Arthur the Pendragon
Book Details
Author(s)Mansel Jones
PublisherGoylake Publishing
ISBN / ASINB00PO5OYZS
ISBN-13978B00PO5OYZ7
Sales Rank1,257,551
MarketplaceUnited States 🇺🇸
Description
This eBooklet contains four articles on the life and times of Arthur the Pendragon along with an extract from Pendragon, my novel about Arthur. - Mansel Jones
Extract
Arthur was a warlord of the late fifth and early sixth centuries who defeated the Saxons at the Battle of Badon, a victory that heralded a fifty year period of relative peace. Although sources for Arthur are scarce, he is mentioned in the Annales Cambriae (Welsh Annals), the Historia Brittonum (History of the Britons) and a number of early medieval poems, including Y Gododdin. And yet many modern historians choose to write Arthur out of history. Why should this be?
Historians who dismiss Arthur as an historical figure point to Gildas' sixth century polemic De Excidio et Conquestu Britanniae (On the Ruin and Conquest of Britain). In De Excidio et Conquestu Britanniae, Gildas records the Battle of Badon and yet makes no mention of Arthur by name. That said, Gildas does not mention any leader by name at the Battle of Badon, thus allowing the possibility that Arthur was the leader of the Britons. Those historians arguing against the existence of Arthur also point to the fact that he is not mentioned in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, c890s, or in Bede's Ecclesiastical History of the English People, c731. However, given that Arthur was a hero of the original Britons and the developing Welsh nation it is little wonder that his name was ignored.
The earliest literary references to Arthur can be attributed to Welsh and Breton sources. In these sources Arthur is portrayed as a peerless warrior who protects Britain from the Saxons and from monsters, including giant cats, ferocious dragons and divine boars. In these tales Arthur also appears as a sort of superhero living in the wilds of the landscape and, in the Welsh tradition, as someone who can bridge the gap between this world and the Otherworld or Annwn. Clearly, these tales are just that, stories, but for millennia stories have been written, reshaped and based on real events and real people. Arguably, the same holds true for Arthur.
Several poems attributed to the sixth century poet Taliesin also refer to Arthur. These poems include ‘Kadeir Teyrnon’ (‘The Chair of the Prince’), making reference to ‘Arthur the Blessed’, ‘Preiddeu Annwn’ (‘The Spoils of Annwn’), which recounts Arthur’s expedition to the Otherworld, and ‘Marwnat Vthyr Pendragon’ (‘The Elegy of Uther Pendragon’), a poem that refers to Arthur's valour.
Extract
Arthur was a warlord of the late fifth and early sixth centuries who defeated the Saxons at the Battle of Badon, a victory that heralded a fifty year period of relative peace. Although sources for Arthur are scarce, he is mentioned in the Annales Cambriae (Welsh Annals), the Historia Brittonum (History of the Britons) and a number of early medieval poems, including Y Gododdin. And yet many modern historians choose to write Arthur out of history. Why should this be?
Historians who dismiss Arthur as an historical figure point to Gildas' sixth century polemic De Excidio et Conquestu Britanniae (On the Ruin and Conquest of Britain). In De Excidio et Conquestu Britanniae, Gildas records the Battle of Badon and yet makes no mention of Arthur by name. That said, Gildas does not mention any leader by name at the Battle of Badon, thus allowing the possibility that Arthur was the leader of the Britons. Those historians arguing against the existence of Arthur also point to the fact that he is not mentioned in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, c890s, or in Bede's Ecclesiastical History of the English People, c731. However, given that Arthur was a hero of the original Britons and the developing Welsh nation it is little wonder that his name was ignored.
The earliest literary references to Arthur can be attributed to Welsh and Breton sources. In these sources Arthur is portrayed as a peerless warrior who protects Britain from the Saxons and from monsters, including giant cats, ferocious dragons and divine boars. In these tales Arthur also appears as a sort of superhero living in the wilds of the landscape and, in the Welsh tradition, as someone who can bridge the gap between this world and the Otherworld or Annwn. Clearly, these tales are just that, stories, but for millennia stories have been written, reshaped and based on real events and real people. Arguably, the same holds true for Arthur.
Several poems attributed to the sixth century poet Taliesin also refer to Arthur. These poems include ‘Kadeir Teyrnon’ (‘The Chair of the Prince’), making reference to ‘Arthur the Blessed’, ‘Preiddeu Annwn’ (‘The Spoils of Annwn’), which recounts Arthur’s expedition to the Otherworld, and ‘Marwnat Vthyr Pendragon’ (‘The Elegy of Uther Pendragon’), a poem that refers to Arthur's valour.
More Books by Mansel Jones
