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ArthurianaEarly Arthurian Tradition and

the Origins of the Legend

Thomas Green

THELINDESPRESS


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As with everything, so with this:For Frances and Evie.

First u!lished "##$

The Lindes PressLouth% Lin&olnshire

'''(arthuriana(&o(u)

* Thomas Green% "##$

The right of Thomas Green to !e identified as the Author

of this 'or) has !een asserted in a&&ordan&e 'ith the+oyrights% Designs and Patents A&t ,$--(

All rights reser.ed( No art of this !oo) may !e rerintedor rerodu&ed or utilised in any form or !y any ele&troni&%me&hani&al or other means% no' )no'n or hereafterin.ented% in&luding hoto&oying and re&ording% or in anyinformation storage or retrie.al system% 'ithout theermission in 'riting of the Author(

A &atalogue re&ord for this !oo) is a.aila!le from the/ritish Li!rary(

IS/N $0- , 112" ",,# 3


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Prefa&e

This !oo) &olle&ts together the a&ademi& and oular arti&les 'hi&h ha.eaeared on my CArthurian Resour&es 'e!site www.arth#riana.co.#k $sin&e,$$-(It has !een &reated in resonse to reuests from readers for a rint

.ersion of the site% in order to ease !oth the reading and referen&ing of thematerial ar&hi.ed there as su&h% the arti&les from the 'e!site arererodu&ed here 'ith the minimum of alteration% aside from some ne&essaryreformatting(

CThe Histori&ity and Histori&isation of Arthur 'as the first ie&e toaear on the 'e!site it ta)es the form of an e>tensi.e re.ie' arti&le 'hi&hgathers together and &ritiues s&holarshi on the sour&es for a Chistori&al

Arthur( Although an u8to8date e>ansion% de.eloment and re.ision ofthe .ie's resented there &an !e found in my %once&ts of Arth#r


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ie&es 'ithin them( CArthur and 7a&) the Giant89iller !egins 'ith anintrodu&tion to the tale of 7a&) the Giant89iller and an analysis of the lin)s!et'een this &hara&ter and the 4elsh and +ornish Cfol)lori& Arthur( It thengoes on to in&lude trans&rits of se.eral early .ersions of 7a&)s tale and

e>amles of analogous Arthurian giant8)illings( Finally% C?is&ellaneousArthuriana &onsists of a .ariety of more informal thoughts on Arthurianissues 'hi&h ha.e aeared on the site o.er the last de&ade% along 'ithans'ers to some of the most &ommon uestions(

All told% the &olle&tion ro.ides a guide to a signifi&ant roortion of theearly Arthurian legend and it is hoed that it 'ill !e found to !e of some

.alue( It should !e noted% in&identally% that no attemt has !een made toharmonise the different referen&ing systems used !y the arti&les( Not only

'as it the aim of the resent 'or) to rerodu&e the 'e!site arti&les as&losely as ossi!le% !ut the different methods of referen&ing do to somedegree refle&t the different aims of the ie&es% so that the !i!liograhi&essays gi.e full referen&es% analyses use arentheti&al referen&es% and theedited trans&rit of a ,0-0 &ha!oo) uses footnotes(

Thomas GreenO&to!er "##$


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,The Histori&ity and

Histori&isation of Arthur


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!oo)s &ited% mu&h of 'hat is !elo' has !een dis&ussed in detail on thedis&ussion list of the International Arthurian So&iety% Arth#rnet% in amoderated de!ate that I had the great leasure of &hairing( The results ofthis dis&ussion% in&luding all osted &omments% &an !e found in the

Arth#rnetar&hi.es(

2. The Historical Arthur: an Analytical and Bibliographic Survey

Any inuiry into the Chistori&al Arthur must ro&eed from the sour&es( Oneof the most imortant sour&es for the student of ost8Roman /ritain isar&haeology and% indeed% the &ase is sometimes made that it is our only

relia!le sour&e amle% Arnold% ,$-1=( 4hen loo)ing at Arthursossi!le histori&ity ho'e.er% ar&haeology &annot really hel as it deals 'ithsites not eole it &an sho' that a site 'as o&&uied in the right eriod!ut only .ery rarely th8&entury ins&ri!ed stone that has re&ently !een found at Tintagel does notrefer to Arthur% &ontrary to reorts !y English Heritage and the media=(Gi.en the a!o.e% any &on&lusions regarding Arthurs histori&ity% or la&)thereof% must !e dra'n from the te>tual referen&es to him(

The 9ing Arthur 'e en&ounter in the later medie.al te>ts


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is rightly dismissed !y a&ademi& &ommentators as nothing more than Cstra'sin the 'ind isted% 'ill !e found in the re8Galfridian te>ts and it is to these 'e must no' turn(

The re8Galfridian sour&es for Arthur &an !e most &on.eniently read in

+oe and Koung amle% the Saints Li.es and late oetry( This tenden&y has !een &orre&tlyand hea.ily &riti&ised !y Da.id Dum.ille


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&entury( In re&ent years there has !een &onsidera!le de!ate o.er thestatement in 2 Gododdin that Gordur Cfed !la&) ra.ens on the ramart of afort% although he 'as no Arthur t is% in reality% a transationof 2 Gododdinintothe language of c.A(D( 3## and in this it must !e seen in the same light as

7armans earlier translation of this te>t into modern 4elsh t% &annot !e at allsuorted


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'ere th &entury there e>isted in North /ritain a tradition of a /rittoni&suerhero Arthur((( t% in no 'ay asso&iated 'ith the

defen&e of ost8Roman /ritain or any se&ifi& eriod of history(5In light of the fa&t that neither of the a!o.e &an hel in the in.estigation

of Arthurs ossi!le Chistori&ity% the &ase for a histori&al Arthur rests entirelyon t'o sour&es% the Historia ritton#+ and the Annaes %a+briae% !oth of

'hi&h 'ould aear to ha.e a &on&et of Arthur that is


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&on&lusion is endorsed !y the resear&hes of Da.id Ho'lett 'ho sees theHistoria as a 'or) of ar&hite&toni& genius ma)ing use of the sohisti&atedC/i!li&al style in its &onstru&tion tent the author altered hissour&es for his o'n uroses% 'hat 'ere the nature of his sour&es% and thusho' far &an 'e trust 'hat 'e read in the HistoriaB Dum.ille


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us to gi.e this se&tion of the Historia an early date( Indeed% .arious&onsiderations indi&ate that any su&h hyotheti&al oem 'ould date tomu&h the same eriod as the Historia any'ay


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of Ireland% 'ith the se&tions from 3,5 to 000 !eing !ased on North /ritishmaterials there is a!solutely no ustifi&ation for thin)ing that any of the re83,5 /ritish entries are dra'n from &ontemorary or e.en near8&ontemorary sour&es and% rather% they should !e seen as retrose&ti.e

interolations dating from !et'een the .ery late eighth &entury


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CArthurian !attle is that of /adon


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For e>amle% Hanning


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Against this 'e ha.e to set the e.iden&e for the e>isten&e of a &on&et ofArthur as a legendary figure( 4hate.er else 'e might say a!out it% 2Gododdin


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figure th8&entury Arthur is made% it in.ol.es tra'ling there8Galfridian sour&e material for anything that might !e used to !a&) it u(

The interest is not 'ith the re8Galfridian material itself and 'ith 'hat ittells us !ut rather 'ith 'hat it &an tell us a!out a ossi!ly histori&al figure&alled Arthur( The te>ts sele&ted to ans'er this uestion% as in the a!o.eanalysis% are thus di.or&ed from the &onte>t of the 'hole !ody of re8Galfridian material in 'hi&h they must surely !e .ie'ed and of 'hi&h they

form an integral art( /y as)ing C4as there a histori&al ArthurB oneforcesthete>ts to ans'er Cerhas% may!e they ha.e no other &hoi&e !e&ause% on the!asis of the fe' sour&es sele&ted and the .ie'ing of these fe' sour&es inisolation% they are in&aa!le of denying that there 'as su&h a figure ust asthey are in&aa!le of &onfirming it( As su&h this Cerhas% may!e is inreality .alueless( 4hat this means is that &on&lusions regarding Arthurshistori&ity &an and should only !e dra'n .ia a sound methodology% namely!y loo)ing at athe a.aila!le e.iden&e and allo'ing it to Clead% not for&ing itto &onform to re&on&ei.ed notions( The Historia ritton#+ and Annaes

%a+briaereferen&es must !e seen in the &onte>t of all the early Arthurianmaterial% not as dis&rete ie&es of information that &an !e mined for Cfa&ts(No udgements of any .alue &an !e made !y atta&)ing the re8Galfridian&orus in a ie&emeal fashion one has to loo) at the 'eight of the !ody ofe.iden&e as a 'hole( To uote Padel% Cthe nature of the inuiry% 'hi&hhitherto has al'ays started 'ith the natural uestion 'as there a histori&al

ArthurBQ% has determined its out&ome


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Galfridian sour&es 'ith 'hi&h 'e are here rimarily &on&erned 'ithB 4heredoes the C'eight of the e.iden&e Clead usB 4hat is the &onte>t of theChistori&al sour&esB The most re&ent attemt to define this Cnature


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!elongs% li)e Fionn% to the realm of mythology rather than to that ofhistory(


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assumtions are demonstra!ly false amles of mythi&al figures histori&ised !y later

'riters= and are thus una&&eta!le( One &an only say that there'asJhas to ha.e !een a histori&al Arthur on&e all the material has

!een e.aluated and this is sho'n to !e the &ase( There is noossi!le ustifi&ation for simly assuming this to !e the &ase Chistori&al e>lanations of figures su&h as Arthur do not% on a &riorigrounds% enoy riority o.er other e>lanations( Indeed% it should!e remem!ered that the Cro&ess of histori&ising legends 'as a

'idesread feature of +elti& literary a&ti.ity in the ?iddle Ages(


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ossi!le that the &harter may !e genuine !ut it is infinitely morero!a!le that it is a forgery( In other 'ords% the serious ossi!ilitythat the &harter is genuine only really e>isted !e&ause the &harter

'as !eing analysed outside of the !ody of material of 'hi&h it is an

integral art% something 'hi&h &aused information essential to theinterretation of the &harter to !e ignored 'hen it is .ie'ed

'ithin the &onte>t of all the material% there is simly no reason tothin) that it might !e genuine the &harters &onte>t is su&h that thisis not% in the a!sen&e of e.iden&e in its fa.our% a serious ossi!ility(In the same 'ay% &on&lusions regarding histori&ity &an only !edra'n from loo)ing at the Chistori&al Arthur te>ts in the &onte>t ofthe 'hole !ody of early material( The Historia ritton#+andAnnaes%a+briae referen&es must !e seen in the &onte>t of all the early

Arthurian material% not as dis&rete ie&es of information that &an !emined for Cfa&ts no udgements of any .alue &an !e made !yatta&)ing the re8Galfridian &orus in a ie&emeal fashion onehas to loo) at the 'eight of the !ody of e.iden&e as a 'hole andallo' it to Clead( To do other'ise simly !iases the &on&lusions andignores the .ast maority of the a.aila!le early e.iden&e(

t of thematerial as a 'hole as they ha.e to !e then the 'eight of the material issu&h that there is a!solutely no ustifi&ation for !elie.ing there to ha.e !eena histori&al figure of the fifth or si>th &entury named Arthur 'ho is the !asisfor all later legends( 4hen the Chistori&al referen&es are ulled out of their&onte>t and .ie'ed in isolation then% as 'e ha.e seen% they +ay &ossiby

reresent the distorted traditions of a histori&al figure !ut at least eually as'ell they may not( Ho'e.er% 'hen they are .ie'ed% as they must !e% in the&onte>t of the !ody of material of 'hi&h they are an integral art thisCmay!e e.aorates( All the other e.iden&e% the .ast maority of the earlymaterial% ortrays Arthur as an entirely legendary figure from the same


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mould as the Gaeli& Fionn% and he is ne.er &onne&ted in this material in any'ay 'ith either the Sa>ons or /adon( As su&h there is simly no reason tothin) that there 'as a histori&al Arthur( The Cmay!e only aears 'hen it isfor&ed to% 'hen the fe' referen&es to a Chistori&al Arthur are di.or&ed from

their &onte>t and made to ans'er uestions regarding the ossi!ility of ahistori&al Arthur( If 'e as) 'hat the material a&tually says rather than tryand for&e any re&on&ei.ed notions uon it then it aears% as Padel haso!ser.ed% to .ery &learly tell of a legendary figure of fol)lore named Art7h8#r

'ho 'as histori&ised in mu&h the same 'ay as Hengest or Fionn 'ere theserious ossi!ility of there e.er ha.ing !een a Chistori&al Arthur 'ho 'asthe Coriginal from 'hom all the later tales sring is simly a &onstru&t !asedon a misuse of the sour&es( Therefore% rather than the fol)lori& Arthure.iden&ed in the Historia ritton#++hater 05!eing an ela!oration of theChistori&al Arthur of +hater 23% this Clegendary Arthur 'ould aear to !eCthe true one% and the histori&alQ Arthur((( the se&ondary de.eloment(tension of his fol)lori& role% 'ith not only thee>isten&e of Arthur !ut also his asso&iation 'ith the fifth and si>th &enturies!eing seen as most ro!a!ly surious t ofthe fe' Chistori&al referen&es is su&h that the onus of roof 'ould seem to

&ome to lie firmly on the shoulders of those 'ho 'ould ha.e a histori&alfifth8Jsi>th8&entury Arthur as the !asis for all the later legends in thea!sen&e of roof of histori&ity th &entury li.e u to this !urden of roofB Does it ro.ide anyreason to !elie.e that there 'as a fifth8 or si>th8&entury figure named

ArthurB Ta)en on its o'n% it &an !e legitimately said that the ans'er to this

is Cno( E.en 'hen .ie'ed outside of the &onte>t of the 'hole !ody of earlymaterial% thus in the most ad.antageous &ir&umstan&es% it &ould t of the re8Galfridian material


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fol)lori& hero% li.ing in the 'ilds of the lands&ae and rote&ting /ritainfrom all )inds of suernatural threats% ust as the .ast maority of thee.iden&e suggests(,2 Indeed it is 'orth ointing out on&e more that theHistoria ritton#+s a&&ount of Arthur in +hater 23 not only aears to

in&lude deeds of a num!er of earlier 'arriors su&h as Mrien of Rheged andAm!rosius Aurelianus% !ut also identifia!le mythi&al elements 'hi&h ha.e!een histori&ised in this te>t the ossi!ly .ery early oemKat Gode#'ouldaear to !e &on&erned 'ith a mythi&al !attle in 'hi&h Arthur lays somets are erhas !est understood as dynasti&Croaganda &etionala'e as a legendary hero and Prote&tor of /ritain% 'hilst the Irish C'henthey &ame into &onta&t 'ith the fol)lore as a result of their settlements in

'estern /ritain% need not ha.e felt su&h re.eren&e or relu&tan&e


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adotion of this name 'ould% of &ourse% !e deendent on &omle> &ulturalintera&tions and de.eloments and thus the fa&t that it 'as not immediatelyadoted should not !e seen as signifi&ant=( As 'ell as e>lainingsatisfa&torily all the a.aila!le e.iden&e this suggestion gains a &onsidera!le

amount of &reden&e from the fa&t that detailed study of the 4elshgenealogi&al tra&ts re.eals that not one single erson of /ritish des&ent in

4ales !ore the name CArthur in the genealogies until the late si>teenth&entury at the earliest% a situation /artrum suggests may 'ell !e !e&ause thename &arried some sort of suerstition 'ith it lanation ofthese three ie&es of information t of the Irish settlers in 4ales and S&otland the fa&t that not onesingle erson in 4ales of /ritish des&ent &an !e sho'n to !ear the name

Arthur until at least the late si>teenth &entury= 'ould !e a .ery diffi&ultro!lem(

Another Cu66ling feature arti&ularly 'orthy of note is the fa&t that%outside of the Historia ritton#++hater 23% theAnnaes %a+briaeons a .ery strange situation surely for one 'ho is suosed to !efamed beca#seof su&h an asso&iation( Ho'e.er% it fits 'ith the fa&t that thereseems to !e good reason to !elie.e that there 'as a searate non8Arthuriantradition regarding the !attle of /adon ons% the +ornish felt erfe&tly a!le to totayignore his Sa>on asso&iations and instead histori&ise him into distant


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antiuity and into the eriod of the ;iking in&ursions tent that &ertain te>ts% nota!ly the Historiaritton#+% theAnnaes %a+briaeand Geoffreys Historia -eg#+ ritanniae% ha.ea &on&et of Arthur that is &learly histori&al( 4hile the Arthur they ortray

&annot !e seen% in light of the a!o.e% as the Coriginal% it is surely still a.alua!le e>er&ise to inuire as to 'hose deeds 'ere !eing later attri!uted toArthur% as these deeds are an integral art of many later ortrayals of Arthurand as su&h do &onstitute art of the origins of Arthur(

4hat then of the Arthur of Historia ritton#++hater 23B 4hile 'emight legitimately loo) for an Coriginal for ea&h of the !attles% 'e also ha.eto as) 'hether the 'hole &on&et resented in +hater 23 of the Historiais!ased on a single figure( The rime &andidate for this Chonour has to !e%naturally% Am!rosius Aurelianus( In Gildass /e E4cidio ritanniaeAm!rosiusis gi.en rominen&e as the initiator of the /ritish &ounter8atta&) 'hi&h% afterthe fighting of se.eral !attles% &ulminates in the !attle of /adon% ust as

Arthur in the Historia ritton#+ initiates the /ritish &ounter8atta&) 'hi&h%after the fighting of se.eral !attles% &ulminates in the !attle of /adon( Onthe !asis of this 'e may 'ell !e a!le to say that% to some e>tent% 'e do ha.ea histori&al Arthur Am!rosius in the sense that the &on&et of Arthur asa histori&al figure and the frame'or) for histori&isation 'as !ased on hisdeeds(,-

4ith regards to the indi.idual !attles% this is erhas more diffi&ult( Asnoted in the re&eding dis&ussion% the C!attle on the !an) of a ri.er 'hi&h is&alled Tri!ruit and %at %oit %eidonmay 'ell !e a&tual Arthurian mythi&!attles( Others may !e Creal or they &ould !e in.ented; /adon% as has !eenargued a!o.e% &an !e easily asso&iated 'ith Am!rosius% ust li)e the 'hole


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frame'or) of histori&isation% and reg#oinaears else'here in .ery earlysour&es as a !attle fought !y Mrien of Rheged( Others ho'e.er &ould simly!e made u% as is thought to !e the &ase for the !attles used to histori&iseFionn in his !attle8list and as has !een suggested earlier in this study( The

ro!lem 'ith underta)ing any e>er&ise of this )ind is the fa&t that thenames gi.en to the !attles &ould reresent many areas only a fe' &ana&tually !e &alled &ertain and on the !asis of this list theories of a Southern

Arthur% a ?idland Arthur and a Northern Arthur ha.e all !een &onstru&ted(A artial solution is to slit the list u into searate &hara&ters as a!o.e !utit should !e remem!ered that it &an only !e ta)en so far( The desire toidentify these !attles is often great !ut this should not re.ent us fromre&ognising that 'ith suffi&ient Cingenuity they &an !e made to fit ust a!outany area and many may not% in fa&t% !e identifia!le or e.en ha.eidentifi&ations(

4ith regards to the 'hole uestion of histori&ity and histori&isation% ithas !een suggested that% rather than as) 'hether there is any ustifi&ation forostulating a histori&al Arthur% 'e should as) 'hether any &andidate fits theCfa&ts &ertainly the underta)ing of su&h an e>er&ise is .ery !enefi&ial !ut itro!a!ly doesnt a&tually sho' anything% at least 'ith regards to histori&ity(

To ta)e an e>amle% se.eral eole ha.e suggested% o.er the years% thatAm!rosius is Arthur on the !asis ofHistoria ritton#++hater 23( Ho'e.er%

'hat they see &an !e one of t'o things either they are seeing the Ctruth%that Am!rosius 'as Arthur% or they are seeing a artial truth% that theortrayal of Arthur in these sour&es 'as !ased on Am!rosius !ut that this isa se&ondary de.eloment of a fol)lori& Arthur in a sense Am!rosius 'as

Arthur !ut not in the sense that most eole 'ould mean 'hen see)ing anans'er to this uestion( Ho' does one get a'ay from thisB The only 'ay I&an see is !y adoting the a!o.e methodology% !y as)ing 'hat ustifi&ationthere is for ostulating a histori&al Arthur( Indeed% it should further !eointed out that there are &ertain dangers in loo)ing for &hara&ters 'ho Cfit

the fa&ts to ta)e the e>amle of +hater 23 of the Historia ritton#+on&emore% 'ith suffi&ient Cimagination and linguisti& gymnasti&s% as has !eennoted% the list of !attles in this +hater &an !e made to fit ust a!out anylo&ality one &an thin) of and as su&h these theories are mutually &an&ellingand methodologi&ally indefensi!le thus +olling'ood


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theories are all mutually &an&elling% e>lain only a tiny ortion of the legend%if any of it% and an almost infinite num!er of su&h identifi&ations &an !emade


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suorts this only .ery tentati.ely( ?alone !ased his theory on the fa&t thatthe Latin ersonal name Artori#s


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us to a&&et% !oth in /ritain and on the &ontinent all the CS&ythianelements aear in the ost8Galfridian 'or)s% from +hrWtien de Troyeson'ards% and some of the most stri)ing aarent arallels !et'een the

Arthurian legend and the eastern /atra6 story ma)e their .ery first

aearan&es in ?alorys 9e !orte /arth#rV There is simly no tra&e ofLan&elot in &ontinental literature !efore +hrWtien de Troyes in the t'elfth&entury and none of the Cmost imortant of Arthurian themes are e.enhinted at in the reasona!ly large !ody of insular Arthurian traditions that 'eha.e reser.ed in %#hwch% Pa g#r5% the Triads et&( Arthur% as he aears innon8Galfridian tradition% loo)s li)e an entirely insular figure 'ith an insular&y&le


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&ourse !e noted that% 'hile suggesti.e% the a!sen&e of Artori#sforms &ouldsimly refle&t the total a!sortion of the nameArtori#s into an8/rittoni&fol)lore=( A /ritish origin for the name Arthur is further gi.en &reden&e !ythe freuent use of 4elsh art7h8 Arthur and the !ear 'as &ertainly made !y medie.al authors( Thus in thenon8Galfridian 4elsh oem 2+ddiddan Arth#r a?r Eryr


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Gaul% either through 'holesale rela&ement or ne' suffi>es there is no' afull dis&ussion of all this in Green% "##0; ,0-8$1(

If a deri.ation in.ol.ing /rittoni& Arto' is a&&eted as ossi!le andfitting% one might oint not only to the figurati.e uses of /ritish art7h8%

/rittoni&Arto'% !ut also% .ery tentati.ely% to the e.iden&e for +elti& C!ear8&ults% in&luding di.inities su&h as /ea Artio lains the name see Green% "##0; ""$81#( Indeed% mythologist AnnRoss has re&ently &ome out in suort of Arthur originally !eing a C+elti&deity of an all urose tye% a 'arrior and rote&ti.e god the Cdi.ine

rote&tor of the /ritons% 'ho &losely aralleled the Gaeli& Fionn


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Professor Thomas states% CAll this stone sho's in the name ARTOGNOM% is theuse of this


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14hilst +harles8Ed'ards is right to oint to similarities !et'een the 'or)s of /edeand Paul the Dea&on and the Historia ritton#+% the reutations of the former asCrelia!le historians are solely a result of the fa&t that they deal mainly 'ith near8&ontemorary e.ents( The author of the Historia'as% ho'e.er% dealing 'ith e.ents

5## years or more in the ast and for su&h distant eriods !oth /ede and Paul theDea&on are eually unrelia!le


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Anti3#ity% "5 t of the ninth &entury; CHis 'or) sho'sthat an early8ninth8&entury 4elsh s&holar &ould &oe 'ith the diffi&ult si>th8&enturyrose of Gildas((( He &ould inter'ea.e multile arithmeti& features into his rose%ea&h different from the others% ea&h dis&retely erfe&t% none imeding or th'artingany other% none dra'ing attention to itself flam!oyantly% all &ontri!uting to theharmony of a ri&hly olyhoni& narrati.e( The Historiahas for a long time !eenmisrised and under.alued( It is time no' to read and are&iate it roerly(


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our histories and% a!o.e all% from the titles of our !oo)s isted% !efore mo.ing on tomethodologi&al issues et&(( Those already familiar 'ith the methodologi&alro!lems and Padels imortant reassessment of the 'hole uestion 'ill find mu&h%of &ourse% that is already familiar I &an only hoe that a slightly different aroa&hto the sour&es and a slightly fuller &onsideration of &ertain ie&es of e.iden&e andro!lems than Oli.er Padel &ould gi.e may !e found to !e of some small !enefit tothese readers(

,5That is to say% not lo&alised in any arti&ular region( That Arthur 'as an8/rittoni& from the .ery first is &learly e.iden&ed in the re8Galfridian material'hi&h la&es him in southern S&otland% south8'estern /ritain% 4ales and /rittany


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of other giants% of 'it&hes and monsters he underta)es ourneys to the Other'orldto res&ue risoners and &arry off treasures he is rude% sa.age% heroi& androte&ti.e((( It is remar)a!le ho' mu&h of this /ritish Arthur has sur.i.ed in theearly t'elfth8&entury Historia of Geoffrey of ?onmouth and the mid8fifteenth8

&entury!orte /arth#rof ?alory( Arthur setting off 'ith 9aius and /edeuerus toslay the s'ine8eating Sanish giant% and !ursting out laughing 'hen the monster&rashes li)e a torn8u oa)% or his !attle 'ith the !eard8&olle&ting Ritho% are &ases inoint((( /ehind the royal features in Geoffrey and ?alory may !e dis&erned theruder lineaments of the fol) hero((( .=( It is inlo&al fol)lore that the &ontinuing dominan&e of this fol)lori& Arthur is mosto!.ious ho'e.er% as 'e might e>e&t and as Padel has sho'n t thatthey must surely !e seen in% the !urden of roof is transferred from !oth arties inthe de!ate o.er histori&ity to that 'hi&h 'ould argue that Arthur 'as a histori&alfifth8Jsi>th8&entury ersonage it is not simly that a histori&al Arthur is not neededto understand the legend !ut rather that% in the a!sen&e of roof% the ostulation of

a histori&al ost8Roman figure !ehind the re8Galfridian material is &omletelyunustified and 'e must follo' the .ast maority of the e.iden&e in seeing Arthur asa legendary figure( 4hat 'e ha.e to do is de&ide 'hat is reasona!le and 'hat is not%and 'hile Arthur co#d have beena real fifth8&entury ersonage% on resent e.iden&ethere is a!solutely no reason to thin) that he 'as( Of &ourse% some 'ill !eun'illing% desite the a!o.e% to let go of a histori&al Arthur for 'hate.er ersonalreasons in su&h &ir&umstan&es one &an only thin) of the follo'ing 'ords !y/ertrand Russell;

I 'ish to roose for the readers fa.oura!le &onsideration a do&trine'hi&h may% I fear% aear 'ildly arado>i&al and su!.ersi.e( The do&trinein uestion is this; that it is undesira!le to !elie.e a roosition 'henthere is no ground 'hate.er for suosing it true( I must% of &ourse% admitthat if su&h an oinion !e&ame &ommon it 'ould &omletely transformour so&ial life and our oliti&al system sin&e !oth are at resent faultless%


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this must 'eigh against it(


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!ut originally fought !y someone else% the signifi&an&e of 'hi&h should !e o!.ious(For e>amle% Arthurs suosed !attle of reg#oin'ould seem to ha.e !een a !attleoriginally 'on !y Mrien of Rheged !ut attri!uted to Arthur !y the ninth &entury%'ith Mrien !eing a .ery imortant figure of early 4elsh literature th8 and se.enth8&entury heroes su&h as Mrien of

Rheged and /adon is rarely mentioned

the la&e of this mu&h lauded .i&tory against the Sa>ons in the /ritish&ons&iousness at this oint tion 'ith the entire !ody of Arthurian material( The etymology

'hi&h fits 'ith this material is the etymology that 'e must adot(


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&ro' and that many enalties 'ere infli&ted on anyone 'ho )illed one of these!irds( +er.antes also refers to this !elief three times in his /on 1#i4ote


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Ans&om!e% A( ,$#1% CLo&al names in the ArthurianaQ in the Historia/rittonumQ% Deitschrift fCr cetische Phioogie% 2% ( ,#58"5

Arnold% +(7( ,$-1% -o+an ritain to (a4on Engand


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/rom'i&h% R( and E.ans% D(S( ,$$"% %#hwch and 6wen. An Edition and (t#dyof the 6dest Arth#rian Tae


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ritton#+% #etin of the oard of %etic(t#dies% "2% ( 15$812

Dum.ille% D(N( ,$0283% CNennius and the Historia ritton#+% (t#dia %etica%,#J,,% ( 0-8$2

Dum.ille% D(N( ,$00a% CSu!8Roman /ritain; History and Legend% History%3"% ( ,058$"

Dum.ille% D(N( ,$00!% C9ingshi% Genealogies and Renal Lists% in P(H(Sa'yer and I(N( 4ood


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Go'ans% L(?( ,$--% %ei and the Arth#rian 9egend% Arthurian Studies >.iii


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and Ety+oogy% /u&hreihe der \eits&hrift fZr &eltis&he Philologie% ,"th +entury% %a+brian !edieva %etic (t#dies% 53% ( 3,80#

Isaa&% G(R( ,$$$% CReadings in the History and Transmission of theGododdin% %a+brian !edieva %etic (t#dies, 50% ( 2280-

7a&)son% 9(H( ,$1283% COn&e Again Arthurs /attles%!odern Phioogy% 15%( 11820

7a&)son% 9(H( ,$1$% CArthurs /attle of /reguoin%Anti3#ity% "5% ( 1-81$

7a&)son% 9(H( ,$258-% CThe Site of ?ount /adon% The Jo#rna of %etic (t#dies%"% ( ,2"822

7a&)son% 9(H( ,$2$a% CThe Arthur of History% in R( Loomis


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7arman% A(O(H( ,$-$8$#% CThe Arthurian Allusions in the /oo) of Aneirin%(t#dia %etica% "1J2% ( ,28"2

7arman% A(O(H( ,$$,% CThe ?erlin Legend and the 4elsh Tradition ofProhesy% in /rom'i&h et a


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?a&9illo% 7( ,$-3% Fionn +ac %#+hai. %etic !yth in Engish 9iterat#re


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Arth#r?s ritain


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Tur.ille8Petre% 7(E( ,$2580% CHengest and Horsa% (aga ook of the ;iking(ociety% ,1% ( "058$#

an Hamel% A(G( ,$51% CAse&ts of +elti& ?ythology% Proceedings of theritish Acade+y% "#% ( "#081-

4adge% R( ,$-0% C9ing Arthur; A /ritish or Sarmatian TraditionB% Fokore%$-("% ( "#18,2

4ard% D(7( ,$3$% The/ivine Twins, A @ndo'E#ro&ean !yth in Ger+anic TraditionMni.ersity of +alifornia Fol)lore Studies .ol( ,$

4inter!ottom% ?( ,$0-% Gidas, The -#in of ritain and 6ther th &enturies AD%Ango'(a4on (t#dies in Archaeoogy and History% 3% ( 1282#

Kor)e% /(A(E( ,$$2%


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"A /i!liograhi& Guide to 4elsh

Arthurian Literature


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A /i!liograhi& Guide to 4elsh ArthurianLiterature

'ontents

,( Introdu&tion

"( The ?anus&ritsa. The ack ook of %ar+arthenb. The ook of Taiesinc. The tsa. Historia ritton#+ OI and the Annaes %a+briae

b. The !irabiia of the Historia ritton#+c. 2 Gododdind. !arwnad %ynddyane. Pa g#r yv y &ortha#r5

f. %#hwch ac 6weng. Preide# Annwfynh. Engynion y edda#i. Kat Gode#

. !arwnat Nthyr PendragonB, Kadeir Teyrnon, !adawgB dr#t ac Erof,and Kan# y !eirchk. 2+ddiddan Arth#r a?r Eryr. 2+ddiddan !ewas ac Gwenhwyfar+. 2+ddiddan Gwyddno Garanhir ac Gwyn fab #ddn. Gereint fii#sB Erbino. The 9atin (aints? 9ives

&. /e !irac#is (anctae !ariae 9a#densis, the 9iber Forid#s, and Gesta-eg#+ Angor#+

3. Trioedd 2nys Prydeinr. Tri Thws ar /deg 2nys rydains. re#ddwyd -honabwyt. The Gogynfeirdd and %ywyddwyr


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1. Introduction

The follo'ing is intended to ro.ide a !i!liograhi&al guide to theArthurian referen&es found in medie.al 4elsh manus&rits( In addition to!i!liograhi& data% it in&ludes !rief dis&ussions of ea&h te>t and itssignifi&an&e( Naturally% these short dis&ussions are not intended rela&ethose found in my %once&ts of Arth#r


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b. The Boo) of Taliesin

The C/oo) of Taliesin


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Some de!ate e>ists o.er the lin)s !et'een the Taliesin oems andaganism% 'ith 7ohn 9o&h suggesting that Hay&o&) and others are 'rong toargue that the Taliesin oems do not refle&t in any 'ay +elti& aganism andits struggles 'ith +hristianity; 7(T( 9o&h% CThe +elti& Lands% in N(7( La&y


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three sets of s&ri!es 'or)ing in &olla!oration sometime !et'een ,5-" andc( ,1,#=% in&luding the most e>tensi.e .ersion of Trioedd 2nys Prydein% !ut

'ith the e>&etion of the materials in the C/oo) of Aneirin% the C/oo) ofTaliesin% and the religious and legal te>ts( The &hief s&ri!e 'as one Hy'el

Fy&han a Hy'el Go&h of /uilth and his hand has !een identified in se.eralother 4elsh manus&rits% in&luding in the C4hite /oo) of Rhydder&h%

'here the original s&ri!e had left a sa&e( There is a &lose &orresonden&e!et'een some of the te>ts in the CRed and C4hite /oo)s amle%their .ersions of the C?a!inogion and the Triads= and it is generally heldthat they deri.ed indeendently from a lost &ommon ar&hetye(

The main te>ts of the CRed /oo) &an !e read in dilomati& editions in 7(Rhys and 7( G'enog.ryn E.ans


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3. The Te,ts

a. Historia Brittonu* -"$and theAnnales 'a*briae

The +am!ro8Latin Historia ritton#+ 'as 'ritten anonymously in A(D(-"$J5# 'hilst it has often !een as&ri!ed to one CNennius% this &laim restson .ery du!ious e.iden&e and is not really sustaina!le t indi&ates that the author of the Historia ritton#+had% in the main% only .ery late and unrelia!le sour&es a.aila!le to him thathe 'rote 'ith a unity of stru&ture and outloo) and that he 'as engaged inthe a&ti.e ro&essing of his sour&es( The result of this is that there seems

little ossi!ility of re&o.ering usa!le information a!out the fifth and si>th&enturies from his te>t( Furthermore% the &laim that the t'el.e !attlesas&ri!ed to Arthur in the Historia ritton#+23 must ha.e !een ta)en from are8e>isting


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north of /ritain to the )ingdom of the 9entishmen% and from himare srung the )ings of the 9entishmen( Then Arthur foughtagainst them in those days% together 'ith the )ings of the /ritish%!ut he 'as the d#4 beor#+ Cleader in !attles( The first !attle 'as

at the mouth of the ri.er &alled Gein( The se&ond% the third% thefourth and the fifth 'ere on another ri.er% &alled the /#bgas% 'hi&his in the &ountry of 9inn#is( The si>th !attle 'as on the ri.er &alledassas( The se.enth !attle 'as in +elyddon Forest% that is %at %oit%eidon( The eighth !attle 'as in G#innion Fort% and in it Arthur&arried the image of the holy ?ary% the e.erlasting irgin% on hisshoulders% and the heathen 'ere ut to flight this day% and there

'as a great slaughter uon them% through the o'er of Our Lord7esus +hrist and the o'er of the holy irgin ?ary% his mother(The ninth !attle 'as fought in the &ity of the Legions( The tenth!attle 'as fought on the !an) of the ri.er &alled Tribr#it( Theele.enth !attle 'as on the hill &alledAgned( The t'elfth !attle 'ason adonhill and in it nine hundred and si>ty men fell in one day%from a single &harge of Arthurs% and no one laid them lo' sa.e healone% and he 'as .i&torious in all his &amaigns( ons ofc.A(D( 2## is theAnnaes %a+briae% CThe 4elsh Annals( This 'as &omiledin the $2#s and it &ontains the follo'ing referen&es to Arthur;

A(D( 2,3 e#+ adonis, in 3#o Arth#r &ortavit cr#ce+ /o+ini nostriJhes# %hristi trib#s dieb#s et trib#s noctib#s in h#+eros s#os et rittinesvictores f#erent... A(D( 250 G#ieth %a+ann in 3#a Arth#r et !edra#tcorr#er#nt, et +ortaitas in rittannia et in Hibernia f#it.


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t andrelia!ility of their &on&ets of Arthur% see T( Green% %once&ts of Arth#rts 'ith translations of !oth the Historia ritton#+ and theAnnaes %a+briae&an !e most easily o!tained in 7( ?orris


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stones% under the stone in 'hi&h 'as his dogs footrint% and it is&alled +arn +afal


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e>lained !y referen&e to Arthur and his attendant legends(For a dis&ussion of the +irabiiasee O(7( Padel% CThe Nature of Arthur%

%a+brian !edieva %etic (t#dies% "0


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!efore the ninth or tenth &entury; G(R( Isaa&% The ;erb in the ook of Aneirin:(t#dies in (ynta4 !or&hoogy and Ety+oogy


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d. (ar0nad 'ynddylan

The ar&hai& heroi& elegy !arwnad %ynddyan


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dated to roughly the same eriod as the other /la&) /oo) 2+ddiddan% that isthe ninth or tenth &entury t of Pa g#r5%though they may 'ell ha.e )no'n of it( Rather they !oth seem to dra'from the same !ody of early Arthurian tradition% !ut 'ith Pa g#r5reresenting Ca stage rior to the merging of that tradition 'ith the story ofthe 'ooing of the giants daughter and one at 'hi&h Arthur and his heroes

'ere outside the gate rather than inside the &ourt


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This orter s&ene is ro!a!ly a sto&) narrati.e formula of .erna&ular story8telling loits re&ounted !y Arthur% in&luding deeds !yArthur himself;

Though Arthur laughed orBlayedhe &aused theJher !lood to flo'in Afarna&hs hall%fighting 'ith a 'it&h(He ier&ed +udgel


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A(O(H( 7arman% CThe Delineation of Arthur in Early 4elsh erse% in 9(arty >.% l>>.ii8l>>>iii 7(T( 9o&h%CThe +elti& Lands% in N(7( La&y


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The &on&et of Arthur held !y the tale is !oth that of a great o.erlordamles of su&h re8e>isting talesin&ororated into %#hwch ac 6wenare t 'ith suer! notes% a !i!liograhy and a full dis&ussionsee Ra&hel /rom'i&h and D( Simon E.ans


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La&y


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Sims84illiams% CThe Early 4elsh Arthurian Poems% in /rom'i&h et a


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referred to else'here in the re8Galfridian literature% see T( Green% %once&tsof Arth#r t% 'ith +amlann near?all'yd% ?erionethshire(

See T( Green% %once&ts of Arth#rt anddis&ussion see Thomas 7ones% CThe /la&) /oo) of +armarthen; Stan6as ofthe Gra.es% Proceedings of the ritish Acade+y% 25


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&ontains elements 'hi&h may refle&t mu&h older sour&es% for e>amle theossi!le sur.i.al of agan tree8lore


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A !la&)% for)ed toad; a hundred &la's on him(An en&hanted% &rested sna)e in 'hose s)in a hundred souls are

unished(I 'as in Kaer efenhir'here grass and trees atta&)ed%Poets sang% 'arriors rushed forth(


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a!o.e .olume and !y P(9( Ford as an aendi> to his The !abinogiist 'ere it not for my offsring(


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of Arthur as the CProte&tor of /ritain against suernatural threats= in line "1that CThe 'orld 'ould not e>ist 'ere it not for my offsring( 4ith regardsto Mthyr he is &learly &on&ei.ed of as a o'erful 'arrior and rote&torhimself in the a!o.e lines% 'hilst the earlier arts of the oem ha.e

sometimes !een used to argue that Mthyr 'as a agan +elti& God


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dr#t ac Erofis a fragment of a oem;

?adog% the ramart of reoi&ing(?adog% !efore he 'as in the gra.e%he 'as a fortress of generosity&onsisting of feat


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9egend


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Sandde /ryd Angel dri.e the &ro'off the fa&e of BDuran son of Arthur(Dearly and !elo.edly his mother raised him(

Arthur sang it

&hange 'e 'ould seem to ha.e a

referen&e to Arthurs role as the li!erator of risoners from the Other'orld%en&ountered in Preide# Annwfyn and %#hwch ac 6wen% though here su&h ane>edition is dismissed due to the o'er of the +hristian God tantrin&ially in t'o manus&rits of the si>teenth and se.enteenth &entury


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,$0-=% ( 5-58-1 P( Sims84illiams% CThe Early 4elsh Arthurian Poems% inR( /rom'i&h et ats there is a referen&e toG'enh'yfar and ?el'as ha.ing met at a &ourt in /yfneint% CDe.on% !ut thenature of this meeting isnt &lear( The !a&)ground to this oem is a re8Galfridian 4elsh story &on&erned 'ith the res&ue of G'enh'yfar


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*. *ddiddan /0yddno /aranhir ac /0yn ap :udd

The Arthurian interest in the C/la&) /oo) of +armarthen oem 2+ddiddanGwyddno Garanhir ac Gwyn fab #dd


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/rom'i&h and R(/( 7ones


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!rothers are of su&h great .alour that they might !e &alledJli)ened toC'hels of great Arthur=( For a full dis&ussion% see T( Green% %once&ts of

Arth#r


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!a&)ground to 2+ddiddan !ewas ac Gwenhwyfar% as 'ell as a tale of &onfli&t!et'een Arthur and Huail a +a'% 'hi&h is referred to in %#hwch ac 6wenand 'ould seem to refle&t the &on&et of Arthur as CProte&tor of /ritain; T(Green% %once&ts of Arth#r O(7( Padel% CThe Nature of

Arthur% %a+brian !edieva %etic (t#dies% "0


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Hermans /e !irac#is (anctae !ariae 9a#densis


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P( Sims84illiams% CThe Early 4elsh Arthurian Poems% in R( /rom'i&h et a


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ossesses Cthe heros destru&ti.e energy as his ra.aging de.astates the landfor se.en years 'here.er he goes; /(F( Ro!erts% C%#hwch ac 6wen% the

Triads% Saints Li.es% in R( /rom'i&h et a alted than the Three E>altedPrisoners t the CHamer ofG'yddno Garanhir and the C+auldron of Di'rna&h the Giant are alsomentioned in %#hwch ac 6wen% and the late date of the manus&rits of Tri

Thws ar /deg 2nys rydainshouldnt !e allo'ed to o!s&ure the fa&t that 'eha.e here an attemt to transmit and reser.e genuinely an&ient fragmentsof lost traditional literature of medie.al 4ales( The origins of theseCtreasures are ro!a!ly to !e sought in stories of magi& o!e&ts 'on


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these traditional talismans( There are t'o items of se&ifi& Arthurianinterest in the list( The first is the &auldron of Di'rna&h the Giant% 'hi&h isundou!tedly the same as that &auldron of Di'rna&h 4yddel ta)en fromIreland &et its o'n &olourQ( Its o'n &olour 'as'hite% and it 'as !rought to Arthur !y a red man mounted on a red horse(Its Other'orldly origins are &lear(


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s. Breudd0yd &honab0y

re#ddwyd -honabwy


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to the rose 'riters% ho'e.er% the cywyddwyr the oets of the fourteenth%fifteenth and si>teenth &enturies seem to ha.e !een some'hat sele&ti.e inho' many of the &ontinental and Galfridian de.eloments they &hose toadot and ho' &losely they follo'ed them( They seem to ha.e !een hay

to &ontinue to dra' on the nati.e and non8Galfridian Arthurian tradition%and 'hen there 'as any dis&rean&y !et'een this and the non8nati.ematerial they freuently sided 'ith the former( Thus in the fourteenth&entury Lla&heu &ontinues to feature as a standard of raise ?edrautremains an honoura!le and .aliant &hara&ter isten&e of non8nati.e elements &an also !e 'itnessed in the later

.ersions of Trioedd 2nys Prydeinand related te>ts su&h as the mid8fifteenth8&entury Pedwar !archog ar H#gain 9ys Arth#r amle% is &learly the sour&e of se.eral of the later Triads


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&on&erning +amlann !ut it also seems to a&t as a &atalyst for the re&ordingof other aarently non8Galfridian


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Onomasti& and Toograhi&

Fol)lore


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A Ga6etteer of Arthurian Onomasti& andToograhi& Fol)lore

'ontents

,( Introdu&tion

"( Arthurian Fol)lore; Early Literary Referen&esa. Historia ritton#+ O 0 %#hwch ac 6wenb. The 9atin (aints? 9ivesc. Engynion y edda#, /e -eb#s Gestis Angor#+ 0 2+ddiddan

Gwyddno Garanhir ac Gwyn fab #ddd. /e !irac#is (anctae !ariae 9a#densis. 9iber Forid#s, @tinerari#+

Ka+brie 0 !arwnat %adwaon a& %adfan5( A +atalogue of Arthurian Onomasti& and Toograhi& Fol)lore

a. Arth#r?s (tonesb. Arth#r?s 1#oitsc. Arth#r?s /ining (itesd. Arth#r?s (eatse. Arth#r?s -esidences

f. Arth#r?s Gravesg. !isceaneo#s Arth#riana

1. Introduction

One ase&t of the Arthurian legend 'hi&h has often re&ei.ed little&onsideration is Arthurs freuent aearan&e in the onomasti& andtoograhi& fol)lore of /ritain and /rittany( ?ost usually the attitude has!een that 'e should C&on&lude that literature rather than genuine fol)lorea&&ounts for most of them(, Su&h notions do not% ho'e.er% stand u tos&rutiny( Instead% as Oli.er Padel has re&ently demonstrated% Arthurian

onomasti& and toograhi& tales should ro!a!ly !e seen as &entral to thelegend and its origins( Arthur aears to ha.e !een rimarily a mythi&alandJor legendary hero% Cthe leader of a !and of heroes 'ho li.e outside

, G( Ashe% CToograhy and Lo&al Legends% in N(7( La&y


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so&iety% 'hose main 'orld is one of magi&al animals% giants% and other'ondrous haenings% lo&ated in the 'ild arts of the lands&ae( This&on&et of Arthur 'as% from at least the ninth &entury% freuentlymanifested through tales atta&hed to remar)a!le features in this lands&ae(

In arti&ular% natural ro&)s and rehistori& antiuities 'ere often used !ythese tales% reutedly !eing the .isi!le lo&al remnants of Arthurs a&ti.ity%sometimes !ut !y no means al'ays &alled CArthurs in remem!ran&eof this(,

The a!o.e &on&et of Arthur as a lo&al hero of toograhi& andonomasti& fol)lore &an !e demonstrated 'here.er a /rittoni& language 'ason&e so)en in southern S&otland% 4ales% the 4elsh !orders% south8'estEngland% and /rittany and it is resent in e.en the earliest sour&es loits only seems to ha.e emerged later as a

literary de.eloment of this oral tradition("

Similarly the Tristan legend% asfound in the 'or)s of the &ontinental oets su&h as /Wroul% is no' generallya&&eted as deri.ing from +ornish onomasti& and toograhi& fol)lore(5Indeed% so oular 'ere these stories that they !e&ame a genre in their o'nright% )no'n to the Irish as dinnsheanchas% Cla&e8lore% the /la&) /oo) of+armarthenEngynion y edda#!eing a se&ialised 4elsh e>amle of this%&on&erned 'ith the suosed resting la&es of mythi&alJfol)lori& heroes


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this for e>amle% la&e8names refle&ting the lo&alisation of the .arioustales in %#hwch ac 6wen in the 4elsh lands&ae% su&h as !es#r'y'Peir%C?easure of the +auldron% referring to the la&e 'here Arthur and his menlanded 'ith a &atured &auldron are dis&ussed !elo' and in T( Green%

%once&ts of Arth#r


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the tye of fol)lore that the nature of Arthur in the early 4elsh sour&es'ould lead us to e>e&t to find in the /ritish lands&ae(

Indeed% it is 'orth remem!ering that !oth the names and the storiesatta&hed to these Cremar)a!le features in the lands&ae the .isi!le

reminders of Arthurs ad.entures and deeds are astonishingly &onsistenta&ross the &enturies in their ortrayal of the /ritish non8Galfridian Arthur(

The stories and la&e8names re&orded !y nineteenth8 and t'entieth8&entury&olle&tors of oral traditions differ little from those re&orded !y &han&e in thet'elfth or thirteenth &enturies% or e.en those found in the ninth8&entury

Engynion y edda# and Historia ritton#+( This% in itself% does gi.e the lie tothe old .ie' that ost8Galfridian and% ese&ially% ost8medie.al Arthurianonomasti& and toograhi& fol)lore is of no .alue as it mainly results from

amle of this nota!le &ontinuity from the erse&ti.e of stories% the4elsh %arreg %arn !arch Arth#ramles 'illha.e !een in.ented !y antiuarians and thus not ha.e genuine fol)8talesunderlying and e>laining them% mass in.ention &annot !e seen as the most&redi!le e>lanation for the &orus as a 'hole( Pla&e8lore aears to !e too&entral to the early Arthurian legend% and the tye and nature of the namesand stories are too &onsistent o.er the &ourse of more than ,### years( As

Padel has re&ently o!ser.ed%

4hat interests us% and is so imressi.e% is not the antiuity of anyindi.idual name% !ut the .itality and &onsisten&y of the tradition inthe .arious /rittoni& areas[ The fol)lore may in some &ases ha.e!een !oosted !y the literary de.eloments[ !ut it remainedlargely unaffe&ted !y the literary Arthurian &y&le% and retained its&hara&ter throughout the eriod(5

, Padel% CNature of Arthur% ( "285# Green% %once&ts of Arth#r% ( "1"812(" See !elo' and Padel% CThe Nature of Arthur% ( "85% "- Green% %once&ts of

Arth#r% ( 3080#% ,#2% "1"815(5 Padel% CNature of Arthur% ( "0 and "$85#(


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/efore ending this introdu&tion% three final features of the material&ategorised and listed in the ga6etteer reuire &omment( First% all instan&es)no'n to the resent 'riter of a name in the form CArthurs are in&luded%!ut the le.el of detail of the material &o.ered .aries &onsidera!ly !et'een

instan&es( In some &ases 'e ha.e a full tale re&orded or summarised inothers 'e ha.e only the name sur.i.ing% not the e>lanatory story thatoriginally a&&omanied it( In su&h &ir&umstan&es the original fol)8tale &anonly !e guessed at% through &omarison 'ith either Arthurian literary te>tsor other similar onomasti& and toograhi& lore% Arthurian or other'ise


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in St +olum!% +orn'all(,Another fa&tor 'hi&h affe&ts the distri!ution is%naturally% the a.aila!ility of su&h re&ords thus Grooms material from/rittany is as yet unu!lished% and there is therefore .ery little /retonfol)lore in the follo'ing ga6etteer( In &onseuen&e% the ga6etteer must !e

&onsidered a ro.isional list its &omilation% needless to say% o'es a&onsidera!le de!t to +hris Grooms imortant study and Geoffrey AshesTraveer?s G#ide to Arth#rian ritain("

2. Arthurian %ol)lore: A Brief /uide to #arly ;iterary &eferences

a. Historia Brittonu* ->3 and 'ulh0ch ac !l0en

That one maor e>ression of Arthurs early legend 'as through lo&alonomasti& and toograhi& fol)lore is made .ery &lear !y the Historiaritton#+% 'ritten in A(D( -"$ or -5#( +haters 30802 of this 'or) &ontain ades&rition of .arious +irabiia% Cmar.els% from /ritain and Ireland that theauthor had either heard of or had ersonally e>erien&ed t'o of these are

Arthurian in &hara&ter( One des&ri!es a toograhi& fol)8tale relating toArthurs murder and !urial of his son% Amr;

There is another 'onder in the &ountry &alled Ergyng &etionally early gi.en that most/ritish fol)lore goes unre&orded !efore the t'elfth &entury sur.i.al of anonomasti& toograhi& tale dra'n from lo&al% oular fol)lore% heredesigned to e>lain the name 9icat A+rand an asso&iated gra.e( The story

, R( Hunt% Poar -o+ances of the


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of Arthur )illing Amr is other'ise un)no'n% although CAmhar son ofArthur aears in Geraint as one of Arthurs four &ham!erlains(Nonetheless% this is suffi&ient to demonstrate !oth the early e>isten&e of thismaterial and the manner in 'hi&h remar)a!le features in the 'ilds of the

lands&ae had e>lanatory Arthurian stories atta&hed to them( E.en moreinteresting is the other Arthurian +irabie;

There is another 'onder in the &ountry &alled /uilth( There is ahea of stones there% and one of these stones la&ed on the to ofthe ile has the footrint of a dog on it( 4hen he hunted T'r&h

Tr'yth% +afal isten&e and name !eing e>lained through theatta&hment to it of an Arthurian onomasti& and toograhi& tale( This

C'onder is arti&ularly interesting as 'e )no' from the ele.enth8&enturyrose tale %#hwch ac 6wen that the hunting of the giant di.ine !oar TwrchTrwyth ressed through andJor had its origins in lo&al onomasti& andtoograhi& fol)lore( For e>amle% the tale of Arthurs raid on Ireland forthe &auldron of Di'rna&h 4yddel 'hi&h is a euhemerism of Arthurs&auldron8see)ing raid into the Other'orld related in the early oem Preide#

Annwfyn is &learly deri.ati.e of a re8e>isting onomasti& tale in %#hwch;

And they disem!ar)ed at the house of Ll'ydeu son of +el +oed% at

Porth +erddin in Dyfed( And ?esur8y8Peir a la&e8name% C?easureof the +auldron is there(5

, enni#s% ( 1"(" See Green% %once&ts of Arth#r% ( 3080"(5 The !abinogion% trans( G( 7ones and T( 7ones


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This la&e8name is no' lost ho'e.er% 9enneth 7a&)son has identified a!ess#r Pritg#enn


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Perros Relief and it sho's .ery &lear signs of deri.ing from lo&altoograhi& lore(,

c. #nglynion y Beddau8 isten&e ofArthurian !urial8fol)lore% li)e that related in the Historia ritton#+(Mnfortunately no further details are gi.en of the stories atta&hed to thesesites in theEngynion y edda#( Ho'e.er% the gra.e of G'al&hmai is alsoreferred to !y 4illiam of ?almes!ury in his Gesta -eg#+ Angor#+of c. ,,"2;

At this time ansion of the Engynion y edda#s !rief referen&e o!.iously aids&onsidera!ly our understanding of the underlying fol)tale though mu&h iso!.iously missing and !oth the si6e of the gra.e and nature of the tale!ear &omarison 'ith the gra.e of Amr% Arthurs son% in the +irabiia of theHistoria ritton#+( 4ith regards to the lo&ation of G'al&hmais gra.e% thesite of the gra.e re&orded in !oth sour&es 'ould aear% uon in.estigation%to !e identi&al% suggesting that the dis&o.ery in Cthe time of 9ing 4illiam

'as either an oening or e>&a.ation of the traditional site of G'al&hmais!urial re&orded in theEngynion y edda#(1

, See Green% %once&ts of Arth#r% &hater three for a full dis&ussion(" P( Sims84illiams CThe Early 4elsh Arthurian Poems% in R( /rom'i&h et a


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In&identally% another of Arthurs sons% Lla&heu% also aears to ha.e atraditional !urial site( In the erhas tenth8&entury 2+ddiddan GwyddnoGaranhir ac Gwyn fab #dd'e find e.iden&e for the e>isten&e of some storyof his death;

I ha.e !een 'here Lla&heu 'as slainthe son of Arthur% a'ful Jmar.ellous in songs

'hen ra.ens &roa)ed o.er !lood(,

4here this o&&urred is not stated !ut 'e find% in a thirteenth8&entury elegy!y /leddyn Fardd% the statement that CLla&hau 'as slain !elo' Lle&h Ksgar(

4hilst the la&e is unidentified though it 'as the site of one of the &ourts

of ?adog a ?aredudd% d( ,,3# Sims84illiams has suggested that there&ould 'ell ha.e !een a lo&al legend underlying the a!o.e li)e those &itedre.iously("

d. t lies 'ith the fa&t that% 'hilst tra.elling !et'eenE>eter and /odmin% the &anons 'ere sho'n the Cseat and the Co.en of9ing Arthur and 'ere told that this 'as CArthurian &ountry( These aresome of the earliest re&orded instan&es of se&ifi& sites a&tually !einggranted a name of the form CArthurs % although 'e la&) the stories 'hi&he>lained 'hy these sites 'ere so des&ri!ed


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CArthurs Oen in the thirteenth &entury(, Gerald of 4ales refers% in hisc. ,,$# @tinerari#+ Ka+brieamles

!a&) into the medie.al eriod as su&h there is little reason to dou!t that alarge roortion reresent the remnants of genuine onomasti& andtoograhi& fol)8tales% &reated at .arious times o.er the ast ,### years(One e>amle is a Neolithi& or /ron6e Age !urial8&ham!er found inHerefordshire and first re&orded in the thirteenth &entury amles in&lude;

A dou!le megalithi& &ham!ered tom! 'ith &astone in

Llanrhidian Lo'er on the Go'er eninsula


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&entury(, An CArthurs Stone in /ett's% +armarthenshire


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CStone Arthur is on to of a mountain in 4estmorland


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'hi&h Padel has esta!lished for this tye of Arthurian fol)lore( As su&h theytestify to the &ontinued .itality of su&h Arthurian onomasti& andtoograhi& fol)lore% although antiuarian in.ention of at least some of thee>amles !elo' might !e suse&ted(,E>amles in&lude;

An CArthurs @uoit


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'as noted(, Three CArthurs @uoits mentioned in the nineteenth &entury in

+aernar.onshire% in the arishes of Llanrug


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An CArthurs @uoit in Llang'yryfon arish% +ardiganshire


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ist( One .ery interesting Cta!le amles in&lude;

An CArthurs Ta!le from +aernar.onshire teenth &entury

+aerleon% ?onmouthshire


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?ary!orough% 4estmorland eter and /odmin in ,,,5 and the hillC&alled 9airarthur sic% that is Arthurs seat% !e&ause of the t'in ea)s of aroe&tion rising u in the form of a &hair% referred to in c. ,,$# !y Geraldof 4ales in his @tinerari#+ Ka+brie


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An CArthurs +hair at Tintagel% +orn'all 'hi&h has initialsurorting to date !a&) to the se.enteenth &entury &ut into itand a slit )no'n as the 4indo'(,

An CArthurs +hair north8'est of Se'ingshields%Northum!erland t is related to the Historia ritton#+("In his list of+irabiia


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ground= 'ith a re&tangle of uright granite sla!s 'ithin( It 'asalso )no'n as Arthurs Hunting Lodge( Near!y are Arthurs/ed% Arthurs Troughs and Arthurs Do'ns(

CArthurs Hunting Lodge teenth &entury !y Leland( The name C+amelot seems toha.e only !e&ome atta&hed to the Arthurian legend in the late8t'elfth &entury and has no la&e in /ritish traditions% asindi&ated !y Trioedd 2nys Prydein( In ,2-3% ho'e.er% it 'asre&orded that lo&als &alled +ad!ury +astle CArthurs Pala&e aname 'hi&h &ould &on&ei.a!ly ha.e re&eded


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?oor% east +orn'all

edd Arth#r


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'here the )ing 'as suosedly !uried after ?ordred )illed himat +amlann erien&e doth not so assure me(,

This o!.iously arallels the gra.e of Arthurs son mentioned in Historiaritton#+05% dis&ussed a!o.e% and Padels &omments are 'orth uoting atlength on this matter;

aria!le8length gra.es are re&orded o&&asionally else'here in +elti&fol)lore% in addition to the 9icat A+rin the Historia ritton#+( 4hatis signifi&ant here is finding one in an Arthurian &onte>t% andNordens remar) of ha.ing tried its length% e&hoing so &losely


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Arthur% or mar)s made !y him on ro&)s% suggesti.e of an underlying&on&et of CArthur the giant similar to that !ehind the instan&es ofCArthurs Seat and CArthurs @uoit;

%ist Arth#r% CArthurs +hest% re&orded in the arish of Llandeilo/ertholau% ?onmouthshire &et for theglint of sil.er horse shoes( The riders are said to sto to 'atertheir horses at Cthe 4ishing 4ell(1

CArthurs Troughs these are found on /odmin ?oor%

, Grooms% Giants of


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+orn'all% in the arish of North8Hill( They are reuted to !e'here Arthur fed his hunting dogs( Near!y are Arthurs /ed%Arthurs Do'ns% and Arthurs Hall(

Finally% yet others atta&h his name to a .ariety of lands&ae features 'hatstories underlie these is !eyond &one&ture% !ut the liminal lo&ations of someof these reinfor&e the notion that it is in these untamed% remote or strangearts of the lands&ae that Arthur 'as a&ti.e in /ritish fol)lore;

CArthurs Do'ns% lo&ated ust to the north of Arthurs Hallamle &omes from near St Da.ids%Pem!ro)eshire


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Mnfortunately the &orresondent ne.er seems to ha.e re&ei.edan ans'er(

%oed Arth#r% CArthurs 4ood% is found at ST#1#0,2 in SouthGlamorgan(

CArthurs Fold a farm in Perthshire% 'hi&h 'as near anCArthurs Stone !ut no longer e>ists( There is% ho'e.er% anear!y Arthur!an)


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1Lin&olnshire and the Arthurian

Legend


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Lin&olnshire and the Arthurian Legend

1. Introduction

A-THN-: How do yo# do, good ady5 @ a+ Arth#r, King of the ritons. isten&e of a genuinely Chistori&al Arthur%!efore going on to &onsider the e.en more fundamental uestion of

'hether 'e ought to !elie.e in Arthurs e>isten&e at all(

2. The Arthur of the Historia Brittonu*

/efore 'e &an e.en !egin to &onsider 'here any ossi!le histori&al Arthur


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may ha.e !een !ased% if he e>isted% some essential !a&)ground must !eesta!lished( The earliest sour&es to feature Arthur as a histori&al figure la&ehim in the eriod around the end of the fifth &entury and the !eginning ofthe si>th &entury( Se&ifi&ally% he is la&ed at the /attle of /adon Hill% an

e.ent that is also mentioned on in.aders inthose days% together 'ith the )ings of the /ritons% !ut he 'as their!attle leader onsc. 2##(


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3. The ;ocality of Arthur in the Historical9 Sources

In light of the a!o.e% the uestion must !e&ome in 'hat on )ingdom in the se.enth&entury


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Roman olity sur.i.ed in the Old English )ingdom8name that !e&amemodern Lindsey% 9indesige% 'hi&h deri.es from the Late /ritish fol)8andterritory8name =9indYs% Cthe eole of Lin&oln% lus Old English ig)eg% Canisland Ar&hai& 4elsh =9innYs> Old 4elsh 9inn#ist thought that Arthur fought one or more !attles in Lindsey isten&e though not Arthurs in.ol.ement is &onfirmed !y an early and trust'orthysour&e


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its lo&ation has long !een disuted /ath is one ossi!ility amle /ad!ury Rings in Dorset% leading to a

'idesread &onsensus that this is 'here /adon 'as fought( Ho'e.er% thereis no sound !asis to this% other than the fa&t that this is 'here the maorityof ossi!ilities are found( There is% in fa&t% one often o.erloo)ed alternati.e;/aum!er% near Horn&astle in Lindsey% is also &onsidered to !e a ossi!leadon b b#rh% ta)ing the form adeb#rg in the Domesday /oo) % ,$$08-=(

Stri&tly sea)ing there is no reason 'hy /aum!er should !e any lessli)ely as a &andidate for /adon than any of the others all rest almoste>&lusi.ely on etymologi&al arguments( +ertainly% as 'e 'ill see !elo'% thehistori&al &onte>t of Lindsey c. 2## is no less lausi!le a la&e for a !attle!et'een /ritons and the Anglo8Sa>on immigrants than% say% /ath( Indeed% itshould !e !orn in mind that near!y Horn&astle% a fortified Roman Csmallto'n% is &onsidered to !e art of the Late Roman defen&es of the east &oastand Cone of the leading settlements in the Lin&oln area


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Northum!erland that !ears a name 'hi&h is ro!a!ly deri.ati.e of this(Nonetheless% in light of the a!o.e &onsiderations% the &oin&iden&e ofanother of the Historias !attle8names in Lin&olnshire is interesting and thehistori&al &onte>t for a genuine late fifth8 or early si>th8&entury !attle against

Anglo8Sa>on immigrants if 'e are to treat the !attle on the Gein as su&h is argua!ly far !etter from Lin&olnshire than it is from Northum!erland th8&entury Anglianar&haeologi&al finds from around the oint at 'hi&h the ri.er e>its the dry%higher ground to flo' into the Fens to'ards the 4ash imity toLin&olnshire is on&e more suggesti.e for the theory !eing set out here(

O.erall 'e &an sum u as follo's( 4ithout any se&ial leading it is &learthat four of Arthurs !attles ist and that the Historia reser.es genuine details of his deeds( In fa&t% as

'e ha.e seen% there is otential for as many as three of the other !attles to!e identified either in Lin&olnshire or &lose8!y it% in&luding the imortant/attle of /adon Hill 'hi&h seems of

Arthurs C&areer and the reason for his fame( Of the remaining fi.e !attles%three are &omletely unidentifia!le !y sound hilology one is eitherunidentifia!le or !orro'ed from the mid8late si>th8&entury hero Mrien of


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Rheged ons c. 2##( This is oen to

.ery serious de!ate t of the 'ell8esta!lished mo.ement of early


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traditions &on&erning Northern heroes% su&h as Mrien of Rheged andLly'ar&h Hen% south to 4ales !y Cat least as early as the ninth &enturyth&entury and the first uarter of the se.enth &entury( None of these eole&an !e seen as the Ctrue Arthur% as /rom'i&h and others ha.e made .ery

&lear% and 'hat e>a&tly these names signify is un&lear


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the notion of a CNorthern Arthur and the idea that the !attles if 'e!elie.e them to genuinely !elong to an Arthur 'ho really e>isted are to !efound in northern% not southern% England(

So far 'e ha.e tal)ed of the COld North in general !ut this does erhas

need &loser definition if the arguments a!o.e are to ha.e a arti&ularali&a!ility to our interest in an Arthur 'ho might ha.e fought inLin&olnshire and erhas the East Riding of Kor)shire( The COld North isusually said to in&lude the entire area from the Hum!er u to Edin!urgh%and most of the e.iden&e marshalled for Arthur as a hero of the COldNorth has its immediate origins in the most northerly ortions of thisregion( /rom'i&h has argued that this% ho'e.er% simly refle&ts the fa&tthat% !y the time the Arthurian legend 'as 'ritten do'n and re&orded% this

'as the only ortion of the COld North still in /ritish hands( Anglianin.aders &onuered the southernmost ortions to &reate the )ingdoms ofDeira and /erni&ia during the si>th &entury% and so the far north 'as theonly la&e 'here memories of a Northern Arthur &ould sur.i.e and !e&ele!rated


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&ontains a &ore of fa&t relating to the .i&tories of a histori&al figure namedArthur( If these are allo'ed then the e.iden&e does seem to !e reasona!ly&onsistent 'ith any su&h Arthur ha.ing his !ase of oerations inLin&olnshire or the East Riding of Kor)shire around the year 2##% fighting

against the Anglian in.aders 'hose resen&e in signifi&ant num!ers in theseareas is indi&ated !y large &remation &emeteries su&h as those at San&ton


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/ritish &hur&h and ro!a!ly !isho through the fifth &entury and into thesi>th &entury


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4or)ing 'ith the assumtion that &hater 23 of the Historia% 'hilst itmay ha.e !orro'ed !attles from other leaders and mythology% has at its corean a&&urate re&ord of a single leader named Arthur 'ho fought the Anglo8Sa>ons c. 2##% a reasona!ly strong &ase &an !e &onstru&ted from the Historia

alone for &onsidering the Lin&olnshire region t for Arthur( The Arthur of the Historias fame&omes from his suosed .i&tories o.er the Anglo8Sa>ons of c. 2## and%gi.en that it is no' generally agreed that he is unli)ely to ha.e rode allaround /ritain fighting% 'e therefore need th &entury%and in note'orthy &ontrast to most other /ritish elites in eastern /ritain(

4hy% if there is so mu&h e.iden&e% has no8one seriously made this &ase!eforeB One is temted to suggest that the less8than8ideal methodology thatoften !esmir&hes histori&al Arthur studies is to !lame; no8one e>e&ted any

histori&al Arthur to !e found in Lin&olnshire% so he 'asnt( Furthermore%the &onte>tual e.iden&e dis&ussed a!o.e emerges from .ery re&ent studiesand fe' Arthurian theorists aear a'are of re&ent trends and dis&o.eries inthe a&ademi& study of early8medie.al eastern England isted and that the Historia is a sour&e of real .alue( It

has tried to a.oid the logi&al leas8of8faith that many studies emloy( It hasalso tried to use a of the a.aila!le e.iden&e% histori&al% legendary andar&haeologi&al many theories tend to rely on ust one or t'o of these&ategories( Thus 'e end u 'ith theories that fit the literary e.iden&e !utfail to find a lausi!le &onte>t for their Arthurs


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is to !e found in southern S&otland=% or theories that ha.e a .ery good&onte>t lain theaarent Cnorthern !ias% o!ser.ed !y many +elti&ists% in the legendarymaterials( /y la&ing Arthur around the Hum!er 'e a.oid these itfalls; he

is far enough south and east to ha.e a lausi!le histori&al &onte>t !ut farenough north to e>lain 'hy he might !e famous in the legends of 2Gogedd% the COld North% and finally and most imortantly la&ing himhere fits in 'ith the e.iden&e of the only sour&e modern historians are

'illing to e.en artially trust ons c. 2##( He rightly &on&edesthat the Historias !attle8list is .ery unrelia!le% !ut !elie.es that its &laim that

Arthur e>isted ro!a!ly does deri.e ultimately from 4elsh oral tradition(His suggestion% 'ith regards to the aroriateness of the lo&ation of9inn#istof the Historia ritton#+( This is an assumtion 'ith a .ery rese&ta!leedigree% !ut it is also highly de!ata!le( In&reasingly historians ha.e atta&)ed

'hat Da.id Dum.ille has termed the Cno smo)e 'ithout fire s&hool ofthought 'ith regards to Arthur t that is oftenrightly treated 'ith e>treme &aution as a sour&e for the fifth and si>th&enturies( In fa&t% it is !e&oming in&reasingly &lear that the Historia

ritton#+s &on&et of Arthur as a 'ar8leader% and the !attles it as&ri!es tohim% may 'ell not !e a!le to &arry the 'eight of the assumtions andtheories that ha.e !een atta&hed to it


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histori&al 'ar8leader &alled Arthur had on&e e>isted% 'ith the !attles listed inthe Historia !eing too unrelia!le to allo' any sensi!le re&onstru&tions of the&areer of this Arthur% e.en if he did genuinely e>ist >.iii8>>i>=( Instead of !eing

a histori&al figure 'ho 'as a!sor!ed into fol)lore and legend% Arthur ismore lausi!ly seen as a fol)lori& or mythi&al figure 'ho 'as o&&asionallyortrayed as histori&al% in the same manner as Hengest and the Gaeli& Fionnma& +umhaill% a osition 'ith 'hi&h Ra&hel /rom'i&h has re&entlye>ressed &onsidera!le symathy lained a'ay


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noting that in Gildass /e E4cidio ritanniaeAm!rosius Aurelianus is gi.enrominen&e as the initiator of the /ritish &ounter8atta&) 'hi&h% after thefighting of se.eral !attles% &ulminates in the !attle of /adon% ust as Arthurin the Historia ritton#+ initiates the /ritish &ounter8atta&) 'hi&h% after the

fighting of se.eral !attles% &ulminates in the !attle of /adon( On the !asis ofthis 'e &ould 'ell !e a!le to say that% to some e>tent% 'e do ha.e ahistori&al Arthur Am!rosius in the sense that the &on&et of Arthur as ahistori&al figure and the frame'or) for his histori&isation 'ere !ased on hisdeeds( Indeed% !oth Oli.er Padel and ?i&hael 4ood ha.e argued that a re8e>amination of the /L +otton itellius A(.i manus&rit of Gildas has the/attle of ?ount /adon no' reading Cnaturally as the .i&tory that &ro'nedthe &areer of Am!rosius Aurelianus% 'hi&h la&es this &ontention on ane.en sounder footing


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the e>isten&e of Arthur and the notion that the histori&al Arthur 'as ase&ondary de.eloment of a &hara&ter from /ritish fol)lore and myth( These&ond alternati.e as)s% if there is a histori&al figure 'ho fought at /adon

at the heart of the Historia% &alled erhas Am!rosius Aurelianus rather

than Arthur% then &ould the Lin&olnshire C&ore that has !een suggested herein the Historias a&&ount reresent hisdeedsB +ertainly% if/aum!er is /adon%this 'ould seem a distin&t ossi!ility( In this &onte>t it is 'orth noting thefollo'ing( First% unli)e many of the other !attles% !oth 9inn#is and Geinha.e ne.er !een suggested as !attles that are !orro'ed from myth or otherhistori&al figures their .ery o!s&urity may thus oint to them !elonging toany original histori&al &ore that might !e resent in the Historia ritton#+(Se&ond% not only 'ould the histori&al &onte>t esta!lished a!o.e fit su&h afigure .ery 'ell% !ut there is a highly rese&ta!le s&hool of a&ademi& thoughtthat holds that Gildas 'as% in his a&&ount of the /ritish &ounter8atta&) in thelate fifth &entury led !y Am!rosius Aurelianus% 'riting a!out the region ofthe East Riding of Kor)


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C. Bibliography

Al&o&)% L( ,$0,%Arth#r?s ritain: History and Archaeoogy A./. I'I


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Arth#rian 9iterat#re% 3% ( ,8"3

Dum.ille% D( N( ,$-$% CThe Origins of Northum!ria% in S( /assett


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Higham% N( 7( ,$$"% -o+e, ritain and the Ango'(a4ons


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7ones% ?( ,$$1% CSt Paul in the /ail% Lin&oln; /ritain in EuroeB% in 9(S(Painter


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S)ene% 4(F( ,-3-% The Fo#r Ancient ooks of


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2Arthur and 7a&) the Giant8

9iller


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7a&) : Arthur; An Introdu&tion to 7a&)the Giant89iller

The tale of 7a&) the Giant89iller is one that has held &onsidera!lefas&ination for English readers( The &om!ination of gruesome .iolen&e%fantasti& heroism and lo' &unning that the disat&h of ea&h giant in.ol.es

gained the tale numerous fans in the eighteenth &entury% in&luding Dr7ohnson and Henry Fielding(, It did% indeed% insire !oth a far&e" and aCmusi&al entertainment5in the middle of that &entury( Ho'e.er% desite thisoularity the a&tual genesis of 7a&) and his tale remains some'hat o!s&ure(

The resent &olle&tion of sour&e materials is ro.ided as an a&&omanimentto my o'n study of the origins of The History of Jack and the Giantsand itsla&e 'ithin the 'ider Arthurian legend% u!lished as CTom Thum! and

7a&) the Giant89iller; T'o Arthurian Fairy TalesB% Fokore% ,,-("


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the this is the fa&t that 7a&)% unli)e some of his .i&tims% is Ce>&et in story8!oo)s% un)no'n he has% for e>amle% no genuine la&e in +ornishfol)lore that Ro!ert Hunt &ould dis&o.er% desite Hunts e>tensi.ein.estigations into this material and the &lear lo&alisation of 7a&)s tale

there(,If 7a&) 'as a literary &reation rather than a genuine figure of fol)8tale

'hose tale 'as 'o.en from earlier non87a&) giant8)illings and traditions%this naturally raises some intriguing uestions a!out the origins of !oththese stories of 4elsh and +ornish giants and the a&tual &on&et of 7a&) asthe hero 'ho finally rids /ritain of these &reatures( 4ith regards to this% it isimortant to note the resen&e of 9ing Arthur throughout 7a&)s tale( Thusthe History of Jack and the Giantsis e>li&itly set from the start in Cthe reign of

9ing Arthur% !ut this is not simly a &ase of CIn the days of 9ing Arthur[as a .ariant of COn&e uon a time[ So% in the &ourse of the tale% Arthursson !e&omes !oth 7a&)s &omanion and his master% and the assistan&e that

7a&)s renders him leads to a la&e for 7a&) as a 9night of the Round Ta!le(Then% after sending a little time as a mem!er of Arthurs &ourt% 7a&) as)sermission to go and rid /ritain of all remaining C!lood8thirsty Giants% aroosal 'hi&h Arthur a&&ets( 7a&) of &ourse has great su&&ess in thisendea.our% !ut he does ma)e sure to send the heads of all the giants he )illsto Arthur% along 'ith an a&&ount of his deeds( Finally% 'hen the last giant

left in /ritain is slaughtered% Arthur re'ards 7a&) 'ith an estate and a 'ife%'ith 'hom to li.e haily e.er after(4hat all this means is oen to de!ate( +ertainly Arthur is not

fundamental to the History% !ut his resen&e is felt throughout mu&h of thenarrati.e( In this &onte>t it ought not to !e forgotten that the Historymust%after all% ha.e !een deli!erately 'ritten 'ith this role for Arthur lanned

'ithin it% gi.en its aarent literary origins( The solution% I ha.e argued%"may in fa&t lie 'ith Arthurs 'ell8do&umented role as the slaughterer of/ritish giants% through a &om!ination of e>treme .iolen&e% &unning and

tri&)ery( This is found in the earliest of 4elsh Arthurian tales right throughto the fol)lore of the modern era


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Arthur% the good )ing% .anished them all 'ith his &ross8s'ord(,4e thus ha.e a situation 'herein 7a&) 'ho is Ce>&et in story8!oo)s%

un)no'n ossesses that .ery same role in /ritish mythi&al history terminator of all remaining +ornish and 4elsh giants in /ritain= 'hi&h

!elongs to Arthur in +ornish and 4elsh fol)lore( Indeed% not only is thisfol)lori& role for Arthur 'ell8attested !efore 7a&)s first aearan&e in thesaid Cstory8!oo)s% !ut the giant8)illings attri!uted to Arthur and his &losest&omanions are of a .ery similar &hara&ter to those of 7a&)( As &an !e seenfrom the materials sele&ted for in&lusion !elo'% 7a&)s initial tri&)ery of the+ornish and 4elsh giants he en&ounters is aralleled !y similar &unning insome of the Arthurian giant8)illings( For e>amle% Arthur is said


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e>amle% his )illing of the Giant of ?ont St ?i&hel !ears &lose &omarison'ith 7a&)s deeds( So% 7a&) stri)es at the head of the se&ond giant he meetsafter setting off from Arthurs &ourt% !ut misses his aim and so &uts into thegiants fa&e% remo.ing his nose( He then a.oids the giants 'ild atta&)%

inserts his s'ord u to the hilt in the giants Carse% and laughs out loud asthe &reature suffers and dies% the giant C&rying out and Cra.ing !efore finallytoling to the ground in a Cdreadful fall( 7a&) then &uts off the giants headas a trohy for 9ing Arthur( +orresondingly% 'e are told that Arthur%

fired 'ith rage((( lifted u his s'ord% and ga.e him a 'ound in theforehead% 'hi&h 'as not indeed mortal% !ut yet su&h as made the!lood gush out o.er his fa&e and eyes% and so !linded him for he

had artly 'arded off the stro)e from his forehead 'ith his &lu!%and re.ented its !eing fatal( Ho'e.er% his loss of sight% !y reasonof the !lood flo'ing o.er his eyes% made him e>ert himself 'ithgreater fury% and li)e an enraged !oar against a hunting8sear% sodid he rush in against Arthurs s'ord% and grasing him a!out the

'aist% for&ed him do'n uon his )nees( /ut Arthur% nothingdaunted% slied out of his hands% and so !estirred himself 'ith hiss'ord% that he ga.e the giant no resite till he had stru&) it u tothe .ery !a&) through his s)ull( At this the hideous monster raised a

dreadful roar% and li)e an oa) torn u from the roots !y the 'inds%so did he ma)e the ground resound 'ith his fall( Arthur% !urstingout into a fit of laughter at the sight% &ommanded /ed.er to &ut offhis head% and gi.e it to one of the armour8!earers% 'ho 'as to &arryit to the &am% and there e>ose it to u!li& .ie'[,

It may !e rele.ant in this &onte>t that some tellings of this same e.entin&lude a s&ene in 'hi&h Arthur sta!s the giant in the genitals("E.en if thereis no dire&t deri.ation of 7a&)s )illing des&ri!ed a!o.e from this se&ifi&one of Arthurs% the t'o slaughters


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fol)lo

Documents

Arthurian A