King Arthur's Song...

Arthur: King of the Britons – From Celtic Hero to Cinema Icon.

Daniel Mersey’s Arthur – King of the Britons opens with a thought-provoking assertion: “There are two very distinct King Arthurs to consider – the Arthur of children’s stories, literature, and folklore, and the Arthur of history.” This distinction invites us to explore the dichotomy between the legendary figure celebrated in countless stories and the historical reality that may have inspired those tales. Yet, Mersey’s characterization of these two Arthurs is just one perspective, for recent historical research challenges even this dichotomy. According to historians Alan Wilson, Baram Blackett, and Ross Broadstock, there were not just two King Arthurs, but potentially five, each embedded within the ancient history of Britain. Their findings suggest a far richer and more complex tapestry of Arthurian legend and history than Mersey’s book presents.

The Case for Two Arthurs.

Mersey’s work primarily focuses on the King Arthur of legend – the one who drew the sword from the stone, led his knights of the Round Table, and was mentored by the mystical Merlin. This Arthur, as Mersey details, is a creation of mediaeval romance, rooted in the fertile imaginations of authors like Geoffrey of Monmouth and Sir Thomas Malory. In this narrative, Arthur is the illegitimate son of Uther Pendragon, conceived through the machinations of the sorcerer Merlin. His rise to power is marked by the famous pulling of the sword from the stone, a symbol of divine right and destiny.

However, the work of Wilson, Blackett, and Broadstock offers a radically different perspective on Arthurian history. They argue that the legends are based on the lives of two distinct historical figures, both of whom were named Arthur, and both of whom played pivotal roles in Britain’s ancient history. These two Arthurs were not just figures of legend, but real kings with verifiable genealogies and accomplishments.
Read more - https://guerrillademocracy.blogspot.com/2024/08/arthur-king-of-britons-from-celtic-hero.html