Historia Brittonum: A History of the Brittonic People

Introduction to Historia Brittonum; and its sections Historia Brittonum (History of Britons) is a purported history of the indigenous Brittonic people.  The text is reputed to have been written c AD 828/829, and survives in numerous recensions that date from after the 11th Century AD.  The Historia Brittonum is commonly attributed to Nennius, as some … Read more

The Round Table

The Round Table is one of the most important components of Arthur’s Camelot. The Knights of the Round Table were men of honor, dignity and courage that protected damsels in distress, went to quests and battled for their country. During times of peace, knights did different activities such as hunting, jousting, and chivalry. The Knights … Read more

The Saxons

Some historians believe that the character of King Arthur is loosely based on a Roman (and/or Welsh) affiliated military leader who successfully fought off a Saxon invasion during the 5th or 6th century. The first attributed author to this theory is a man named Nennuis in the year 830. He described Arthur as a heroic … Read more

Morgan Le Fay

Morgan Le Fay has been portrayed in various styles and forms throughout history. Her character has been proposed to be good or evil, depending on the century and author that is followed. The fact she is seen as the hero and villain makes her an intriguing character.

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Cerdic of Wessex

The first king of the kingdom of Wessex, and certainly one of the most interesting of its kings, was a man known as Cerdic. A considerable amount of speculation has been made concerning who this man really was, where he came from, and how he may relate to the Arthurian legends.

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Was King Arthur Welsh?

Castell Dinas Bran, near Llangollen, Denbigshire, Wales, UK

In some casual commentaries on King Arthur, we sometimes encounter the statement that he ‘defended the English from the Anglo-Saxons’. Of course, such a statement is deeply flawed, because the Anglo-Saxons were the nation from which the English developed. The very word ‘English’ is rooted in the word ‘Angle’. So in other words, the English … Read more

Was King Arthur Real?

Perhaps the single most fundamental and important question a person could ask about Arthur is, Did he exist? This is the foundation on which all other questions about the man are constructed (such as ‘Who was his wife?’, ‘Where did he live?’, ‘Did he have descendants?’).

There is no universal consensus on this issue, but scholars generally fall into two main camps. One of these is the idea that there most likely was a historical military leader named Arthur at the core of the stories. The opposing theory is that Arthur was actually a figure of mythology or folklore, but then he came to be ‘historicized’ as the centuries went on.

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