antiquity. London: Routledge, 2004.
  322. Find this resource:
  323. Ashe, Geoffrey. The Discovery of King Arthur. London: Guild, 1985.
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  325. Attempt to somewhat rescue the reputation of Geoffrey of Monmouth. Argues here that Riothamus, a historically attested British king fighting for the Roman emperor in Gaul c. 470, is actually a title born by the historical Arthur.
  326. Ashe, Geoffrey. The Discovery of King Arthur. London: Guild, 1985.
  327. Find this resource:
  328. Darrah, John. The Real Camelot: Paganism and the Arthurian Romances. London: Thames and Hudson, 1981.
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  330. Following the trail of paganism lingering in the Arthurian legends, goes back to the henge monuments and rituals of Neolithic and Bronze Age Britain for the ultimate roots of Arthur.
  331. Darrah, John. The Real Camelot: Paganism and the Arthurian Romances. London: Thames and Hudson, 1981.
  332. Find this resource:
  333. Littleton, C. Scott, and Linda A. Malcor. From Scythia to Camelot: A Radical Reassessment of the Legends of King Arthur, the Knights of the Round Table, and the Holy Grail. New York: Garland, 1994.
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  335. Convoluted theory that links Lucius Artorius Castus with Sarmatian heavy cavalry and their alleged folklore (as glimpsed in 19th-century Ossetian epics) as the basis for the entire Arthurian literary corpus.
  336. Littleton, C. Scott, and Linda A. Malcor. From Scythia to Camelot: A Radical Reassessment of the Legends of King Arthur, the Knights of the Round Table, and the Holy Grail. New York: Garland, 1994.
  337. Find this resource:
  338. Malone, Kemp. “Artorius.” Modern Philology 22 (1925): 367–374.
  339. DOI: 10.1086/387553Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  340. First suggestion that the British and Armorican exploits of Lucius Artorius Castus, a historical Roman military commander of the 2nd century CE, prove that Castus was the ultimate source for Geoffrey of Monmouth’s Arthur.
  341. Malone, Kemp. “Artorius.” Modern Philology 22 (1925): 367–374.
  342. Find this resource:
  343. Medieval Arthurs
  344.  
  345. The second group includes those who posit an Arthur living c. 500 or later and mostly in a Celtic context (with the exception of Laycock 2009, which gives Arthur a Germanic background). One of the first and perhaps most scholarly of these theories was put forward by R. G. Collingwood (Collingwood and Myres 1945), who became a major influence on Leslie Alcock (Alcock 1971), Geoffrey Ashe (Ashe 1985), and Christopher Gidlow (Gidlow 2004), among others. Morris 1973, a monumental and idiosyncratic work, has now been discredited by scholars.
  346.  
  347. Alcock, Leslie. Arthur’s Britain: History and Archaeology, AD 367–634. London: Penguin, 1971.
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  349. Alcock, director of excavations at South Cadbury (a candidate for the historical Camelot), argues that the Historia Brittonum and the Annales Cambriae offer legitimate evidence for the historicity of Arthur and his participation in the battles of Badon Hill (here dated 490) and Camlann (510).
  350. Alcock, Leslie. Arthur’s Britain: History and Archaeology, AD 367–634. London: Penguin, 1971.
  351. Find this resource:
  352. Collingwood, R. G., and J. N. L. Myres. Roman Britain and the English Settlements. 2d ed. Oxford History of England 1. Oxford: Clarendon, 1945.
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  354. First volume of the Oxford History of England series; argues that Arthur was a late Roman military commander, the dux bellorum. First published in 1936.
  355. Collingwood, R. G., and J. N. L. Myres. Roman Britain and the English Settlements. 2d ed. Oxford History of England 1. Oxford: Clarendon, 1945.
  356. Find this resource:
  357. Gidlow, Christopher. The Reign of Arthur: From History to Legend. Stroud, UK: Sutton, 2004.
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  359. Builds a restrained but circumstantial case for the Arthur of the Historia Brittonum as a historical figure, a Roman-type commander who united the British kings and led them to victory at Badon Hill.
  360. Gidlow, Christopher. The Reign of Arthur: From History to Legend. Stroud, UK: Sutton, 2004.
  361. Find this resource:
  362. Laycock, Stuart. Warlords: The Struggle for Power in Post-Roman Britain. Stroud, UK: History Press, 2009.
  363. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  364. Having established a case for Roman Britain as a “failed state,” Laycock assesses the historicity of figures such as Ambrosius, Riothamus, and Arthur, the latter of whom he argues (on suspect etymologies) was a Germanic warlord hired by the British kings.
  365. Laycock, Stuart. Warlords: The Struggle for Power in Post-Roman Britain. Stroud, UK: History Press, 2009.
  366. Find this resource:
  367. Morris, John. The Age of Arthur: A History of the British Isles from 350 to 650. London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1973.
  368. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  369. Drawing from a wide array of evidence (mostly later written sources), narrates the story of a historical Arthur who was not only royal but a British emperor.
  370. Morris, John. The Age of Arthur: A History of the British Isles from 350 to 650. London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1973.
  371. Find this resource:
  372. The Historical Merlin
  373.  
  374. There have been fewer attempts to identify the historical Merlin. Both Jarman 1978 and Tolstoy 1985 focus on the most likely candidate, a Welsh bard from the North named Myrddin.
  375.  
  376. Jarman, A. O. H. “Early Stages in the Development of the Myrddin Legend.” In Astudiaethau ar yr Hengerdd (Studies in Old Welsh Poetry). Edited by Rachel Bromwich and R. Brinley Jones, 326–349. Cardiff: University of Wales Press, 1978.
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  378. First to argue that the origins of the Merlin legend lay in the Scottish Lowlands, where stories of a local Wild Man named Lailoken arose before being carried by Britons to Wales and ascribed to one Myrddin, eponymous founder of Carmarthen.
  379. Jarman, A. O. H. “Early Stages in the Development of the Myrddin Legend.” In Astudiaethau ar yr Hengerdd (Studies in Old Welsh Poetry). Edited by Rachel Bromwich and R. Brinley Jones, 326–349. Cardiff: University of Wales Press, 1978.
  380. Find this resource:
  381. Tolstoy, Nikolai. The Quest for Merlin. Boston: Little, Brown, 1985.
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  383. Exploration of the poems and prophecies ascribed to the Welsh bard Myrddin, a possibly historical figure of 6th-century northern Britain who inspired at least part of the Merlin legend.
  384. Tolstoy, Nikolai. The Quest for Merlin. Boston: Little, Brown, 1985.
  385. Find this resource:
  386. Alternative Explanations
  387.  
  388. A more skeptical group of scholars have focused on nonhistorical origins for the Arthurian legends and the reasons why Arthur was later mistaken for a historical figure. Both Higham 2002 and Green 2007 follow, to some extent, the “historicization” argument first put forward in Padel 1994.
  389.  
  390. Green, Thomas. Concepts of Arthur. Stroud, UK: Tempus, 2007.
  391. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  392. Surveys earlier theories and makes the most detailed case for the “historicization” of Arthur; that is, that an originally folkloric figure came to be mistaken for a historical person. Argument was made first by Green online.
  393. Green, Thomas. Concepts of Arthur. Stroud, UK: Tempus, 2007.
  394. Find this resource:
  395. Higham, Nicholas J. King Arthur: Myth-Making and History. London: Routledge, 2002.
  396. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  397. Good discussion of the historical Arthur debate, followed by a marred, revisionist skepticism that sees an Arthur fabricated to flatter Welsh royal patrons.
  398. Higham, Nicholas J. King Arthur: Myth-Making and History. London: Routledge, 2002.
  399. Find this resource:
  400. Padel, O. J. “The Nature of Arthur.” Cambrian Medieval Celtic Studies 27 (1994): 1–31.
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  402. First to argue that the omnipresence of the “fabulous” in the earliest Arthurian texts, and Arthur’s association with features in the landscape, suggests an original folkloric figure of the Britons who later became historicized.
  403. Padel, O. J. “The Nature of Arthur.” Cambrian Medieval Celtic Studies 27 (1994): 1–31.
  404. Find this resource:
  405. Related Scholarship
  406.  
  407. Most academic historians remain skeptical regarding a historical Arthur, especially after the landmark work of source criticism, Dumville 1977. They stress that there is simply no contemporaneous evidence for a British Arthur in the 5th and 6th centuries CE. Dark 2000 follows Dumville’s strictures while investigating the popularity of the name Arthur in some Irish royal families in the late 6th and 7th centuries. Following the lead of Jackson 1959, Charles-Edwards 1991 and Snyder 2006 offer detailed historiographic discussion of the Arthur debate as well as cautionary remarks on the use of the available written sources.
  408.  
  409. Charles-Edwards, Thomas. “The Arthur of History.” In The Arthur of the Welsh. Edited by Rachel Bromwich, A. O. H. Jarman, and Brynley F. Roberts, 15–32. Cardiff: University of Wales Press, 1991.
  410. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  411. Less dismissive than David Dumville, legal historian Charles-Edwards discusses valid approaches to using the Arthurian material in the Historia Brittonum.
  412. Charles-Edwards, Thomas. “The Arthur of History.” In The Arthur of the Welsh. Edited by Rachel Bromwich, A. O. H. Jarman, and Brynley F. Roberts, 15–32. Cardiff: University of Wales Press, 1991.
  413. Find this resource:
  414. Charles-Edwards, Thomas, ed. After Rome. Short Oxford History of the British Isles. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2003.
  415. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  416. Collection of essays covering the written sources, linguistic evidence, archaeology, and artistic expression of the peoples inhabiting Britain and Ireland c. 400–800.
  417. Charles-Edwards, Thomas, ed. After Rome. Short Oxford History of the British Isles. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2003.
  418. Find this resource:
  419. Dark, Ken. “A Famous Arthur in the Sixth Century? Reconsidering the Origins of the Arthurian Legend.” Reading Medieval Studies 26 (2000): 77–96.
  420. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  421. Examination of an Arthurian naming tradition among the Irish in northern Britain and Wales, perhaps inspired by a historical “prototype” Arthur.
  422. Dark, Ken. “A Famous Arthur in the Sixth Century? Reconsidering the Origins of the Arthurian Legend.” Reading Medieval Studies 26 (2000): 77–96.
  423. Find this resource:
  424. Dumville, David N. “Sub-Roman Britain: History and Legend.” History 62.205 (1977): 173–192.
  425. DOI: 10.1111/j.1468-229X.1977.tb02335.xSave Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  426. Influential essay that attacks the Arthurian positivism of Leslie Alcock and John Morris by pointing out the late dates and other problems with much Arthurian written material. Established the orthodoxy of skepticism among academics and provided a strict methodology for future students of Arthurian texts.
  427. Dumville, David N. “Sub-Roman Britain: History and Legend.” History 62.205 (1977): 173–192.
  428. Find this resource:
  429. Jackson, Kenneth H. “The Arthur of History.” In Arthurian Literature in the Middle Ages: A Collaborative History. Edited by Robert S. Loomis, 1–11. Oxford: Clarendon, 1959.
  430. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  431. Eminent Celtic philologist critiques the early theories about a historical Arthur and offers his own brief sketch of Arthurian “probabilities.”
  432. Jackson, Kenneth H. “The Arthur of History.” In Arthurian Literature in the Middle Ages: A Collaborative History. Edited by Robert S. Loomis, 1–11. Oxford: Clarendon, 1959.
  433. Find this resource:
  434. Snyder, Christopher A. “Arthurian Origins.” In A History of Arthurian Scholarship. Edited by Norris J. Lacy, 1–18. Woodbridge, UK: Boydell & Brewer, 2006.
  435. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  436. All literary evidence for a historical Arthur as well as the historical Arthur theories is evaluated and contextualized.
  437. Snyder, Christopher A. “Arthurian Origins.” In A History of Arthurian Scholarship. Edited by Norris J. Lacy, 1–18. Woodbridge, UK: Boydell & Brewer, 2006.
  438. Find this resource:
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