by Marcus Pomponius Lupus on Sat Mar 12, 2005 10:43 pm
Salvete,
I thought some of you might be interested to read the oldest text we have that mentions Arthur, it's from Nennius, Historia Brittonum:
Tunc Arthur pugnabat contra illos in illis diebus cum regnibus Brittonum, sed ipse dux erat bellorum. (...) Duodecim fuit bellum in monte Badonis, in quo corruerunt in uno die nongenti sexaginta viri de uno impetu Arthur (...) Et in omnibus bellis victor extitit."
Then, in those days, Arthur fought against them (the Saxons), together with the kings of the Britons, but he himself was the leader of the soldiers. (...) The twelfth battle took place on mons Badonicus, where 960 men died on the same day, under one attack by Arthur (...) And he left every battle as the victor.
The most common theory has been that Arthur was a cavalry commander (in the Roman way), which would explain
1) his dominance against the Saxons (who didn't use cavalry)
2) the enormous terrain in which he was active (from Scotland to the South of England)
3) the speed in his actions (the battles follow each other very quickly, all over the place)
After that last battle, on mons Badonicus (somewhere between 493 and 516), the expansion of the Saxons was halted for about 20 years. According to the Annales Cambriae, Arthur was then killed in 537 (the author uses 516 as the date of Arthur's last victory) by a British rival: Medrawt, who became Mordret in the French Arthur stories and the now more familiar Mordred.
It's interesting to note as well, that the entire Arthur saga has been originated at the court of Normandy. They liked this symbol of resistance from the Britons against the Saxons (English) and claimed he was the forefather of Duke William of Normandy, who would win the battle of Hastings in 1066.
Valete bene,
Lupus
Marcus Pomponius Lupus
Iurisconsultus