King Arthur : myth-making and history / N.J. Higham.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Higham, N. J.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Arthur, King.

Arthur.

Great Britain--History--To 1066--Historiography.

Great Britain.

History.

Historiography.

Britons--Kings and rulers--Folklore.

Britons.

Mythology, Celtic--Great Britain.

Mythology, Celtic.

Historiography--Great Britain.

Arthurian romances--Sources.

Arthurian romances.

Britons--Historiography.

Mythology, British.

Genre:

Sources.

Physical Description:

xi, 303 pages : illustrations, maps ; 25 cm

Place of Publication:

London ; New York : Routledge, 2002.

Summary:

The legend of King Arthur is one of the most persistent and powerful myths in western culture. Yet scholars today cannot agree on his dates, his location, his role, or even whether he really existed. King Arthur: Myth-making and History explores how and why historians and writers from the Middle Ages to the present day have constructed different accounts of this well-loved figure.

King Arthur: Myth-making and History illuminates and discusses some central points of debate. What role was Arthur intended to perform in the political and cultural worlds that constructed him? How did the idea of King Arthur evolve? And what did the myth of Arthur mean to both authors and their audiences? In this seminal new study, N. J. Higham examines in depth the first two Arthurian texts: the History of the Britons and the Welsh Annals. He argues that historians have often been more influenced by what the idea of Arthur means in their present context than by the way in which contemporary audiences were intended to understand these works.

This highly original and accessible new study provides an essential insight into why the Arthurian myth has caught the imagination of so many epochs and across so many cultures. King Arthur: Myth-making and History is fascinating reading for anyone interested in the origins and evolution of the Arthurian legend.

King Arthur is one of the best-known figures of British history, yet scholars cannot agree on his dates, location or even whether he really existed. Was Arthur a fictional character who was deliberately inserted into history by writers during the Middle Ages? Or did he evolve from different origins altogether? King Arthur: Myth-making and History explores how the legend of Arthur has developed from the ninth century through to the end of the twentieth.

At the heart of this work are in-depth discussions of the first two Latin texts about Arthur, and how these authors developed their versions of his life. N. J. Higham argues that these texts were not based on high quality source materials, but were written for very specific and immediate political and cultural reasons. King Arthur: Myth-making and History reveals how the myth of the man emerged into history from these brief writings, each of which had set down a view of the past to serve their present situations. This thought-provoking study is set to create fresh debate among historians of early Britain and admirers of the Arthur myth alike.

Contents:

I A King out of Time: Arthur in the twentieth century 10

Arthur comes of age 26

Arthur in the spotlight 31

II The Genesis of Arthur 38

Being 'British': The political and ideological context 39

Alternative ideologues and British authority 59

Prototype Arthurs 74

Bears and gods 80

III Contested Histories: Anglo-Saxons and Britons c. 730-830 98

Bede and the Britons 98

Welsh-Mercian interactions 102

Reclaiming the past: Writing British history in the early ninth century 116

The Historia Brittonum: Authorship and purpose 119

Britons, Trojans and Romans 124

Vortigern and the adventus Saxonum 128

St Patrick and Arthur 136

Arthur and the Old Testament 141

Arthur's battles 144

The image of Arthur 150

The English historical framework 157

The Pillar of Eliseg 166

IV Text in Context: The Annales Cambriae c. 954 170

England, Wales and the Vikings 171

Heroic poetry 174

Y Gododdin 180

Asser 185

The Armes Prydein 188

The Annales Cambriae 193

V The Rise and Fall of the 'Historical' Arthur 218

The Arthurian legend to c. 1100 218

Arthur as cultural icon 221

Arthur as royal cult 226

Arthur in question 235

The fall of King Arthur 239

VI Postscript: The Rhetorical Arthur 267.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 275-295) and index.

ISBN:

0415213053

OCLC:

48550961