New welder !

I always liked the theory that Arthur was an expatriated Roman. Probably utter hogwash, but amusing nonetheless.

I always liked the theory that Arthur was an expatriated Roman. Probably utter hogwash, but amusing nonetheless.

--------------------------- He wasn't expatriated, Rome had conquered Britannia without much resistance a few decades after the time of Jesus. Constantine the Great was first acclaimed Roman Emperor in York, and fought his way to the top of the rest of the Empire.

Little writing survives from the time of the decline of Roman power in the provinces and resulting disruption of literate society by warlords who filled the power vacuum, and the orally passed stories evolved into mythology. Why not explain dinosaur fossils as dragons? "Londinium, once a major city, was completely abandoned during the 5th century."

The same Flavius Aetius to whom The Groans of the Britons was addressed was responsible for the disruption among Germans that inspired the legendary Ring Cycle. King Etzel in that story is Attila the Hun.

Most ancient text exists as handwritten copies (manuscripts) from 1000 -

1200AD or later, with a few exceptions from the Roman era. codex is a bound book, then beginning to replace scrolls. It may be a first edition, one of the 50 Bible copies that Emperor Constantine commissioned, after a convention to decide what material to include or omit (much), that Santa Claus attended and where he was naughty. jsw, weaving in a tale for Christmas.

I'd recommend Mary Stewart's _The Crystal Cave_ and _The Hollow Hills_ for an historically fictional account of Arthur and Merlin. The first covers the time from Merlin as a child (bastard son of Ambrosius, who became King of Britian) through to the conception of Arthur (by Ambrosius' brother Uther and Ygraine of Cornwall). The second covers Arthur from a babe in arms to becoming King of Britian. The third, The Last Enchantment, covers Arthur's reign and death. All are written from Merlin's viewpoint; and give an interesting depiction of life in the 6th century.

In the story, Ambrosius and Uther had been exiled to Brittany (France) when Vortigern took the throne. They returned, killed Vortigern and chased the Saxons (Germans bribed with land by Vortigern) out of Britian.

Ambrosius and Uther were the sons of Constantine, who was the son of Maximus (a Roman general, usurper and emperor) who settled in Britain after being deposed in the 4th century, which in the story anyway, makes Arthur a descendent of Maximus.

Stewart doesn't follow history exactly, but it is pretty close. And far better than T.H. White (The Once and Future King) or MZB (_The Mists of Avalon_).

New on Project Gutenberg: