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The Reign of Arthur: From History to Legend

af Christopher Gidlow

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Did King Arthur really exist? The Reign of Arthur takes a fresh look at the early sources describing Arthur's career and compares them to the reality of Britain in the fifth and sixth centuries. It presents, for the first time, both the most up to date scholarship and a convincing case for the existence of a real sixth-century British general called Arthur. Where others speculate wildly or else avoid the issue, Gidlow, remaining faithful to the sources, deals directly with the central issue of interest to the general reader: does the Arthur that we read of in the ninth-century sources have any link to a real leader of the fifth or sixth century? Was Arthur a powerful king or a Dark Age general co-cordinating the British resistance to Saxon invaders? Detailed analysis of the key Arthurian sources, contemporary testimony and archaeology reveals the reality of fragmented British kingdoms uniting under a single military command to defeat the Saxons. There is plausible and convincing evidence for the existence of their war-leader, and, in this challenging and provocative work, Gidlow concludes that the Dark Age hypothesis of Arthur, War-leader of the Kings of the Britons, not only fits the facts, it is the only way of making sense of them.… (mere)

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Maddz, mechbutterfly, MediaAevaCarol, Stefano75, KiranM, DanielSchoenmann, Purplefairy, TBatalias, gothamajp, KathyLewis55

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Concepts of Arthur af Caitlin Green (Crypto-Willobie)

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The first half of this long-awaited book, "From History," is a critical re-examination of all the earliest Arthurian sources (Gildas, Nennius, the Welsh Annals, etc.) in the light of the latest historical research. By taking nothing for granted, Gidlow comes up with several surprising and persuasive insights.

The second half, "To Legend," examines how later authors (from the Mabinogion through the Welsh Saints' Lives to Geoffrey of Monmouth) added the magical deeds of legendary heroes to this historical Arthur, turning him into a figure first of folklore, then eventually of chivalric romance. Again, by examining the layers of this dubious source material in chronological order, Gidlow adds to our understanding of how Arthur came to be viewed primarily as a figure out of legend.

The author makes a convincing case that Arthur, victor at Mount Badon, could have filled any of a number of roles in post-Roman Britain, and that -- but for the 'taint' of the later, legendary material -- scholars would have no reason to deny his essential historicity.

Gidlow's easy familiarity with the many aspects of Arthuriana -- in history, romance, literature, and 'King Arthur shared my postcode' crank scholarship -- shines through. This book is an easy read, and a rewarding one. Highly recommended. (

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NickBrooke | Apr 18, 2006 |

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Did King Arthur really exist? The Reign of Arthur takes a fresh look at the early sources describing Arthur's career and compares them to the reality of Britain in the fifth and sixth centuries. It presents, for the first time, both the most up to date scholarship and a convincing case for the existence of a real sixth-century British general called Arthur. Where others speculate wildly or else avoid the issue, Gidlow, remaining faithful to the sources, deals directly with the central issue of interest to the general reader: does the Arthur that we read of in the ninth-century sources have any link to a real leader of the fifth or sixth century? Was Arthur a powerful king or a Dark Age general co-cordinating the British resistance to Saxon invaders? Detailed analysis of the key Arthurian sources, contemporary testimony and archaeology reveals the reality of fragmented British kingdoms uniting under a single military command to defeat the Saxons. There is plausible and convincing evidence for the existence of their war-leader, and, in this challenging and provocative work, Gidlow concludes that the Dark Age hypothesis of Arthur, War-leader of the Kings of the Britons, not only fits the facts, it is the only way of making sense of them.

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