Alongside numerous other legends or myths perpetuated by the indigenous populations of the British Isles that I have investigated and written articles about are of course the myth of “William Shakespeare”, Elizabethan playwright and poet, the legend of “Robin Hood”, a social and political philanthropist or rebel leader during the temporal reign of King John while King Richard the Lionheart was abroad in the crusades. Now, in the same vein and curiosity I turn my attention to the widespread historical legend of “King Arthur & The Holy Grail” of whom much has already been written about both in the past and the present day. From the available evidence and research on the subject it appears that a small amount of this evidence suggests an historical character did exist during the period when the Romans occupied Britain but his name was actually Ambrosius who served as a commander of troops in the Roman army in the service of Magnus Maximus (383 A.D), the presiding governor around 500 A.D. How the name Arthur Pendragon became associated with an early King of Britain is an entirely different matter because the historical literary sources are either insubstantial, misleading or contradictory. Indeed, there are in fact more literary references to King Arthur from French, Spanish, German and Italian authors/poets than there are originally borne out of the “Dark Ages” of the British Isles. One of the major sources of literary accounts derive largely from Welsh sources, a small proportion during the medieval period derive from English chroniclers such as Nennius or Gildas (“Historia Brittonum”-6th century), (an Anglo-Saxon chronicler), and Geoffrey of Monmouth (Welsh historian). It seems that the myth of “Arthur” emerged around the same time that the Roman military garrisons were being dismantled (406-7 AD) during a time when invasions of barbaric tribes intensified leaving the British populations vulnerable to attacks. A number of English kingdoms were gradually formed in the east and south (the so-called Anglo-Saxon occupation) around the fifth century and both Devon and Cornwall were literally cut-off from the remainder of the country. Therefore, threatened populations from Wales and the Cern peninsula (Cornwall, Devon and Dorset) gradually migrated to Brittany and Galicia in N. Spain. In effect the island of Britain was divided east to west as the Anglo-Saxons increased their occupation backed up with military power and technology to further their domination from the Humber estuary in the north as far as Kent in the south and as far as Bristol in the west. Parts of Wales, Northumberland and Cumbria were under further threat of continued attacks by pagan tribes which the Romans were reluctant to engage insisting that the indigenous populations of Britain should confront themselves instead of relying on Roman military support and protection. The Historia Brittonum records:
“In those days the Saxons increased in numbers and grew stronger in Britain. But at Hengist’s death, his son Octha went from the northern part of Britain to the Kingdom of Kent and from him arose the “Kings of Kent”. Then in those days Arthur fought against them with the kings of the Britons, but he was a commander in the battles.”
The text dated sometime around 875-925 A.D. goes on to mnemonically list all the battles in which he fought and their outcome as well as how his Christian faith was an example of his courage, daring and influence both among the displaced Britons and the warring pagan tribes who sought to dominate the western populations. In particular it describes how he carried a shrine of the Virgin Mary on his shoulders when advancing into battle. So this was written some 400 years after the event which suggests that oral traditions about Arthur must have been in existence before the written evidence was in place. Into this cauldron was later thrown elements of Bardic folklore from Welsh authors (“Annales Cambriae”-Annals of Wales):
Year 72; The battle of Badon in which Arthur bore the cross of our lord Jesus Christ on his shoulders for three days and nights, and the Britons were the victors.
Year 93; Gueith (battle of) Camlann in which Arthur and Medruat perished; and there was a plague in Britain and Ireland.
For a much deeper investigation into the possibility of “Arthur’s Grave” see “The Death of King Arthur”.
Another corroborative source, that of Gildas (“On the Ruin of Britain”-mid 6th century) clearly links the character of Ambrosius Aurelianus, presumed to be Roman (Artorius) not specifically British to the Welsh legendary character of Arthur Pendragon. However, the author Richard Barber (“King Arthur, Hero & Legend”-Boydell Press, 1973) has maintained that there might have been several heroic Britons as chieftains or ‘Kings’ who fought battles against pagan invaders successfully who were attributed collectively to the Roman commander with the pseudonym “Arthur Pendragon”. It is often narrated or described that Arthur’s father was Uther Pendragon but it turns out that the term “son of Uther” (Welsh; ‘aruthr’) in Welsh simply translates as “Arthur, the Terrible” because he had a reputation as a ruthless and fierce warrior. Additionally, Gildas fails to mention an Arthur as a commander at the battle of Badon Hill (500 A.D.) or for that matter in his chronicle history of Britain’s demise after the Roman occupation but tends to focus on the early Christianisation and the social and moral decline caused primarily by the Roman exodus and incursions by the pagan invaders. It may be that his ‘social commentary’ from Wales or his personal geographic knowledge of battles that occurred in the eastern half of Britain were insufficient to provide detailed information of for example Cadbury Hill, a fortified encampment associated with the Arthurian chronicles. Another source (Adomna’s “Life of St. Columba”-700 A.D.) relates the life of an “Arthur”, son of Aedan mac Gabrain, King of Dalraida who fighting an obscure tribe, the Miathi died in a battle. Welsh sources also describe an “Arthur” in Dyfed although this may indeed be a reiteration from Irish sources of this heroic warrior since there were Irish settlements in Wales and Northumbria during the 5th-8th centuries in Britain. A later Welsh poetic source describing a battle fought against the Angles in Catterick, Yorkshire (The Gododdin) commemorating 80 warriors has the manuscript line: “He glutted black ravens on the rampart of the stronghold, even though he was no Arthur”. So, historically the name “Arthur” could have been a popular ‘catch-all’ label for an heroic, fierce and courageous resistance leader of Britons. Before examining later narrative sources derived from Welsh/Irish (“The Book of Taliesen”, “The Black Book of Camarthen” and “The Spoils of Annwfn”), the English accounts of Geoffrey of Monmouth’s “Prophecies of Merlin” and other European authors of the “Heroic Arthur” (Maistre Wace’s “Roman de Brut” 1155 A.D. and Layamon’s “Brut” 1189-99) it is something of a coincidence that the star named Arcturus (alpha Boötis) or Arctus (Ursa Major & Minor) might have some bearing on the components of the myth or legend. According to Fred Gettings “Dictionary of Astrology” ‘it is a highly beneficial star, especially when rising or culminating in a chart and Ebertin says its Jupiter/Mars influence has a reputation for achieving justice’. While Arctus is part of the constellation Ursa Major which is also known as “Arthur’s Chariot” which the Roman mariners were acutely aware of (Stella Maris). It goes on to add that the Great Bear was also known as ‘Charles’ Wain’ which is derived from the Saxon word ‘ceorl’, where an ordinary peasant who eventually, by linguistic adjustment became either Charlemagne or King Charles. As Robert Graves suggests in his seminal work “The White Goddess” fabulous tales are often mnemonic lists encoding an occult knowledge in the quest of human transformation such as been established about the character of the Scandinavian Norse “Beowulf”, the Greek Alexander (supposedly the son of Phillip of Macedon) or the Roman Aeneas, founder of Rome. Richard Barber suggests that a ‘grand tale’ about an “English Warrior King” was necessary for Britons to offset the predominance of even more fabulous tales being proselytised about the French emperor Charlemagne, who it was rumoured was a descendant of Jesus Christ. Or for that matter the arrival of the first Christian emperor Constantine whose life and rule was dependent on his being influenced by divine intervention in a vision before a crucial battle (“By this sign thou shalt conquer”). This assertion is as yet unproved but relies heavily on the bloodline of Christ being carried by a child-bearing Mary Magdalene after the crucifixion of Christ and the underground dissemination of Christianity even before the pagan Romans arrived in Britain encouraged and supported by Joseph of Arimathea. The theory further maintains that Christ did not die on the cross but was substituted by a twin brother, James who took his place while Christ escaped to France to anonymously lead his disciples in their missionary ordeals. The book by Henry Lincoln, Michael Baigent, and Richard Leigh; “The Holy Blood & The Grail” is largely based on this hypothesis and caused a theological storm among academics, theologians and historians in the 1970’s. Moreover, it was further suggested that the Secret Order of the Knights Templar in Jerusalem were adherents of this heretical, yet fairly plausible hypothesis, thereby arousing the vehemence of the Roman Catholic Church towards their influence and prominence during the early medieval period when King Arthur was then extremely popular; at least in those ‘chanson de geste’ promoted in literature and song by the troubadours of Europe.
As anyone who has made a study from the extensive literary sources related to the Arthurian strand (See below) the narratives tend to add to the main theme, borrow from existing sources in legend or folklore or are adapted into an episodic structure that is woven into a more coherent whole (Malory’s “Morte d’Arthur”). The historian Geoffrey of Monmouth (“Historia Regum Brittainae”) for example provides an historical background to the Arthurian legend of all the rulers of Britain from Brutus of Troy down to Cadwallawn in the 7th century. But it seems that both Scotland and Brittany in France were locations that were familiar with the myth or connected by virtue of their cultural and genealogical lineage. The dynasties of rulers in Brittany for example were strongly contested after the Norman invasion largely because the Bretons had close cultural and political links to parts of Cornwall, Northumbria and some parts of Scotland. The history of Arthur in Geoffrey’s version appears to appease and combine the Celtic, Norse, Breton, and Frankish cultures into one homogenous whole. Other historians criticised his additions and revisions to the narrative such as William of Newburgh (“Historia Rerum Anglicarum”, 12th century) although Geoffrey was able to provide a more concise historical record than Henry of Huntingdon and William of Malmesbury. More pertinently, Edward IIIrd wrote to the Pope in 1301 A.D. to explain or justify his regal claim to the throne of Scotland through his own dynastic lineage that extended to the Duchy of Brittany. His illustrious reign from the age of eighteen was accompanied by successful battles in France and Scotland. He was both a realist and a romantic, and the ideal embodiment of the chivalric order, a tested knight, brave, handsome and greatly admired for his moral and ethical principles throughout the realm. In many ways he was seen as the reincarnation of the mythical King Arthur of the English Romance era, long celebrated in song and literature by the Celtic Bards, the travelling troubadours and the Angevins of Brittany in France. With the aid of religious influence and counsel, the highly refined, idealistic and romantic Arthurian Chivalric codes and virtues were grafted onto the anarchic aging stock of ruthless, blood-thirsty despots of the past. He was responsible for regenerating the Order of the Garter Knights in England and was considered a model of kingship. Following the death of King Charles IVth in France, and through his ancestral link to Eleanor of Aquitaine, and subsequent marriage to the beautiful, 14 year-old Flemish Phillipa of Hainault (1328) Edward made an ancestral claim to the provinces of Normandy, Brittany, Maine, Touraine, Anjou, Poitou, Guyenne and Toulouse. However, the French vehemently objected on the grounds of the Salic Law (sponsored by Clovis c. 466-511 – King of the Salian Franks who opposed the spread of Arianism) that forbade women to have sovereignty over land and estates should their royal husbands die. In the 16th century he was the subject of a play presumed to be a joint or collaborative effort by William Shakespeare, Sir Francis Bacon and Christopher Marlowe. Although Shakespeare never came closer to a chronological story of King Arthur than in his play “The Tragedy of King Lear” some academics have seen parallels between Shakespeare’s history play “Henry Vth” and the legendary reign of King Arthur. However, there is another peculiar genealogical link to Edward IIIrd and “Henry Vth“, the subject of William Shakespeare’s historical plays. It is of some interest that the son of Henry Vth is related by the marriage of his great, great granddaughter, Margaret Beaufort to Edmund Earl of Richmond, and is therefore indirectly linked to the Welsh Royal House of Tudor. The same house that gave rise to the notorious “King Henry VIIIth“, who was of course the father of Queen Elizabeth Ist. Edward IIIrd’s son was the notorious John of Gaunt, who dominated much of English government after his father’s death.
As it will be demonstrated the Arthurian Legend or the Holy Grail is a collection of literary works in various languages that developed in the Middle Ages concerning Arthur, a semi-historical king of the Britons, and his knights. The legends are a complex weaving of ancient Celtic mythology with later romantic revisions formed around a core of possible historical events. But there is a type of proto-Freudian/Jungian element to be unearthed in these sagas often associated with the basic elements of Folktale and Fairy Tales (See “The Drama Triangle in Fairy Tales”). In her book “From Ritual To Romance”, (Anchor Books, 1957) that inspired T.S. Eliot’s poem the “Wasteland” Jessie L. Weston argues that the Grail Legend owes more to folklore than to the Christian religion. Indeed as early as 1260 the Dutch writer Jacob van Maerlant rejected the whole of the Grail’s history as a compilation of lies that were largely ignored by the ecclesiastical authorities in Europe as populist, idle amusement. She quotes J.G. Frazer’s “Golden Bough” as a key to unlocking the mysteries of the “Holy Grail” (See “The Sword In The Stone”).
The earliest references to a King Arthur are found in Welsh sources in particular the poem, Y Gododdin (circa 600), histories, written in Latin, in the 9th and 10th centuries, and some ideas transposed from tales found in the Welsh story collection The Mabinogion (circa 1100). In one of these tales Arthur‘s wife, Guinevere, and his knights Kay, Bedivere, and Gawain make their appearance. The earliest continuous Arthurian narrative is in the Historia Regum Britanniae (circa 1139) by the English writer Geoffrey of Monmouth. Here Arthur is identified as the son of the British king Uther Pendragon, and his guide and counsellor Merlin is introduced. The Historia mentions the isle of Avalon, where Arthur went to recover from wounds after his last battle, and it tells of Guinevere‘s infidelity and the rebellion instigated by Arthur‘s nephew Mordred.
All later developments of the Arthurian legend are based largely on Geoffrey’s own work but with individual embellishments. Thus, the first English Arthurian story is in the poet Layamon‘s “Roman de Brut” (1205), an English version of Geoffrey’s Historia. Here, Arthur is depicted as a warrior on an epic scale; and the story of his magic sword Excalibur, which only he could extract from a rock, is included for the first time. An Arthurian tradition also developed in Europe, probably based on stories handed down from the Celts who immigrated to Bretagne in the 5th and 6th centuries. By 1100 Arthurian romances were known as far away as Germany, Bohemia, and Italy. A cathedral arch in Modena Italy dated to the 12th century has a frieze depicting King Arthur and his knights in a battle scene. Inspired by chivalry and courtly love, they are more concerned with the exploits of Arthur‘s knights than with Arthur himself.
The oldest of the French Arthurian romances is a series of 12th-century poems by Chrétien de Troyes. One introduces Lancelot, Arthur’s chief knight and his rival for Guinevere‘s love; another poem about Percival (see below) is the earliest story of the search for the Holy Grail, which from then on was incorporated into the legend. Chrétien’s work had great influence on later Arthurian romance, particularly early German versions, such as Erec and Iwein, by the 12th-century poet Hartmann von Aue, and the epic Parzifal (c. 1210), by Wolfram von Eschenbach. By the early 13th century the story of Tristram and Iseult (or Tristan and Isolde), from another Celtic tradition, was added to the Arthurian legend.
English Arthurian romances, dating from the 13th and 14th centuries, concerned individual knights—Percival and Galahad, the Grail knights, and especially Gawain. The culminating masterpiece of these was the anonymously written “Sir Gawain and the Green Knight” (c. 1370). A number of these Arthurian tales were retold, in English prose, by Sir Thomas Malory in his “Morte d’Arthur” (1485) which some academics consider the most coherent anthology of Arthurian tales ever written. Apparently Malory was fortunate enough to have a now lost literary French source to work from. On his book the poet Alfred, Lord Tennyson based his “Idylls of the King” (1859-85), an allegorical treatment of Victorian society.
Many other writers have adapted the stories of Arthur and his knights and their great court at Camelot to contemporary tastes and themes. The poet Edmund Spenser used Arthur, as the perfect knight, in his epic allegory of Elizabethan society, “The Faerie Queene” (1590-99). Mark Twain contrasted New England progressivism with medieval society in his “A Connecticut Yankee at King Arthur’s Court” (1880). “The Once and Future King” (4 vol., 1939-58), by the English author T. H. White, remains a widely read modern version of the legend. Music, too, shows the abiding interest in Arthurian stories—from the German composer Richard Wagner‘s Parsifal (1882) to the Broadway musical Camelot (1960), by Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe.
Origins of the Arthurian Legends
As the Arthurian legends span such a vast period of history both cultural and religious it has never been easy to exact their true origins or historical development. The history of the Arthurian strand, like the Vulgate cycle, has evolved its own peculiar cycle and narrative. At times the stories appear to reach a flowering while at others they appear to be subversive and go underground then later they are revived with subtle twists of plot or nuances of meaning. They are like the individual words of a sentence which can be manipulated in order to formulate a variety of interpretations. The Arthurian Legends represent a much later development of Celtic, Germanic and Gaulish Mythology and an attempt by several European authors to integrate earlier legends and myths into a comprehensive and contemporary whole. Although on close scrutiny it will be noted that the characters in the stories and poetry echo those in ancient mythologies from as far away as Gaul, Greece, Egypt and Northern Europe. As always we can detect that as far as these mythological versions are concerned that the central theme is more important than any historical or academic understanding of the importance of truth. Whilst much is written by researchers providing additional information for the student, very little is said by them about their real significance or meaning. The stories appear to embody a secret knowledge and wisdom that is constantly being updated by what appears to be a universal or cross-cultural group of Mystery Schools or Alternative Heretical Brotherhoods (eg: Arianism). Their wide-reaching importance can only be paralleled to the influence of movie moguls in Hollywood on popular trends and culture today. Re-mixing the structural components of some original script and score to evince yet another brilliant epic (eg: Star Wars, Terminator or Mission Impossible). If you capture the spirit of the time and extemporise it for all to see in Literature, Art or Music, you have captured the hearts and minds of a great diversity of populations and have further defined and unified their goals and aspirations for the future. A successful film version of “King Arthur” can be seen in John Boorman’s “Excalibur”, or Jerry Brockenheimer’s “King Arthur” and a semi-historical attempt at a “Roman Vision” by Touchstone Pictures is also available.
While the Arthurian Sagas are heavily influenced by events that are paralleled in earlier Greek, Egyptian and Mesopotamian tales these folkloric myths should therefore not be considered wholly Celtic in origin. The Greek writer Hecateus mentions the Hyperboreans – a people who dwelt beyond the north wind, who lived in an island smaller than Sicily, situated under the constellation of the Great Bear. The people of Brittany also traded with two cultures in Albion and Ierne (Britain and Ireland). This was probably a reference to a Druidic civilisation or religious cult whose followers worshipped the Goddess Latona and her son Apollo and whose high priests were probably responsible for the design and construction of Stonehenge.
However, it is the Breton, Welsh, Cornwellian and Irish peoples who hold the key to understanding the origins of the Arthurian strand of legends. In actual fact the first known “Britons” are recorded to have originated from Israel where as prisoners or slaves to the Assyrian conquerors were later deported, some travelling along the North African coast into Spain, Marseilles, Brittany and later to Britain, Wales and Ireland. Another migration is considered to have taken place shortly after the Trojan Wars and led by one named Brutus who had been exiled from Italy. On a remote island shrine to the Goddess Diana or Danu he was told by an oracle that a land occupied by giants would be a suitable location for him and his people. According to legend and scant historical fragments Brutus of Troy travelled into Spain where, allied to another exiled warrior named Corineus (the province of Cornwall is presumably derived from his name, while the word “Briton” is derived from Brutus). According to legend they slew the remaining “giants” on the island and established a new colony there. The archaic term Albion for the British Isles, which comes from the Latin root “albus” meaning white, is also an old Celtic name for Briton, so-called perhaps because of the white cliffs of Dover or the chalk hills of Salisbury Plain. However, we also know that the original pagan word Cretanis, from which the word Cretan is derived, later became Pretanis and later Britain due largely to linguistic revisions. The Celtic land of the dead was called Avalon – the island of apples after their principal Sun-god Apollon, whether this term was applied to Crete as the location of their roots again is uncertain. The crab apple malus sylvestris whose name means literally “from the woods” is an indigenous species to Britain, but other varieties were imported into Britain from around the Black Sea, Siberia and even China.
Prior to the installation of the Sun cult of Apollo these Neolithic and Megalithic cultures most certainly worshipped an Earth Goddess and a Moon Goddess inspired by lunar observations made from Stonehenge and Avebury. Another group were based in northern France around the region of Brittany each had established trading relationships with other colonies in Ireland and Scotland. With the arrival of the Romans these cultures moved further westwards into Wales and Ireland maintaining their strong pagan links to human sacrifice and other strange rituals and observances found within Druidic Religion. Merlin the Magician or Sage heralded from Wales and was probably an iconic symbol of the Druidic religion in the land of the Red Dragon. However, to trace the origins of these obscure cultures it is deemed necessary to explore the diffusion of their language and scripts. The Ogham alphabet for example was employed long ago by the Celtic and Druidic peoples. Several linguistic experts have deduced that the only significant area that could qualify as the original homeland of the Ogham alphabet is indeed Hebron in S. Judea known also as Negu or the “Land of the Trees” where the ancient Egyptians traded for timber – most probably cedar and pine. The task of transporting timber was subcontracted to the Phoenicians or “Sea-Peoples” because the Egyptians were not by nature a sea-faring race.
However, the race of peoples who are the likeliest candidates as originators of a lunar calendar were the Philistines or Pulesati. The term Philistine means literally “lovers of tin” or worshippers of the Etruscan God Tinne, known to the Celts as Teiwaz, to the Greeks as Zeus or to the Romans as Jupiter. This eastern Mediterranean race or culture have been largely misrepresented in traditional historical records as a barbaric or ignorant race. However, contrary to this widespread belief or opinion the Philistines were an evolved race who traded freely and mixed with other Indo-European and Aegean races such as the Lydians, Phyrgians, Carians or Cretans (Cherethites). They captured Hebron from the Edomites, (close allies of the Israelites) who later recaptured the region and adopted much of the Philistine religion and culture. In actual fact a great proportion of Philistine myths was grafted onto Judaic and Indo-European mythology, the latter claiming it as their own. On the Bronze Age Phaistos Disc from Crete an undeciphered image which can only be construed as the face of either a Hyksos or Philistine warrior is clearly depicted sporting a characteristic Mohican hairstyle.
Around 1,300-1,200 BC the Mediterranean region was occupied by numerous clans or communities and according to Robert Graves these consisted of the Tiberians, the Moschians, the Tyrehenians, the Cimmerians, the Ionians, the Hittites, the Hebru and the Hyksos. These races can be classified according to the language they used the main roots of which were Arabic, Semitic, Indo-Aryan and Scythian. A number of other linguistic subgroups need to be considered such as Etruscan, Pelasgian Greek, Cadmean, Iberian and various Celtic tongues such as Goidelic, Cymric, and Breton. Around 1,780 BC the Hyksos travelled from their base in Armenia and invaded Syria, Palestine and N. Egypt. They worshipped the “ass-eared” God Set known to the Greeks as Typhon. This warlike migration was typical of a period when many Caucasian and Black Sea cultures were being forcibly displaced by an invasion of warring and pillaging Indo-Aryan and Turko-Mongol tribesmen. As a direct result of this the agricultural paradise and confederate stability of the Aegean Black Sea region was being seriously disrupted. This forced many of these confederate cultures westward along N. Africa, to Libya, Spain, southern France and onto Ireland and Cornwall. Some found suitable escape routes northwards along the river valleys into N. Europe, Denmark and then on into Britain and Wales. While others found suitable sanctuary in Marseilles in S. France, some remote islands of Greece and some regions of N. Italy. In 1,250 BC cultural distinctions arose between the patriarchal Achaeans of NW Greece and the matriarchal Danaans in the Peloponnese and the Pelasgian tribe of peoples ensuring more migratory expeditions from the area. Another major reason for the transmigration of Aegean cultures to Britain was purely commercial ie: the need for large quantities of tin employed in the production of bronze. Cornwall was rich in tin deposits and was a favourite candidate as a trading colony to the Aegean peoples. With the discovery and use of iron in weaponry the Danaan cultures retreated further into geographic and historical obscurity.
Literary & Historical Sources
Around 600 AD the Welsh bard Aneirin wrote a poem called Gododin indirectly making reference to a certain King who slaughtered many of his detractors and opponents. In 800 AD a Welsh Monk Nennius made a reference to him in his own History of Britain, and then later describes the final Battle of Camlann in the Annales Cambriae where along with Mordred, his arch rival, he is killed and later transported to the Otherworld in order that he might be reborn. In the 12th. century Geoffrey of Monmouth (otherwise known as Robert de Boron circa 1200) wrote the “History of the Kings of England” or the Historia Reggum Brittanaie this work purports to give the history of Britain from the time of the arrival of Brutus the Trojan. This was shortly after a time that as an ecclesiastic he wrote a short work known as the Prophecies of Merlin, which were later included in the above. This work may have therefore described the life of a certain King Artorius who was known to the Welsh as UTHuR or Utar PENDRAGON whose exploits were recorded by Nennius at an earlier period. At this stage the historical character of Arthur merges with the old Celtic mythical deities found in the earlier Welsh literary strands of the Mabinogion, Culhwych and Olven and the Spoils of Annwyn. Robert de Boron, alias Geoffrey of Monmouth wrote “Joseph d’Arimathie”, “Merlin” and “Perceval”, a trilogy of poems which parallels the ongoing political and cultural relationship between Rome, Britain and Gaul. Of these poems only the first and a fragment of the second have survived. The latter were later adapted into prose by an anonymous author, then much later expanded upon to form what is commonly known as the Vulgate Cycle which was completed before 1240 by another team of writers who, according to academic research, certainly understood the nature of their work. This final work included sections on Merlin, The Round Table, Sir Lancelot, The Holy Grail, and Morte D’Arthur. Any Arthurian literature written after that is known as the “Post Vulgate Cycle”.
The English historian William of Malmesbury also mentions Arthur as a many time hero of numerous Welsh legends. Urther Pendragon – the son of Aurelius Ambrosius was perceived as Arthur‘s father and while Geoffrey’s work is according to many literary academics and historians as much a work of fiction as well as fact it was certainly embroidered with some of Geoffrey’s fanciful ideas – largely based on the Welsh Legend – “Culhwych and Olwen” (c.1100 AD). This story parallels the Greek myth of the kidnapping of Persephone, the corn maiden by Hades Lord of the Underworld whereby the land became barren and cold. A bitter conflict ensues until a compromise is reached, it was subsequently arranged for her to spend six months on earth with Zeus and the remainder underground. While Culhwych and Olven derives much from obscure and ancient British literary sources like the “Black Book of Carmarthen” (Pag ur) and the Welsh poem “Preiddeu Annwfn” attributed to Taliesen, it does however provide us with a traditional or coherent starting point. Geoffrey also wrote a poem called the Life of Merlin –“Vita Merlini” whose narrative tale takes place in Scotland. (See “Merlin the Magician”)
Despite the embroidery of fiction with fact, there is indeed some evidence to suggest that an “Arthur” actually existed that is among many other possible candidates for the role proposed by numerous academics and scholars. Like the numerous candidates proposed for the pseudonymous “William Shakespeare” some curious academic will eventually solve the riddle of Arthur or we will finally accept him purely as a legendary or mythical figure. He probably established himself as a powerful chief and leader of men, rallied and united the dispirited Celtic tribes and successfully defended Britain against the civilising influences of the Roman Governor Lucius, as well as the barbaric attacks from Pictish and Saxon invaders. The myth of Arthur experienced a revival when the Christian Church declared the existence of his tomb and that of the other knights although it was also rumoured that no one knew where Arthur was buried. This was most certainly an ecclesiastical ploy to attract pilgrims to the shrine at Glastonbury. Additional evidence suggests that “The Cymric Sagas” – attributed to the Welsh Bard Bleheris, were thought to have been Geoffrey’s original inspiration for the romantic extemporisations. While it is also recorded that a certain Walter the Archdeacon was also thought to be a guide and mentor for much of Geoffrey’s literary development. Sir Thomas Malory translated the French Vulgate Cycle and compiled his own series of Romances most notably “Lancelot of the Laik” for Scottish readers. He edited much of the rambling verses from French authors adding episodes from the work of Chrétien de Troyes. In the Great Hall of Winchester Castle, hanging on the west wall is a huge circular mandala featuring King Arthur and the names of his knights. Apparently, it was built by a French joiner who suggested a circular table that could be dismantled and did not give precedence to any knight whenever they assembled before King Arthur. It had 12 seats for the knights and another raised dais for King Arthur, dated from around 1250-1255 the design has been renovated and restored at subsequent periods. When archaeologists examined the disk they discovered that it was originally used as a table top with the legs now removed. The Great Hall was refurbished in the reign of Henry IIIrd.
These Arthurian legends went through three major transformational changes – firstly they were drawn from their early Pagan ancestors who may have derived them from as far afield as Mesopotamia and India – possibly from both early Vedic and Sumerian civilisations. They were later “Christianised” to serve the ecclesiastical and military rulers into mobilising armies for the crusades and then finally romanticised by writers who were inspired by a renaissance of Celtic mythological literature in Europe. They consequently found a home among many secret organisations and some esoteric schools or Brotherhoods like The Knight Templars, the Cathars of France and even Medieval Alchemy.
Some Literary Texts of the Arthurian Strand
To begin I have only listed the major Arthurian literary works which are nevertheless merely the tip of the iceberg, the entire list being too large to reference in a short essay. Literature in the courtly love tradition includes such works as “Lancelot”, by Chrétien de Troyes; “Tristan und Isolt” (1210), by Gottfried von Strassburg; “Le Roman de la Rose”, by Guillaume de Lorris and Jean de Meun; and the Arthurian romances. The theme of courtly love was developed in Dante Alighieri‘s “La Vita Nuova” (The New Life) and “La Divina Commedia” (The Divine Comedy), and in the sonnets of the Italian poet Petrarch. Among them are also “The Cymric Sagas” (Attributed to the Bard Bleheris) who was born in Wales and carried on the Arthurian tradition much in the manner of Chrétien de Troyes. Then there are the Four Branches of the “Mabinogion” which is an original Welsh Work containing four romance legends which strictly speaking are not in any way Arthurian: Pwyll, Branwen, Manawyden, and Math. Numerous translations are available notably by: C. Guest & J. Jones – Cardiff 1997, G. Jones & T. Jones – Dent London 1949 and J. Gantz – Penguin Harmondsworth 1969. The prose romance known as the “Huth Merlin” was first published in 1886 by Gaston and Jacob Ulrich and derived from a 14th century manuscript that belonged to Alfred Huth but which is now in the British Museum. It contains Robert de Boron’s “Joseph & Merlin” which was discovered by Paulin Paris among the books in the library of the Comte de Corbiere. F.J. Furnivall recognised it as the long lost manuscript which Malory used in his own “Morte d’Arthur” that remained undiscovered by academics till then. In 1945 an unknown yet new 14th century manuscript emerged from a London bookseller who sold it to Cambridge University. On examination it contained the “Estoire del Saint Graal”, the “Merlin” and the “Suite du Merlin”. It was originally part of other artefacts found in a trunk at Ribston Hall, Wetherby that went back to the 12th century.
Later on numerous revisions and editions of the original “Mabinogion” by various authors were made including Lady Charlotte Guest’s version from 1848 that now include the following works which are more notably Arthurian in nature eg: Gereint & Enid, Culhwych & Olwen, Peredur and finally The Dream of Rhonawy. Alongside this is “The Song of Amergin” which is an ancient Calendar alphabet found in both Welsh and Irish variants has thirteen descriptive phrases, statements or transformations for each letter of the Celtic alphabet. It was supposedly chanted when the chief bard of the Milesian invaders (Amorgen) set foot on Irish soil. Also we have the “Black Book of Carmarthen” which is a jumble of 58 poems called collectively “the Romance of Taliesen” which are not included in the Mabinogion, but it is a twelfth century manuscript which contains Arthurian Poetry. Next is the “The Red Book of Hergest” a collection of 14thcentury manuscripts which contains elements of the Mabinogion cycle. Of some relevance is “The White Book of Rhydderch” and another fourteenth century manuscript which contains elements of the Mabinogion cycle. Finally, there is “The Romance of Taliesen” which is included in a revised version by Lady Charlotte Guest. Now, Taliesen (which literally translated means “radiant brow” or hillside) was the name given to the abandoned child Gwion who later became a bard who, though he lived some time after the period of King Arthur, was later drawn into the Arthurian Legends. His powers were derived from accidentally partaking of a magic potion that was being prepared by the witch Ceridwen when he was a mere child. When Cerridwen discovers what he has done she transforms herself into a black screaming hag and pursues Gwion while he escapes by transforming himself into various animals. He transforms himself into a hare, she becomes a greyhound, then he becomes a fish and dives into the river and she changes into an otter. Gwion magically turns himself into a bird and soars into the sky, she then changes into a hawk in hot pursuit. He then decides to become a grain of wheat and she then turns into a hen, finds him on the floor and eats him whole. However, when she finally transformed herself into her usual form, she realised she was pregnant and no longer had the heart to kill him and prepared to rear him as her own child. When he was born however, she had some misgivings, she tied him up in a leather sack and threw him into the sea a few days before May Day. Thus Gwion floated along until he was discovered by Prince Elphin and renamed Taliesen which means “beautiful brow”. This strange accident was also responsible for transforming him into a supernatural being, a visionary poet and prophet. In one story it is actually his mother who discovers the reason for his strange demeanour or countenance and being terrified of the eventual repercussions, she decided to place him in a leather bag and toss him into the river nearby. Another tale says he was magically produced by the God Gwydion. The last of the Welsh sources is “The Lion with the Steady/Long Arm” in which the Lion with the steady hand is of course the Welsh Llew Law Gyffes or Saxon Lugh. The story of the birth of a “Magical Child” born of an illicit sexual union is not new but belongs to the ancient past (eg: Apuleius, “The Golden Ass”). It should be noted for example that in Egyptian and Arthurian mythology it is the magical union of the Cornish Queen (Igerna) with the Welsh Knight (Uthur Pendragon) which results in the birth of a magical child (*Arcturus) just as the Egyptian goddess Isis is conjoined with Osiris which results in the birth of the ‘god-child’ Horus. Assisted of course with the help of Merlin the Magician. In Alchemy the magical formula of these unions continues with Morgana (Princess/Assiah), having obtained the magic words or spell from Merlin so she can transform herself into the image of Igerna in order to seduce Arcturus and thereby give birth to his future protagonist Mordred (Seth). In Qaballism and Alchemy therefore he represents a 5th element or world, the union of Atziluth & Assiah (See “The Four Worlds In Qaballah”). The anomalies seem to result out of some poorly chosen nomenclature for the term Knight (Atziluth) and Guinevere (Briah) that result in the new-born son or Prince Arthur (Yetzirah). Geoffrey of Monmouth’s Arthurian episode actually has a Greek origin and is synonymous with the history of Alexander the Great supposedly the son of Phillip of Macedon and his wife Olympiades but in reality he was the magical child of a mysterious or adulterous union of Olympiades (Phillip’s wife) and a Magus from Egypt, Nectanebus who transformed himself into a serpent (Ammon) then sexually deceived Phillip’s wife and so, magically impregnated, gave birth to a miraculous and powerful ruler of the ancient world.
Among those manuscripts from Italy are a Post Vulgate manuscript with illustrations whose Moroccan leather cover with the embossed arms of Louis XIVth. The manuscript was in the library of the 5th Duke of Milan-the so-called Sforza family, whose name appears on the initial pages. It was acquired by Louis XIIth around 1499-1500. It currently remains with the Paris National Bibliothéque. The Sforza family also commissioned Tarot cards featuring the 22 Tarot trumps as early as 1415 that featured the iconography related to Charlemagne, Hercules and King Arthur among many other iconic figures of history.
Among those literary sources from France are the “Sagas of Brittany” by Marie de France & Chrétien de Troyes. These include “Eric & Enide”, and “Yvain”, “The Knight with the Lion”, “Perceval”, “The Histoire of the Grail” and “Tristan & Iseult”.
Of the Germanic Sagas there is “Tristan” (1170) by Eilhart von Oberge or “Parsifal & Willeham” by Wolfram Von Essenbach and “Tristan” by Gottfried Von Strassburg, a pioneer of the Renaissance who belonged to an élite group of German romance poets and was a contemporary and fervent literary rival to the Austrian poet Essenbach. His poem “Tristan” was written about 1210. Aside from that is Ulrich von Zatzikhoven’s “Lanzelet” a 13th century revision of Lancelot’s early life as an aspiring knight of the realm.
Of the English Arthurian Sagas are Nennius & Geoffrey of Monmouth alias Robert de Boron. Aided by a book given to him by Walter the Archdeacon Geoffrey of Monmouth compiled his own version –“A History of the Kings of Britain”. Then the “Prophecies of Merlin” or simply “Merdynn” or as it was known in Welsh “Vita Merlini”.
Among the Spanish/Portuguese Sagas are the 16th century manuscript translations by Manuel Alvarez at Lisbon (Livro de Josep Abaramatia) the property of King John of Portugal, it is derived from an earlier 12th century manuscript. “El Baladro del Sabio Merlin” is another in Oviedo University Library and “La Demanda del Sancto Grial” (National Library of Madrid) also found in the British Museum and the Paris Bibliothéque National.
Related articles include: “Merlin the Magician”, “The Knights of the Round Table”, and “The Sword in the Stone”.
