The great debate: Did King Arthur Exist | the origins of a legend

Historians have been debating the existence of King Arthur for generations. While some say that he is a completely fictional figure from the depths of Celtic folklore, others say that there is some evidence that the character of Arthur is an amalgamation of several notable people from the time.

Over the next few months, we’ll be looking at the evidence historians have made for and against the existence of King Arthur. Today, as a starting point, we’ll be looking at the legend of King Arthur, the key characters and how the story evolved.

The person credited with making Arthur a key character in British folklore was a chap called Geoffrey of Monmouth. He was a Catholic cleric from Monmouth in Wales and is a major figure in the development of British histography. Though people debate how true his stories of King Arthur actually are, there are some aspects of his work that are undisputed.

The lowdown on Geoffrey of Monmouth

 Born: Galfridus Arturus (or Geoffrey Arthur) | Monmouth, Wales | circa 1095

So, as we can see Geoffrey was born quite some time after it is said Arthur lived. He actually gave himself the name Geoffrey of Monmouth, which is why we all think he came from that area of Wales. Regardless of how you feel about giving yourself a nickname, it is generally accepted that he descended from the French speaking elite who lived around the Welsh border and likely made their home there after the Norman invasion.

Anyway, Geoffrey travelled quite widely, spending a fair amount of time in Oxford and Lincoln, as well as Wales. He was a Catholic cleric and served as the Bishop of St Asaph at Lambeth and wrote several works, the best known of which, the History of the Kings of Britain, details the basis of the legend of Arthur. In fact, the Arthurian legend is categorised as Pre-Galfridian or Post-Galfidian depending on whether that part of the legend came from Geoffrey’s work.

The History of the Kings of Britain

Geoffrey wrote several works in Latin, including this one, which is one of the best known “histories” of the Medieval era. It claims to be a history of Britain, and says that the country was founded by Brutus of Troy, who made his way across the sea following the Trojan War. It covers everything from Julius Caeser, the Roman invasion and the Kings Leir (he eventually became known as King Lear, and yes, there is debate over whether he existed too) and Arthur.

Geoffrey said that his book is a translation of an earlier work given to him by the Archdeacon of Oxford telling of the history and deeds of the kings of Britain. This is disputed, hence the debate over Arthur’s existence. The book does cite other historical manuscripts that we’ll be looking at next time in our exploration of the evidence for Arthur’s existence – including those by Bede and Gildas, which both reference battles and a seemingly super human warrior that helped the British defeat the Saxons.

Geoffrey also wrote a series of works about Merlin – the Prophecies of Merlin and the Life of Merlin. These both discuss a crazed outcast who made prophecies and is either a man living in the woods or a man from Scotland. The name seems to have roots in Welsh, with the original translation being merdyn – which translates into mad man.

There is some evidence to suggest that the  Merlin and Arthur that appeared in Geoffrey’s writings were inspired by real life Welsh and Briton prophets, but are they amalgamations of several people that inspired a wild tale or did Geoffrey actually just translate a book that does tell the history of a time that went largely unrecorded?

Evolution of a legend

So, let’s take a look at the Arthur that Geoffrey wrote about.

Like most figures, historical or mythical, he appears to have different names depending on who you ask. In English he is King Arthur; in Welsh, Brenin Arthur; in Cornish, Arthur Gernow; in Breton, Roue Arzhur and in French, Roi Arthur.

In the original Welsh sources, Arthur is the leader of the Post Roman Britains, leading them into battles against the Anglo Saxons. Prior to Geoffrey writing about him, he appeared in a couple of different historical texts from the 5^th and 6^th centuries, which we will discuss next time.

In Geoffrey’s version of events, Arthur was a descendant of Constantine the Great, a Roman Emperor who is credited as being the driving force behind Christianity. He commanded one of the largest of the Roman armies and remained in Britain long after his promotion to Emperor.

The story goes that Uther Pendragon, a King ruling in the Post Roman era had his eye on the Duke of Cornwall’s wife. With the help of Merlin, he disguises himself as the Duke and tricks the wife into bed, the result: Arthur. Arthur is then raised alongside the Duke of Cornwall’s existing children with the help of Merlin, before becoming King on the death of Uther Pendragon.

After becoming King of the Britain, Arthur took part in a variety of battles, in most versions, there are 12 battles, which is corroborated by other historical texts. He defeats the Picts and Scots and then creates an Arthurian empire, taking control of territories overseas, including Gaul, which was part of the Roman Empire.

While abroad planning to take Gaul, Arthur receives word that his nephew Mordred has usurped him. He returns to Britain and the pair meet on the battlefield. Mordred is killed and Arthur mortally wounded, he is taken to the Isle of Avalon to recover but is never seen again.

Several of the characters that appear in Geoffrey’s account are still recognised from the Arthurian legends we know today, including:

Uther Pendragon
Merlin
Guinevere
Mordred

Other notable characters such as Lancelot, Percival, Galahad, Gawain, Ywain, Tristian and Isolde all appear in later texts, primarily as part of the Matter of Britain, a series of stories and literature from Medieval Britain. Camelot for instance didn’t appear in the story until the 1300s and the Knights of the Roundtable were also a later embellishment.

Post Geoffrey of Monmouth, many of the Welsh chronicles focusing on Arthur talk about his connection to a place called Annwn, which is an Otherworld that features heavily in Welsh folklore.

So now we more aware of the stories and the origin of the Arthur stories, we’re ready to start discussing whether he is a complete figment of Geoffrey’s imagination or if he is rooted in reality. Check in next month to learn the arguments in favour of there really being a King Arthur!