1st Edition

King Arthur The Truth Behind the Legend

By Rodney Castleden Copyright 2000
280 Pages
by Routledge

280 Pages
by Routledge

280 Pages
by Routledge

King Arthur is often written off as a medieval fantasy, the dream of those yearning for an age of strong, just rulers and a contented kingdom. Those who accept his existence at all generally discard the stories that surround him. This exciting new investigation argues not only that Arthur did exist, as a Dark Age chieftain, but that many of the romantic tales - of Merlin, Camelot and Excalibur -... Read more
1. Who this Arthur Was: The Once and Future King; Doubts about Arthur's Existence 2. The Documents: Constantius' Life of Germanus; Writings on Stones; Genealogies; Nennius' Historical Miscellany; Poetry; The Anglo-saxon Chronicle; Gilda's Book of Complaint; Geoffrey of Monmouth 3. The Archaeology: Background Problems; Strongholds of the North; strongholds of Wales and the Borders; Dark Age Dumnonia; Castle Dore and Other Sites 4. Arthur's Britain: St Germanus and Vortigern; Ambrosius Aurelianus; Christian Missionaries; The Saxons 5. Arthur: The Man. the King and the Kingdom: The Man; 'The most powerful leader of the Britons'; Arthur's Power Base; Arthur as a Christian King 6. Camelot: Colchester, Cadbury and Caerlaverock, Tintagel, Viroconium, Killibury, The Hammerer 7. The Death of Arthur: The last battle; Arthur's Disappearance; Avalon; 'The Wonder of the World'

Biography

Rodney Castleden has been researching landscape processing and prehistory for the last the 30 years. He is the author of The Making of Stonehenge, The Knossos Labyrinth, Minoans and Atlantis Destroyed.

"Castleden tells an engaging and engaged tale, full of legendary personages, stirring clashes between cultures, and revelations regarding ancient mysteries." - Elizabeth A. Ragan, Salisbury University, Journal of Anthropolical Research