The Real King Arthur

Most people in the English speaking world have heard of King Arthur legendary King of Britain and leader of the Knights of the Round Table. The stories of King Arthur were made famous by two great works of literature, firstly the History of the Kings of Britain by Geoffrey of Monmouth and secondly La Morte D'Arthur by Sir Thomas Malory.

Both books contain fantastical accounts of battles, wizards and magic swords as well as references to actual historic battles and figures. These works were written some 900-1000 years after the events they describe and depict very little of what or may not happened during 5th Century AD.

While some dispute the existence of Arthur at all the most likely time period for any British leader of this stature is around 400AD roughly the same time that Roman Britain came to a close with the withdrawal of Roman forces. It was at this time the Anglo-Saxons (who were to eventually become the English) started to settle and sometimes invade parts of the South and East of the Island. The British population was in crisis without the protection of Rome they could not defend themselves from the encroachment of this war like people.

It was around this time that a concerted effort to resist the invasion started to take shape under the leadership of Ambrosius Aurelianus (note the form of the name is latin, Roman culture still had a large part to play in Britain at this time). The conclusion of this campaign was the battle of Badon when the Anglo-Saxon forces were decisively stopped in their tracks for generations.

One of the most likely candidates for the real King Arthur is Riothamus, a British warlord who seems to have curious parallels with the stories of Arthur. Limited historical references exist concerning Riothamus suggesting he was a real historic figure, some have suggested that the name Arthur might even been a nickname derived from the Celtic language word for bear. The Knights of the Round table, Excalibur and magicare of course mythology however it is fascinating to think that there may have been an historical figure that 1600 years later is still an inspiration for epic stories.