BBC - Wales History: Geoffrey of Monmouth: making fact out of fiction Post categories: History , Myths and legends Phil Carradice | 16:20 UK time, Friday, 13 July 2012 For hundreds of years the standard history of Britain was the one supplied by an obscure teacher, writer, cleric - and, later, priest - of dubious Welsh connections. His name was Geoffrey of Monmouth and his words were believed implicitly, from the time of their creation in the 12th century right down to the days of Queen Elizabeth. Only much later did it become clear that Geoffrey's version of British history came from a range of different sources. These included a ninth century Welsh book of history (written in both Latin and Welsh), the work of monks like Bede and Gildas, the poems of several Welsh bards - and, in particular, his own rather vivid imagination. Virtually everything about Geoffrey of Monmouth is obscure, even his date of birth. In all probability he was born around the year 1100, possibly in the Marches of Wales. Even that is unclear.

Historia Regum Britanniae He called himself Geoffrey of Monmouth in his most famous and influential book, Historia Regum Britanniae, a supposed history of Britain's kings. He probably, therefore, had some connection with the Monmouth area and may well have been born there. The background of his parents is, likewise, also unknown but they may well have come from Brittany with William the Conqueror in 1066. It is unlikely that he had any Welsh blood in him - as was originally believed - and he almost certainly had only a passing acquaintance with the Welsh language. He wrote in Latin, as did most learned men in those days. For many years it was believed that Geoffrey was a monk or a cleric at the Benedictine Priory in Monmouth but, in fact, he may well only have studied there as a youth. Most of his adult life was actually spent outside Wales. Certainly he was made secular canon at the Collegiate Church of St George in Oxford and between 1129 and 1151 his name, along with that of the Archdeacon of Oxford, appeared on six different charters for the Oxford area.

Bishop of St Asaph On 21 February 1152 Geoffrey of Monmouth was appointed Bishop of St Asaph. Amazingly, he had only been ordained as a priest some two weeks before. The new Bishop probably never went near St Asaph as the rebellion of Owain Gwynedd was raging at the time and to venture to that particular part of north Wales would, in all honestly, have meant death and disaster. Geoffrey died somewhere around December 1155, already acknowledged as a major historian but, in reality, one of the greatest legend makers Wales and Britain had ever seen. Dedicated to Robert, Earl of Gloucester, Historia Regum Britanniae remains his best known work. It purported to be a true history of Britain and of her kings from the time of Brutus - a descendant of Aeneas of Troy, not the Shakespearean character - through the Roman invasion of Julius Caesar to the reigns of Leir and Cymbeline (that one DID later become a Shakespearean figure). Creating a legend Above all his Historia included the character for whom Geoffrey is always best remembered, King Arthur.

His work on creating the legend - arguably a necessity in a period of trouble and strife when the country was desperately seeking to return to happier, more peaceful times - certainly began the popularity of the Arthurian legend. Later kings and historians took the legend and adapted it to their own needs but it undoubtedly began with Geoffrey of Monmouth. Unfortunately, Geoffrey did not confine himself to the true historical facts around the character of Arthur. After all, like most story tellers - and that is how we should remember him, as a very good story teller - Geoffrey was not going to let the truth get in the way of a great tale. It remains a sad fact but if Geoffrey had told the real story of the Romano-British warrior chief who fought against the Saxon invaders we might have had more of a grasp on our history during those troubled years. As it was, his work - his fantasy work - on Arthur and Merlin opened the way to a whole raft of Arthurian fantasies. Geoffrey's earliest book was also on the Arthurian theme. The Prophesies of Merlin supposedly contained speeches and comments made by the great magician, translated by Geoffrey from some obscure language which he never identified. Clearly he was fascinated by the Arthurian topic.

Geoffrey of Monmouth remains an incredible character, in his way as compelling as the stories he created and the people he wove into them. View him as a man of his time - but certainly not as an accurate and detailed chronicler of Britain's history. Geoffrey of Monmouth - Medieval History Medieval History 30. April 2013 Geoffrey Monmouth A now-crumbled chapel on the site of Oxford Castle is almost certain to have been the place, where the Legends of King Arthur, part of the 12th century History of the Kings of Britain, were written by Geoffrey of Monmouth. Oxford Castle is a large, partly ruined Norman medieval castle situated on the west edge of Oxford in Oxfordshire, England. The originally moated wooden motte and bailey castle was replaced with stone in the 11th century. It played an important role in the conflict of the Anarchy, a civil war in England and Normandy between 1135 and 1153. However, in the 14th century the military value of the castle diminished and the site was used primarily for county administration and for detaining prisoners.

Most of the castle was destroyed during the English Civil War and by the 18th century the remaining buildings were used as Oxford’s local prison. Today the medieval remains of the castle, including the motte and St George’s Tower, are classed as a Grade I listed building and as a Scheduled Monument. The castle is used as venue for historical events and guided tours. In May there will be a week of family quests and Sword in the Stone-style activities around the castle celebrating the discovery that Geoffrey of Monmouth conceived his Historia Regum Britanniae there. ““It was Geoffrey who introduced the figures of King Arthur and Merlin to a wide medieval readership while he served in St George’s Chapel, on the site of what is now Oxford Castle,” explains Helen Fulton to BBC , Professor of Medieval Literature at the University of York with particular knowledge of Arthurian literature. She continues: “We know he must have been in Oxford in at least 1129 or earlier and the book was written around 1136. He must have been based there when he wrote his famous Latin chronicle, Historia Regum Britanniae, around 1136.

Oxford Castle Oxford castle is first recorded in1071 when the Annals od Oseney states that “in the same year the castle of Oxford was built by Robert de Oilly the First”. The castle was inserted into the Western end of the late Saxon Town and made use of the river in its defences. The first Norman castle was presumably made out of earth and timer; it may have had the form of a “ring-work”. However, very soon its plan comprised a mound and bailey. The castle never played a significant role in the History of England, except during the Anarchy when King Stephen besieged the Empress Matilda in 1142. The castle was yet again under attack in 1215 during the war of the Barons. Very early on in the 12th century the original wooden buildings were replaced by stone-work. However from the 14th century the castle was allowed to fall into disrepair and its functions ceased to be military. St. George’s Tower and the crypt belong to the earliest stone-work. It is even possible these edifices belonged to an earlier church, since the parish of St. George is documented from pre-conquest.

The crypt and the tower is all that is left of this church. In the end of the 18th century a huge part of the old building was sacrificed in order to built a prison in the former castle. The former nave and chancel was at that point rebuilt as a prison hospital. However, part of the crypt still stands. Its massive proportions and its rough stone-carvings represent the vestiges of this very early building from the 12th century. Geoffrey of Monmouth Geoffrey of Monmouth was a 12th-century cleric and writer who was a key figure in collection and distribution of the legends of King Arthur. Relatively little is known about his life but it is believed he was born around 1100 in Wales or the Welsh Marches and had a Breton father and a Welsh mother. He is described as magister, a Latin word meaning master, which suggests he may have been teaching in the early days of the university. He was made bishop of St. Asaph in Wales in 1152 and died in 1155.

READ MORE: A Companion to Arthurian Literature (Blackwell Companions to Literature and Culture) By Helen Fulton (Editor) Wiley-Blackwell (6 Jan 2012) This Companion offers a chronological sweep of the canon of Arthurian literature – from its earliest beginnings to the contemporary manifestations of Arthur found in film and electronic media. Part of the popular series, Blackwell Companions to Literature and Culture, this expansive volume enables a fundamental understanding of Arthurian literature and explores why it is still integral to contemporary culture. Offers a comprehensive survey from the earliest to the most recent works Features an impressive range of well–known international contributors Examines contemporary additions to the Arthurian canon, including film and computer games Underscores an understanding of Arthurian literature as fundamental to western literary tradition The History of the Kings of Britain (Classics) Geoffrey of Monmouth (Author), Lewis Thorpe (Introduction, Translator) Penguin Classics; New Impression edition (25 Jan 1973) Completed in 1136, The History of the Kings of Britain traces the story of the realm from its supposed foundation by Brutus to the coming of the Saxons some two thousand years later.

Vividly portraying legendary and semi-legendary figures such as Lear, Cymbeline, Merlin the magician and the most famous of all British heroes, King Arthur, it is as much myth as it is history and its veracity was questioned by other medieval writers. But Geoffrey of Monmouth’s powerful evocation of illustrious men and deeds captured the imagination of subsequent generations, and his influence can be traced through the works of Malory, Shakespeare, Dryden and Tennyson. Geoffrey of Monmouth | Article about Geoffrey of Monmouth by The Free Dictionary Geoffrey of Monmouth | Article about Geoffrey of Monmouth by The Free Dictionary Also found in: Dictionary , Wikipedia . Geoffrey of Monmouth His chronicle Historia Regum Britanniae Geoffrey of Monmouth (mŏn`məth), c.1100–1154, English author. He was probably born at Monmouth and was of either Breton or Welsh descent. In 1152 he was named bishop of St. Asaph in Wales.

His Historia regum Britanniae (written c.1135), supposedly a chronicle of the kings of Britain, is one of the chief sources of the Arthurian legend Arthurian legend, the mass of legend, popular in medieval lore, concerning King Arthur of Britain and his knights. Medieval Sources The battle of Mt. Badon—in which, according to the Annales Cambriae (c. ..... Click the link for more information. . Geoffrey was the first to write a coherent account of Arthur, establishing the great warrior as a national hero, the conqueror of Western Europe. He drew information from the writings of Bede Bede, Saint , or Baeda (St. Bede the Venerable), 673?–735, English historian and Benedictine monk, Doctor of the Church, also called the Venerable Bede. He spent his whole life at the monasteries of Wearmouth (at Sunderland) and Jarrow and became probably the ..... Click the link for more information. , Gildas Gildas, Saint , d. 570, British historian, possibly a Welsh monk.

Shortly before 547 he wrote the De excidio et conquestu Britanniae, a Latin history of Britain dealing with the Roman invasion and the Anglo-Saxon conquest of England, the earliest authority for the period. ..... Click the link for more information. , Nennius Nennius , fl. 796, Welsh writer, to whom is ascribed the Historia Britonum. He lived on the borders of Mercia and probably was a pupil of Elbod, bishop of Bangor. ..... Click the link for more information. , the Welsh chronicles, and folklore, and imaginatively wove the whole into a fictional narrative in the form of a history. His work had great influence on Wace Wace , c.1100–1174, Norman-French poet of Jersey. King Henry II made him canon of Bayeux. His Roman de Brut (1155) is a long, rhymed chronicle of British history based on the Historia of Geoffrey of Monmouth. ..... Click the link for more information. , Layamon Layamon , fl. c.1200, first prominent Middle English poet.

He described himself as a humble priest attached to the church at Ernley (Arley Regis) near Radstone. His Brut ..... Click the link for more information. , and many chroniclers of the Middle Ages. Another work attributed to him, the Vita Merlini (1148), also influenced later stories of Arthur and Merlin Merlin, in Arthurian legend, magician, seer, and teacher at the court of King Vortigern and later at the court of King Arthur. He was a bard and culture hero in early Celtic folklore. In Arthurian legend he is famous as a magician and as the counselor of King Arthur. ..... Click the link for more information. . Bibliography See his History of the Kings of Britain, tr. by L. Thorpe (1966); study by J. S. P. Tatlock (1950). Geoffrey of Monmouth (Galfridus Monemutensis). Born circa 1100; died circa 1154. English chronicler.

Geoffrey’s main work, History of the Kings of Britain (circa 1137), covering the period up to the end of the seventh century, draws heavily from Celtic legend. One of its sources is History of the Britons by Nennius, a Welsh chronicler of the late eighth and early ninth century. Geoffrey’s chronicle influenced Medieval European literature and chronicles. Many later English writers, including Shakespeare, Milton, Pope, and Tennyson, relied upon Geoffrey’s work for source material. WORKS Brexit ideology goes back to 12th century Opinion Columnists |Katherine L. Hodges-Kluck Brexit ideology goes back to 12th century Posted: June 23, 2016 SHARE Posted: June 23, 2016 3 Last week's murder of Labour Party MP Jo Cox by Thomas Mair highlights the violent emotions that Britain's upcoming referendum on whether to stay in the European Union has ignited. Mair seems to have been driven by a belief that British identity is something timeless, now under attack from the outside forces of immigration, international law and global economics. British identity is old, but not timeless.

Eight centuries ago, writers at the English court crafted powerful national myths that still persist today. They also drew on the same passions that inspired the Crusades to make an England superior to the rest of the world. In the 1130s, a Welsh cleric named Geoffrey of Monmouth popularized stories of the legendary ancient kings of Britain. Replete with wizards, dragons and giants, Geoffrey's "History of the Kings of Britain" was the Harry Potter of its day. According to this book, God had singled out the British people. Their greatness was made evident through men like King Arthur. Other authors, almost all French-speaking, created their own versions of the Arthur story — the medieval equivalent of fan fiction. Many worked under the patronage of Henry II and his family. They wove English history together with the biblical past, with a heavy sprinkling of myth tossed in. Their elaborations on the Arthurian story reinforced the idea that the medieval kings of England — and the land they ruled — were not only powerful, but had inherited their power directly from God.

Holy objects, both biblical and apocryphal, appeared in these new stories: the spear that pierced Christ's side as he hung on the true cross, and the grail in which Joseph of Arimathea caught Jesus' blood. The Round Table, too, took on a new spiritual identity as a reminder of the Last Supper, Arthur and his knights now mirroring Christ and his Apostles. These holy objects were reported to have been brought to Britain by Joseph of Arimathea's family. Such stories therefore imagined Britain as a place where relics of Christ's Passion had come to rest alongside descendants of the Apostles. Just as England's 12th-century kings believed themselves heirs to Arthur's political legacy, they also saw themselves as heirs to God's spiritual legacy on Earth, ruling over a new Jerusalem. To understand the intense emotions of today's Brexit debate, we, too, might need to see England as Jerusalem. The Arthurian legend was further influenced by an idea from the late 11th century: crusading. Despite the chronological impossibility, Geoffrey imagined that Arthur had fought "Roman" armies composed of pseudo-Muslim kings from Libya, Syria and Egypt.

Richard I "the Lionheart," moreover, reportedly took Arthur's sword, Excalibur, with him on crusade in 1189. England's relationship to Islam is one of the most volatile issues in the Brexit debate. The far-right Britain First party to which Thomas Mair belonged calls for a "comprehensive ban" on Islam. Similarly, Ronald Noble, former head of Interpol, claims that open borders are "a sign welcoming terrorists to Europe." Like Geoffrey's Roman armies full of hostile pseudo-Muslims, Brexit supporters clearly view Europe as a wellspring of Muslim terrorists who threaten the very existence of the British nation. The belief in British exceptionalism driving today's Brexit movement has its roots in these nationalist ideas, first formulated in the 12th century. Lost in the uproar, however, is the historical irony that the idea of Englishness itself was founded upon stories that celebrated Britain's involvement in European and Near Eastern affairs, written by men who were themselves products of a broad European culture.

Press Reports about "Arturius - A Quest for Camelot" The Scotsman - July 1997 Writer bets King Arthur was a Scot A Hull author has thrown down the gauntlet and bet £1,000 that King Arthur was a 6th century Scots warrior leader from Falkirk, in the mould of William Wallace. Frank Carroll is so convinced of his theory that he has challenged all comers to produce hard evidence to disprove his version of the tale of Arthur and his Round Table. If he is wrong he will pay up £1,000. He claims Arthur's Camelot was at an old Roman fort at Camelon in Falkirk, while his warriors met at the raised King's Knot - the Round Table near Stirling Castle. Mr Carroll, who was brought up in Glasgow, last year published a book on Arthur after years of research into the historical figure. He said yesterday his offer was not a gimmick. "Since I went ahead and published the book on my own, nobody has approached me and suggested I am wrong when I claim Arthur was a Scot. "I am hoping that my offer, which is completely genuine, will provoke a reaction.

I am offering good money to anyone who can prove that I am not right, but I'm pretty confident I won't have to part with it." Mr Carroll said everything written about King Arthur over the years had been based on "legends, poems and myths". While many researchers had looked for Camelot and the Round Table to prove the existence of Arthur, he had decided on the opposite approach - establishing his identity, and where he lived. "It is possible to illustrate, by using reliable historical documents, that the Arthur of legend is based on an Arthur of history - Artuir or Arturius - who lived and fought in the Kingdom of Manann." This area, he said, stretched from Slamanan, now Slamannan, south of Falkirk, to the north of the River Forth in the Stirling area. He said that since the 12th century, Arthur had been connected with Wales and CornwalI, mainly due to the writings of a Norman-Welsh cleric, Geoffrey of Monmouth.

"He called him a king, when before that he was simply known as Arthur, a battle leader." Mr Carroll claimed Geoffrey of Monmouth had based "King Arthur" on stories of Artuir taken from Scotland to France in the early 12th century by Norman knights and Benedictine and Cistercian monks. "The stories were then brought from France by Geoffrey of Monmouth, who wrote the now-discredited History of the Kings of Britain. "In it, he attempted to fill a void in known history with the story of Arthur, as he called him." Mr Carroll said Artuir was the warrior son of Aidan MacGabran, who, in the late 6th century was chosen by St. Columba to be King of the Scots of Dalriada. When his father left to reign over what is now known as Argyll, Artuir had led the Scots and the Britons in battle against the pagan Picts and Saxons. "He was like Wallace, a battle leader, except he was the son of a king. Everybody knows about Wallace, but very few people know about Artuir. "When you mention King Arthur, everybody always asks about the knights.

Hollywood has built up this myth about knights galloping around with Arthur, when there were no knights in armour in those days." Mr Carroll said that he was convinced that Artuir's camp would have been located at Camelon - known as Camelot centuries ago - with the likely site being the Roman fort known to have existed there. According to the Annals of Ulster, he said, Artuir had died in battle against the Picts in 582 AD, at the Battle of Camlann. The site, he claims, is marked by a Pictish stone in a wooded area on the Stirling University campus. The author is also adamant that Merlin, the mythical Arthur's adviser, did exist. "He was based on a real Druid called Myrddin, who wandered the Caledonian Forest before being taken under the protection of King Ryderrch of Dumbarton, an ally of Arthur." Mr Carroll has placed his challenge on the Internet. He can be contacted through his Web site at Hull Daily Mail - June 1997 King Arthur's Last Stand A historian is hoping to re-enact the last stand of the legendary King Arthur.

The identity of the mythical character has been carefully pieced together by David Carroll from Cottingham. And now he is hoping to recreate the real King Arthur's last battle on August 17. He believes the legend originated with a real figure from history - Arturius - a Scot fighting on the side of the Ancient Britons who populated the west side of the country. Mr Carroll (54) has charted the story of Arturius in his book "Arturius - A Quest For Camelot". He claims he has traced the legend back to a prince called Arturius who died fighting the Picts in 582AD at the Battle of Camlann. Now he is set to return to the battleground at Falkirk, in Scotland, and hopes to take some local fellow warriors with him. "They are having a weekend yearly pageant in Falkirk with chariot races, fencing displays and historical displays," he said. "We are re-enacting a real battle. Much of the story of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table has been added over the centuries.

"The vast majority - 99 per cent - of the legend is fantasy, but one per cent of it is the truth." Back in 582AD the country was split into small kingdoms with the Angles and Saxons in the east and the kingdoms of the Ancient Britons extending from Cornwall up to southern Scotland. Mr Carroll can help recreate the costumes of the ancient warriors and he hopes to make it a regular event if it is a success. Anyone wanting to make the pilgrimage to Falkirk can contact Mr Carroll on (01482) 842257. The Daily Mail - January 1996 The Legend of Arthur, King of Camelon! Through the mists of time, Knights of the Round Table reveal Scots Roots Five years of research on King Arthur did not lead historian Frank Carroll to Camelot, but he wasn't far away. Instead, he wound up in the Scottish village of Camelon, near Falkirk. Camelon has long claimed to have connections with the legend of the medieval king, but Mr Carroll had never heard of it when he set out to find out whether there was any substance to the man and the story.

His work, using ancient records, has not only proved the village was right all along but also disproved some of the claims made on Arthur's name by other parts of Britain. The 53-year-old from Hull says the real Arthur was never a king, but a prince in the 6th century. Arturius led an army and lived in a camp at Camelon, then the site of a camp which was verified by excavations earlier this century. He lived ten miles from Stirling, which Mr Carroll reckons to be where the original round Table was based, at an area called King's Knot which now lies close to Stirling Castle. The area he defended was called the Kingdom of Manann, and can be identified today by the village of Slamannan in the south to the Ochill HilIs, part of Clackmannan, in the north. Using source material from the 7th century - the first written records of the battles between the Britons and the Picts - his research shows that Arturius died in 582AD at the battle of Camlann.

However, this is not a corruption of Camelon as earlier thought, but an area next to the town of Bridge of Allan, north of Stirling. While Mr Carroll was unable to find a Guinivere or a Sword In the Stone, the records show there was a druid by the name of Myrddin, or Merlin, In nearby Dumbartonshire. And he's traced an area of land next to Stirling known as Invalone, which might have led to the name of the island of Avalon in the legend. Mr Carroll says one thing is certain: Arthur was never in Tintagel, the castle in Cornwall visited by thousands or people every year looking for his birthplace. 'The castle wasn't even built until the 12th century, around 600 years after he died, and there is nothing at all in the records to show there was anyone with that name at the time, he said. 'There was a lot of romantic writing done at the time which fitted some fantasy in where there were no facts.

'That is probably where the legend has come from, but where there are facts they don't point to Cornwall, Wales or anywhere else outside Camelon.' At Tintagel, visited by 150,000 people last year, castle custodian Patrick Riodrin says he won't be offering any argument. He said: 'We know that the castle wasn't built until later on, but who's to say what happened all those years ago? People have been coming here since 1852 and I think we now have history on our side.' But In Camelon, hopes are high that the research could be used to attract visitors to Arthur's real home. Councillor Dennis Goldie, a former Provost of Falkirk, said: 'It's always been something that people here have talked about and this could confirm a lot of things that have been passed down over years.

'Nobody's ever tried to capitalise on this before, but it would be nice to have something which will stop everyone going down the road to Stirling Castle.' The Scotsman - January 1996 Arthur's Camelot 'was at Falkirk' Legend investigated: researcher claims king and his famous table existed in Scotland Five years researching historical manuscripts and writings, and much foot-slogging, has led a Yorkshire author to conclude emphatically that King Arthur did exist - and lived on edge of Falkirk. Frank Carroll is convinced that Arthur's Camelot was located on an old Roman fort at Camelon, and that the Table was at the raised King's Knot in the shadow of Stirling Castle rock. He has dismissed all connection with Wales and Cornwall, and says that Arthur, who rose only to the title of prince, met his end fighting the Picts at the Battle of Camlann in 582AD. The site, he claims, is marked by a Pictish stone in a wooded area on the Stirling University campus. Mr Carroll, who was brought up in Glasgow and and now lives in Goxhill, near Hull, said his interest was first aroused when he came across references to Arthur during a family holiday in Brittany.

Since then, in his spare time, he has researched at libraries across Britain, including at Glasgow University. He had also carried out extensive searches on the ground in the Forth Valley area, Wales and Cornwall. Mr Carroll said that while many researchers had looked for Camelot and the Round Table to prove the existence of Arthur, he had decided on the opposite approach - establish his identity and where he lived. "It is possible to illustrate, by using reliable historical documents, that the Arthur of legend is based on an Arthur of history who lived and fought in the Kingdom of Manann," he said. He added that this area stretched from Slamanann (now Slamannan) south of Falkirk, to the north of the River Forth in the Stirling area. Mr Carroll said that since the 12th century, Arthur had been connected with Wales and Cornwall, mainly due to the writings of a Norman-Welsh cleric, Geoffrey of Monmouth. He called him a king, when before that he was simply known as Arthur, a battle leader," Mr Carroll said.

A 7th century poem he had found mentioned Arthur in a northern context - as did an 8th Century manuscript, in which he was described as an ally of the Kings of Britons. In another connection, Merlin was based on a real Druid called Myrddin, who wandered the Caledonian Forest before being taken under the protection of King Ryderrch of Dumbarton, an ally of Arthur. "As further proof, Arthur of Manann died in battle against the Picts, which is recorded in the Annals of Ulster under the year 582 AD," said Mr Carroll. Some eight years earlier, Arthur had been left to rule Manann after his father, Aidan MacGabran, was chosen by St Columba to be King of the Scots of Dalriada. Mr Carroll said he was convinced that the Kings Knot was the location of the Round Table - an assembly point where Arthur would address his warriors before battle. "As Camelon was known as Camelot centuries ago, it is the only place which can claim a genuine connection with the real Arthur, as it is situated in Manann." Mr Carroll has completed a manuscript on the fruits of his research and plans to look for a publisher.

The Yorkshire Post - January 1996 Holy Grail Quest Ends In Scotland HISTORICAL researcher Frank Carroll believes he has discovered the historians' equivalent of the Holy Grail - by tracking down the true King Arthur and the Round Table. And he reckons Camelot is in Scotland. Mr Carroll's five-year research into historical records and writings turned up an Arthur far removed from the characters of Hollywood films, who lived not at Camelot but the Scottish village of Camelon, near Falkirk. The true King Arthur was the 6th century battle warrior Arturius who died fighting the Picts at the battle of Camlann in AD582, claims Mr Carroll 53, of Goxhill, South Humberside. Camelot was a former Roman fort and the Round Table a circular earthwork by the River Forth, known locally as the King's Knot. This was probably used as an assembly point by warriors before going into battle - and bore no resemblance to the table presided over in legend by King Arthur. Mr Carroll's fascination with Arthur started on a family holiday to Brittany, where Arthurian legend features strongly in local folklore.

He bases his theories on the belief that Geoffrey of Monmouth, the 12th century cleric whose writings are used as a basis for many researchers tracking down Arthur, gave false Welsh and Cornish connections to pad out his history of the Kings of Britain. The Norman-Welsh cleric also got his dates wrong - placing Arthur's death at least 45 years too early. Mr Carroll points out striking similarities between the Arthur of legend and the Scottish Arturius. Both were killed in battles against the Picts and while the Arthur of legend was the battle leader of the Britons, Arturius was the head of a confederation of British kings. Both even had sisters called Morgan. He has not, however, found any references to Guinevere or the Sword in the Stone. And seekers of Arthur's birthplace at Tintagel should look elsewhere. "I started out at Glastonbury looking for Arthur, but the more evidence I looked at, the more it pointed to the North," he said.

"Southern Scotland at the time would have been part of the Britons' kingdom which stretched all the way from Cornwall to the rivers Forth and Clyde." Mr Carroll added: "I would be happy if I could go down in history as the person to have discovered the true King Arthur." The Yorkshire Post - November 1996 In Search Of Camelot With your Christmas list in one hand and your thinking cap in the other - it is that time of year again when you have to rack your brains for the perfect Christmas gifts for friends and family. Everyone enjoys reading, particularly if it's a true story, and books make an ideal Christmas gift or stocking filler for almost everyone. If you know anyone who has an interest in history or just reading, in general then D F Carroll's new book Arturius - A Quest for Camelot is the perfect Christmas present. Research We all know of the legend of King Arthur, the Knights of the Round Table, Camelot, Lancelot and Guinevere. But how much of this famous tale is fictitious and how much is true?

Historians often claim that there is no record of Arthur ever existing, but now, as a result of six years' research, Carroll explains and proves beyond reasonable doubt the reality and identity of King Arthur. Using previously overlooked evidence from the 7th and 8th centuries AD, the author has succeeded in finally solving the mystery, linking Arthur not with Cornwall or Wales, but with the ancient sixth century British kingdom of Manann - Manau Gododdin - which lay south of the River Forth around the modern Scottish towns of Stirling and Falkirk. Carroll explains that the name 'Arthur' is actually a later development of the name Arturius which explains why there is no historical record of an Arthur, as this name did not exist when the earliest records were written. Another misleading area is Arthur's connections with Wales and Cornwall. Poem There is no historical evidence that Arthur was connected with these regions, again this all dates back to the 12th century and Geoffrey of Monmouth. Arthur is mentioned in the line of a poem called Gododdin which is thought to have originated in Wales. The poem actually originated in what we now call Scotland, so even the earliest poems do not connect Arthur to Wales.

Carroll says: "I believe we have sufficient evidence to prove he lived in the second half of the 6th century AD. The only record of a British leader called Arthur dying in battle is recorded in the Annals of Ulster and the date given is 582 AD, the Battle of Manann." King Arthur Was King Arthur a real person? - Ask History Ask History August 29, 2012 By History.com Staff Share The Saxons continue to capture lands of the British aristocracy. During this time a prince emerges from the British. His name is Arthur, and Camelot begins. Share this: Was King Arthur a real person? Author Was King Arthur a real person? URL Google We’ve all heard stories about King Arthur of Camelot, who according to medieval legend led British forces (including his trusted Knights of the Round Table) in battle against Saxon invaders in the early sixth century. But was King Arthur actually a real person, or simply a hero of Celtic mythology? Though debate has gone on for centuries, historians have been unable to confirm that Arthur really existed.

He doesn’t appear in the only surviving contemporary source about the Saxon invasion, in which the Celtic monk Gildas wrote of a real-life battle at Mons Badonicus (Badon Hills) around 500 A.D. Several hundred years later, Arthur appears for the first time in the writings of a Welsh historian named Nennius, who gave a list of 12 battles the warrior king supposedly fought. All drawn from Welsh poetry, the battles took place in so many different times and places that it would have been impossible for one man to have participated in all of them. Later Welsh writers drew on Nennius’ work, and Arthur’s fame spread beyond Wales and the Celtic world, particularly after the Norman conquest of 1066 connected England to northern France. In the popular 12th-century book “History of the Kings of Britain,” Geoffrey of Monmouth wrote the first life story of Arthur, describing his magic sword Caliburn (later known as Excalibur), his trusted knight Lancelot, Queen Guinevere and the wizard Merlin. An irresistible blend of myth and fact, the book was supposedly based on a lost Celtic manuscript that only Geoffrey was able to examine.

A series of romances by the French poet Chrétien de Troyes gave Arthur’s quest a spiritual motive by introducing his search for the mysterious Holy Grail. Though Arthur may not have been a real person, his mythic power would only grow stronger as the centuries passed. English rulers from Henry VIII to Queen Victoria have appropriated the Arthur legend for political purposes, while countless writers, painters, photographers, filmmakers and other artists have produced their own versions for posterity. Tags Geoffrey of Monmouth : definition of Geoffrey of Monmouth and synonyms of Geoffrey of Monmouth (English) 7.2 English translations available on the web Biography Geoffrey was probably born some time between 1100 and 1110 [2] in Wales or the Welsh Marches . He must have reached the age of majority by 1129, when he is recorded as witnessing a charter. In his Historia, Geoffrey refers to himself as Galfridus Monumetensis, "Geoffrey of Monmouth", which indicates a significant connection to Monmouth , Wales, and which may refer to his birthplace. [3] Geoffrey's works attest to some acquaintance with the place-names of the region.

[3] To contemporaries, Geoffrey was known as Galfridus Artur(us) or variants thereof. [2] [3] The "Arthur" in these versions of his name may indicate the name of his father, or a nickname based on Geoffrey's scholarly interests. [2] Earlier scholars assumed that Geoffrey was Welsh or at least spoke Welsh. [2] However, Geoffrey's knowledge of the Welsh language appears to have been slight, [2] and it is now recognised that there is no real evidence that Geoffrey was of either Welsh or Cambro-Norman descent, unlike for instance, Gerald of Wales . [3] He is likely to have sprung from the same French-speaking elite of the Welsh border country as the writers Gerald of Wales and Walter Map , and Robert, Earl of Gloucester , to whom Geoffrey dedicated versions of his Historia Regum Britanniae. [2] It has been argued, by Frank Stenton among others, that Geoffrey's parents may have been among the many Bretons who took part in William I 's Conquest and settled in the southeast of Wales.

[3] Monmouth had been in the hands of Breton lords since 1075 [3] or 1086 [2] and the names Galfridus and Arthur (if interpreted as a patronymic) were more common among the Bretons than the Welsh. [3] He may have served for a while in a Benedictine priory in Monmouth. [4] However, most of his adult life appears to have been spent outside Wales. Between 1129 and 1151 his name appears on six charters in the Oxford area, sometimes styled magister ("teacher"). [2] He was probably a secular canon of St. George's college. All the charters signed by Geoffrey are also signed by Walter, Archdeacon of Oxford , also a canon at that church. Another frequent co-signatory is Ralph of Monmouth, a canon of Lincoln . [2] On 21 February 1152 Archbishop Theobald consecrated Geoffrey as bishop of St Asaph , having ordained him a priest 10 days before.

"There is no evidence that he ever visited his see," writes Lewis Thorpe , "and indeed the wars of Owain Gwynedd make this most unlikely." [5] He appears to have died between 25 December 1154 and 24 December 1155, in 1155 according to Welsh chronicles, when his apparent successor, Richard, took office. [2] Historia Regum Britanniae Geoffrey wrote several works of interest, all in Latin, the language of learning and literature in Europe during the medieval period. His major work was the Historia Regum Britanniae (History of the Kings of Britain), the work best known to modern readers. It relates the purported history of Britain , from its first settlement by Brutus , a descendant of the Trojan hero Aeneas , to the death of Cadwallader in the 7th century, taking in Julius Caesar 's invasions of Britain, two kings, Leir and Cymbeline , later immortalized by William Shakespeare , and one of the earliest developed narratives of King Arthur .

Geoffrey claims in his dedication that the book is a translation of an "ancient book in the British language that told in orderly fashion the deeds of all the kings of Britain", given to him by Walter, Archdeacon of Oxford. Modern historians have dismissed this claim. [6] It is, however, likely that the Archdeacon furnished Geoffrey with some materials in the Welsh language that helped inspire his work, as Geoffrey's position and acquaintance with the Archdeacon would not have afforded him the luxury of fabricating such a claim outright. [7] Much of it is based on the Historia Britonum , a 9th century Welsh-Latin historical compilation, Bede 's Historia ecclesiastica gentis Anglorum and Gildas 's sixth-century polemic De Excidio et Conquestu Britanniae expanded with material from Bardic oral tradition, genealogical tracts, and embellished by Geoffrey's own imagination.

[8] In an exchange of manuscript material for their own histories, Robert of Torigny gave Henry of Huntington a copy of Historia regum Britanniae, which both Robert and Henry used uncritically as authentic history and subsequently used in their own works, [9] by which means some of Geoffrey's fictions became embedded in popular history. Historia Regum Britanniae is now acknowledged as a literary work of national myth containing little reliable history. This has since led many modern scholars to agree with William of Newburgh , who wrote around 1190 that "it is quite clear that everything this man wrote about Arthur and his successors, or indeed about his predecessors from Vortigern onwards, was made up, partly by himself and partly by others". [10] Other contemporaries were similarly unconvinced by Geoffrey's "History".

For example, Giraldus Cambrensis recounts the experience of a man possessed by demons: "If the evil spirits oppressed him too much, the Gospel of St John was placed on his bosom, when, like birds, they immediately vanished; but when the book was removed, and the History of the Britons by 'Geoffrey Arthur' (as Geoffrey named himself) was substituted in its place, they instantly reappeared in greater numbers, and remained a longer time than usual on his body and on the book." [11] However, his major work was widely disseminated across the whole of Medieval Western Europe: Acton Griscom listed 186 extant manuscripts in 1929, and others have been identified since. [12] It enjoyed a significant afterlife in a variety of forms, including translations/adaptations such as the Anglo-Norman Roman de Brut of Wace , the Middle English Brut of Layamon , and several anonymous Middle Welsh versions known as Brut y Brenhinedd ("Brut of the kings"). [13] where it was generally accepted as a true account. Other writings For more details on this topic, see Prophetiae Merlini .

The earliest of Geoffrey's writings to appear was probably the Prophetiae Merlini (Prophecies of Merlin), which he wrote at some point before 1135, and which appears both independently and incorporated into the Historia Regum Britanniae. It consists of a series of obscure prophetic utterances attributed to Merlin , which Geoffrey claimed to have translated from an unspecified language. Geoffrey's structuring and reshaping of the Merlin and Arthur myths engendered the vast popularity of Merlin and Arthur myths in later literature, a popularity that lasts to this day; he is generally viewed by scholars as the major establisher of the Arthurian canon. [14] The Historia's effect on the legend of King Arthur was so vast that Arthurian works have been categorized as "pre-" or "post-Galfridian" depending on whether or not they were influenced by him. The third work attributed to Geoffrey is another hexameter poem Vita Merlini ("Life of Merlin").

The Vita is based much more closely on traditional material about Merlin than are the other works; here he is known as Merlin of the Woods (Merlinus Sylvestris) or Scottish Merlin (Merlinus Caledonius), and is portrayed as an old man living as a crazed and grief-stricken outcast in the forest. The story is set long after the timeframe of Historia's Merlin, but the author tries to synchronize the works with references to the mad prophet's previous dealings with Vortigern and Arthur. The Vita did not circulate widely, and the attribution to Geoffrey appears in only one late 13th century manuscript, but contains recognisably Galfridian elements in its construction and content, and most critics are content to recognise it as his. [2] See also William of Malmesbury Notes ^ Polydore Vergil 's sceptical reading of Geoffrey of Monmouth provoked at first a reaction of denial in England, "yet the seeds of doubt once sown" eventually replaced Geoffrey's romances with a new Renaissance historical approach, according to Hans Baron, "Fifteenth-century civilisation and the Renaissance", in The New Cambridge Modern history, vol. 1 1957:56.

^ a b c d e f g Roberts, "Geoffrey of Monmouth, Historia Regnum Britanniae and Brut y Brenhinedd", p. 98. ^ Dunn, Charles W. (1958). Bibliographical Note to History of the Kings of Britain. E.P Dutton & Co.. ^ From the introduction to his translation of The History of the Kings of Britain (London: Penguin Books, 1966), p. 12. ^ Richard M. Loomis, The Romance of Arthur New York & London, Garland Publishing, Inc. 1994, pg. 59 ^ Michael Curley, Geoffrey of Monmouth, p. 12 ^ Thorpe, Kings of Britain pp. 14–19. ^ C. Warren Hollister , Henry I (Yale English Monarchs), 2001:11 note44. ^ Quoted by Thorpe, Kings of Britain, p. 17. ^ Gerald of Wales, The Journey through Wales/The Description of Wales (Lewis Thorpe ed.), Penguin, 1978, Chapter 5, p 116. ^ Thorpe, Kings of Britain p.

28 ^ Thorpe, Kings of Britain p. 29 ^ Thorpe, Kings of Britain, p. 20ff., particularly pp. 20–22 & 28–31. References and further reading Geoffrey of Monmouth. "The History of the Kings of Britain." Edited and translated by Michael Faletra. Broadview Books: Peterborough, Ontario, 2008. ISBN 1-55111-639-1 Geoffrey of Monmouth. The History of the Kings of Britain. Translated, with introduction and index, by Lewis Thorpe. Penguin Books: London, 1966. ISBN 0-14-044170-0 John Jay Parry and Robert Caldwell. "Geoffrey of Monmouth" in Arthurian Literature in the Middle Ages, Roger S. Loomis (ed.). Clarendon Press: Oxford University. 1959. ISBN 0-19-811588-1 N. J. Higham.

King Arthur: Myth-making and History, London and New York, Routledge, 2002, ISBN 0-415-21305-3 John Morris. The Age of Arthur: A History of the British Isles from 350 to 650. Barnes & Noble Books: New York. 1996 (originally 1973). ISBN 1-84212-477-3 Brynley F. Roberts. "Geoffrey of Monmouth, Historia Regnum Britanniae and Brut y Brenhinedd" in The Arthur of the Welsh: The Arthurian Legend in Medieval Welsh Literature, Cardiff, University of Wales Press, 1991, ISBN 0-7083-1307-8 Curley, Michael. Geoffrey of Monmouth. New York: Twayne Publishers, 1994. External links Latin Chroniclers from the Eleventh to the Thirteenth Centuries: Geoffrey of Monmouth from The Cambridge History of English and American Literature , Volume I, 1907–21.

Editions of the Latin Text Hammer, Jacob/ Geoffrey of Monmouth, Historia regum Britanniae, a variant version. Edited by Jacob Hammer. Medieval Academy Books, No. 57 (1951). Medieval Academy Electronic Editions . English translations available on the web Historia Regum Britanniae: By Aaron Thompson with revisions by J. A. Giles at . (PDF) (Arthurian passages only) edited and translated by J. A. Giles at . Vita Merlini, Basil Clarke's English translation from Life of Merlin: Vita Merlini (Cardiff: University of Wales Press, 1973).

Question: The 12th century Welsh cleric Geoffrey of Monmouth is known for his writings on what?
Answer: History