{"id":6241,"date":"2008-07-06T12:51:54","date_gmt":"2008-07-06T17:51:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.epictales.org\/treskillard\/2008\/07\/06\/king_arthur_wasn_t_english\/"},"modified":"2008-07-06T12:51:54","modified_gmt":"2008-07-06T17:51:54","slug":"king_arthur_wasn_t_english","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.epictales.org\/treskillard\/2008\/07\/06\/king_arthur_wasn_t_english\/","title":{"rendered":"King Arthur Wasn’t English"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Y<\/a>
Y Gododdin<\/em><\/center><\/div>\n

Those French Academics! What gall to point out that King Arthur wasn’t English!<\/strong> I can just see the French snearing down at King Arthur from their castle as he clip-clops by with a coconut-shell laden adviser.<\/p>\n

You can read the news article here<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

At least they didn’t claim he was French. Now that would have been audacious!<\/p>\n

So what nationality was King Arthur?<\/strong> This question has been given many answers over the years, with some even thinking far out thoughts that the legend is from the Samartians!<\/p>\n

From my own study of the issues<\/strong>, I certainly don’t think he was English in the sense that he was Anglo-Saxon. These were the people he was repelling. <\/p>\n

So was he Celtic? My answer is yes.<\/strong> <\/p>\n

But from where is the question.<\/strong> As the Celtic peoples were pushed toward the margins of Britain, they were not thought of as “Cornish”, “Welsh”, or “Scottish” … they were simply different regions of what could be called a pan-Brythonic kingdom<\/a><\/strong>, sharing a very similar language, customs, lore, and traditions.<\/p>\n

(This Brythonic kingdom also includes what is now Brittany, France. Hum?)<\/p>\n

In my series<\/a><\/strong>, I start Arthur out in Cornwall, move him to Wales, but he will also fight battles up near Scotland. His fame will spread throughout Britain.<\/p>\n

This, in my opinion, is why the very early Northern Brythonic poem<\/strong> Y Gododdin<\/a><\/strong> mentions him as the greatest warrior to whom you cannot compare even a man capable of killing 300 in a single battle.<\/p>\n

If you want to read a very detailed treatise<\/strong> (not all of which I agree with, but very interesting) on the origins of King Arthur, take a look at The Historicity and Historicisation of Arthur<\/a><\/strong> written by Thomas Green, Exeter College, University of Oxford. Here he has a lot to say on the original sources, scholars, etc.<\/p>\n

Views: 10<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\nY Gododdin Those French Academics! What gall to point out that King Arthur wasn’t English! I can just see the…\n<\/div>\n
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