![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Geoffrey Ashe "The Quest For Arthur's Britain" (Paladin)
Who exactly was King Arthur? Did he exist? If so, where and when? Geoffrey Ashe and other Arthur scholars try to answer some of these questions in The quest for Arthur’s Britain. Ashe sets up the facts and as well as the mythology in the first few chapters. We need to give up our concept of medieval knights as set out in Mallory and reinforced in White’s as well as the Broadway hit . There is evidence that there was an exceptional leader in the Britain of 500 A.D. The writers of the times were a bit sketchy so it is impossible to be sure of names, dates, or places. Archaeologists C. A. Ralegh Radford, Philip Rahtz, and Leslie Alcock write sections depicting Cornwall, Wales and Cadbury. Were they Camelot, Tintagel or Avalon? No one knows for sure. Could we speak of Glastonbury as an island? Possibly. In the sections on life in the Dark Ages, we have to totally let go of our images of both the sacred and the secular. The typical clothing of the war lords was not the shining armor of the Knights of the Round Table but more like the Roman clothing of the occupation of Britain a few short centuries previously. The book ends with the legend updated through the centuries, or as Ashe states it, the “new matter of Britain,” from Tennyson to White. And the writings go on today, with Mary Stewart among others.
The book was written in 1968 with my edition containing an updated section written in 1982. The book, considering that it an edited work with several authors, is internally consistent, probably due to the work of editor Ashe. There are no footnotes. However there is an extensive bibliography of works written prior to 1968 with an update of additional works through 1982. The index is extremely usable. The editor also includes a chronology of known events both secular and religious from the late 300's to the mid 7th century.
There are many illustrations, facsimiles and maps (unfortunately all in black and white). However the system is decidedly odd. When the text refers to a map or other illustration, there is an illustration number in the margin. However there is no set order so you can have numbers 6, 108 and 79 on the same page. Then you need to find those illustrations. Some are spread out among the text, some are in the two sections of plates, with no consistent numbering. It can be challenging to find the correct illustration. And it is necessary to refer to the maps and other photos to augment the text. The captions to the illustrations are excellent and full of information that may or may not also be included in the text.
So did Arthur exist? It is possible that Mallory’s Arthur and the Arthur of British legend were patterned on a war lord of southeastern Britain or Wales. Some of the other knights and even Mordred can be traced to comments in various writings of the period. This is a must read for those who wish to learn more of the Arthurian legend.
Who exactly was King Arthur? Did he exist? If so, where and when? Geoffrey Ashe and other Arthur scholars try to answer some of these questions in The quest for Arthur’s Britain. Ashe sets up the facts and as well as the mythology in the first few chapters. We need to give up our concept of medieval knights as set out in Mallory and reinforced in White’s as well as the Broadway hit . There is evidence that there was an exceptional leader in the Britain of 500 A.D. The writers of the times were a bit sketchy so it is impossible to be sure of names, dates, or places. Archaeologists C. A. Ralegh Radford, Philip Rahtz, and Leslie Alcock write sections depicting Cornwall, Wales and Cadbury. Were they Camelot, Tintagel or Avalon? No one knows for sure. Could we speak of Glastonbury as an island? Possibly. In the sections on life in the Dark Ages, we have to totally let go of our images of both the sacred and the secular. The typical clothing of the war lords was not the shining armor of the Knights of the Round Table but more like the Roman clothing of the occupation of Britain a few short centuries previously. The book ends with the legend updated through the centuries, or as Ashe states it, the “new matter of Britain,” from Tennyson to White. And the writings go on today, with Mary Stewart among others.
The book was written in 1968 with my edition containing an updated section written in 1982. The book, considering that it an edited work with several authors, is internally consistent, probably due to the work of editor Ashe. There are no footnotes. However there is an extensive bibliography of works written prior to 1968 with an update of additional works through 1982. The index is extremely usable. The editor also includes a chronology of known events both secular and religious from the late 300's to the mid 7th century.
There are many illustrations, facsimiles and maps (unfortunately all in black and white). However the system is decidedly odd. When the text refers to a map or other illustration, there is an illustration number in the margin. However there is no set order so you can have numbers 6, 108 and 79 on the same page. Then you need to find those illustrations. Some are spread out among the text, some are in the two sections of plates, with no consistent numbering. It can be challenging to find the correct illustration. And it is necessary to refer to the maps and other photos to augment the text. The captions to the illustrations are excellent and full of information that may or may not also be included in the text.
So did Arthur exist? It is possible that Mallory’s Arthur and the Arthur of British legend were patterned on a war lord of southeastern Britain or Wales. Some of the other knights and even Mordred can be traced to comments in various writings of the period. This is a must read for those who wish to learn more of the Arthurian legend.
![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif){kind=small}
![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}