Explorations in Arthurian History
The People
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- Aelle: Saxon
leader who founded the kingdom of Sussex in 477 and
became the first bretwalda years later. Bede calls him
the first high king of Saxon Britain. Not much else is
known. One
source calls him a king of
Northumbria; another
source lists him as an Angle
leader. He is thought by some to have been the Saxon
leader at the Battle of Badon
Hill.
- Angles:
invaders and eventually settlers from Angeln or Denmark
who chose the middle-eastern coast of Britain as their
new stomping grounds. The kingdoms they founded were
Northumbria, Mercia, and East Anglia. From the Old
English words Engla and land ("Land of the
Angles") we get England and from Englisc we
get English. Angles were settled in Lincolnshire
and Lindsey,
thought to be the sites of some of the 12 great battles
of Arthur according to Nennius. Click here
for more.
- Anglo-Saxons:
members of the Germanic tribes (invited by Vortigern to
stem the tide of Pict incursions) known as the Angles,
Saxons, and Jutes. These people settled along the eastern
coast of Britain and, through conquering and diplomacy,
made their way west until they controlled all of the
island except Wales, Scotland, and some of
Cornwall.
The seven major kingdoms were Northumbria, Mercia, East
Anglia, Essex, Sussex, Wessex, and Kent; together, these
kingdoms were known as the Heptarchy. Click
here
and here
and here
(funny) and especially here
for more.
- Ambrosius
Aurelianus: Briton leader mentioned by Gildas,
Geoffrey, and Nennius who strengthened his people against
the increasing Saxon invasions. He is said by some to be
a Roman. Whatever his origin, his impact on British
history is large: He coordinated his people and dealt the
Saxons a stunning counterblow in 470, assuming the title
of High King of Britain. Click here
and especially here
for more.
- Argante:
Queen of Avalon. Layamon says Arthur went to her after
the last battle.
- Balin and
Balan: knights who met an untimely death at each
other's hand. Click here
and here
for more.
- Bedivere:
according to Geoffrey the Duke of Normandy and Arthur's
right-hand man. He is portrayed as such in Culhwch and
Olwen, although there his name is Bedwyr. He is also
reputed to be the one who cast Excalibur
into the pool after Arthur's wounding. Click
here
and here
and here
for more.
- Belgae:
original inhabitants of Gaul who crossed over to Britain
early in the first century and ruled over a good bit of
southern Britain, with centers in Colchester, St Albans
and Silchester. A famous Belgae was King Cassivellaunus.
Although the Belgae were populous and well-organized,
they didn't stand a chance against the invading Roman
legions. They did leave behind the technological advance
of the heavy plow. Click here
for more and here
to read Julius Caesar's account of his run-in with the
Belgae.
- Bors:
See People
of the Legend.
- Brigantes
tribe who lived in what is now Yorkshire. Chief
Brigante cities were Isurium and Eboracum.
Cartimandua was the fiery queen who kept her place
on the throne by accepting Roman support and handing
over Caratacus, the king of brigantes. The
Brigantes, too, were assimilated into the Roman Empire,
in 71. Click here
for more and here
for more.
- Brutus the
Trojan: descendant of Aeneas who establishes a
kingdom in Britain, with his capital at Troia Nova. He
named the island Britain after himself and called his
people the Britons. This tradition lives in both Nennius
and Geoffrey of Monmouth and perpetuates itself after
that as well. In fact, Wace titled his work The
Romance of Brutus. Click here
and here
and especially here
for more on Brutus.
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- Caratacus:
King of the Catuvellani, a tribe of Britons who lived in
the vicinity of modern-day St Albans, at the time of the
Roman invasion of Britain in AD 43 here
and here
fight against Rome at Dolforwyn
Castle
- Cartimandua:
Queen of the Brigantes who made a name for herself by
allying with the Romans and handing over her king,
Caratacus, to keep peace. Click here
and here
for more.
- Celts:
legendary people who began in Europe and Asia and moved
to Britain long before the Romans arrived. Click
here
and here
and here
and here
for more as well as the Encyclopedia
of the Celts.
- Cerdic:
Saxon leader who gave his name to the town of
Certicesford,
a contender for the Battle of Badon
Hill. Click here
for more. Click here
for excerpts from the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle and
here
for John Leslie Hall's poem "Cerdic and
Arthur."
- Claudius:
Roman emperor who authorized the
invasion of Britain (in 43) and who personally took the
city of Camulodunum (Colchester).
For more than 300 years after Claudius came and went,
Britain was a Roman province. Click here
and here
for more.
- Cornovii:
tribe who had their headquarters at Wroxeter. From
Cornovii came the word Cornwall, and from the tribe came
the people of Powys. Click here
for more about the Cornovii.
- Cunedda:
led Votadini migration from the north country to Gwynedd.
Click here
for more and here
for a list of the House of Cunedda
- Cuneglasus:
one of the five tyrants mentioned by Gildas and king of
Powys about 540. Said to be both Arthur
himself and Arthur's son. He
is also known as Cynlas
the Red, a king of
Rhos.
- Cunomorus:
Most sources say that he was the
historical basis for King Mark of Cornwall. His name even
appears on the Tristan
Stone. But one
source says that he was in
reality Conomor, a king of Dumnonia. Click
here
for more.
- Cynric: son
of Cerdic. Click here
for more. Click here
to read from the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle.
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- Damnonii:
Scottish tribe that evolved into the kingdom of
Strathclyde. Click here
and here
for more.
- Fisher
King: Click here
and here
and here
for more and here
to read about the Fisher King's connection to
Bran
- Galahad:
See People
of the Legend.
- Ganhumara:
Arthur's queen, according to Geoffrey of
Monmouth.
- Gawain: son
of Morgause
and Lot
and nephew of Arthur, he was from the first portrayed as
a model of knightly perfection. Gawain is also sometimes
portrayed as having his strength linked to the Sun, a
link to Gwalchmei, the solar deity of Celtic mythology.
Indeed, a Welsh tradition of Geoffrey of Monmouth's
History of the Kings of Britain equates Gawain and
Gwalchmei. Gawain is perhaps most famous for the story of
his adventures at the hands of the Green
Knight. Click here
and here
and here
and especially here.
- Germanus:
Catholic bishop of Auxerre who undertook two visits to
Britain, both to eradicate Pelagian "heresy," which
stressed the essential goodness of human nature and the
freedom of the human will. During his first visit, in
429, Germanus met
with Vortigern and is said to
have instructed the Britons to shout "Alleluia!" when
faced with a joint army of Saxons and Picts. This became
known as the Alleluia Victory when the opposing army
bolted from the field. The second visit, in 447,
succeeded in driving Pelagianism from Britain. Bishop of
Auxerre who visited Britain and about 429.
- Gorlois:
according to Geoffrey of Monmouth both a military
strategist and the husband of Ygerna (Igraine). In
Geoffrey we first get the account of how Arthur is born
of Gorlois's wife in a tryst with Uther Pendragon.
Click here
and here
and here
for more.
- Guinevere:
queen of Arthur who fell in love with Lancelot and failed
to give the king an heir. Early Welsh literature names
her Gwenhwyfar, the "White Phantom" and the "first lady
of the island." Geoffrey of Monmouth names her Gunhamura,
a Roman lady. Some accounts, including for a time the
monks at Glastonbury, maintain that Guinevere was
Arthur's second wife. Click here
and here
and here
and here
for more. See People
of the Legend.
- Gwenhwyfar:
older name of Guinevere meaning the White Phantom.
here
and especially here
The Welsh
Triads tell us that there were
three Gwenhwyfars.
- Hengist
Jute who with his brother Horsa was the first of the
Anglo-Saxon settlers, residing on the Isle of Thanet at
the behest of Vortigern, who wanted recruits to fight
against encroaching Picts and Scots. Together, they
founded the kingdom of Kent, where Hengist ruled
beginning in 455. Click here
and here
and here
for more.
- Horsa:
Nennius tells us that he and his brother Hengist landed
at the behest of Vortigern. He is echoed in Malory and
Milton. Geoffrey tells us that Vortigern's second son,
Katigern, and Horsa killed each other "above the ford at
Epiford." Click here
to read John Leslie Hall's poems about Horsa. Click
here
to read from the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle.
- Igraine:
also known as Ygerna.
Wife of Gorlois and then Uther Pendragon and mother to
Arthur. Some stories have her also as mother to either
Morgause, Morgan, or both.
- Isolde:
famous lover of Tristan and wife of King Mark. Click
here
and here
and especially here
for more.
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- Joseph of
Arimathea: buried Jesus, of whom he was a secret
disciple, in his own tomb. We see him first in Robert de
Boron's "Joseph d'Arimathie," which tells of his being
entrusted with the Holy
Grail, which he brings to
England. The village of Glastonbury
is the reputed home of Joseph's first church. He is also
said to have planted the on the Holy Thorn, a tree on
Wearyall Hill near Glastonbury
that blossoms at Christmas. Click here
and here
and here
for more.
- Kay: In Welsh
traditions, he is thought to be the first to join
Arthur's cause. In Malory and elsewhere, he is Arthur's
foster brother. here
and here
- Lady
of the Lake: here
and especially here
- Lancelot:
See People
of the Legend.
- Lot: He is
given many names and many faces as well. Was he
King
of Lothian? Was he
King
of Orkney? Was he
King
of Gododdin? He is also
alternately a supporter and opposer of King
Arthur.
- Mark:
legendary king of Cornwall. He is thought have been based
on the historical figure of Cunomorus of Cornwall. He is
inextricably woven into the tale of Tristan and Isolde.
Some legends confuse his story with Gorlois's. Click
here
and here
and here
for more.
- Medraut:
alternate name for Modred/Mordred. The Annales
Cambriae says only that that Medraut and Arthur
perished at the battle of Camlann.
- Merlin:
Merlin can be traced to Nennius, who tells the story of
the boy-prophet who saw the two dragons battling in the
ground beneath Vortigern's Tower. In Geoffrey of
Monmouth's Historia regum Britanniae, we first see
Merlin as adviser to Uther Pendragon and later Arthur. We
are also introduced to the idea that Merlin was a prophet
(in this case named Ambrosius); indeed, in the Vita
Merlini, Merlin is a wild man of the woods who is
gifted with powers of divination. Click here
and here
and here
for more. See People
of the Legend.
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- Modred/Mordred:
Arthur's bastard son who, according to whom you read,
either killed Arthur himself or merely seized the kingdom
while Arthur was away. Some traditions have Mordred
marrying Guinevere in Arthur's absence. Most sources say
that Mordred's mother was Morgause, although some say it
was Morgan. Click here
and here
and here
and here
for more.
- Morgan:
Geoffrey of Monmouth (in the Vita Merlini)
introduces her as the ruler of Avalon and the healer of
Arthur after his great defeat at Camlann. Chretein de
Troyes's Erec tells us that she is Arthur's
sister. The Vulgate cycle features her as instigator of
trouble between Arthur and Guinevere. She is almost
always portrayed as having magical powers, which some
sources say she learned from Merlin. Indeed, the
Avalon
legends say it is Morgan who heals Arthur when he is
brought to the magical Isle. Click here
and here
and here
and here
for more.
- Morgause:
wife of Lot and mother of Gawain, Gareth, Gaheris, and
Agravaine. Some traditions have her as Arthur's sister or
half-sister; most say she is the mother of Mordred. Click
here
and especially here
for more.
- Myrddin:
alternate name/progenitor of Merlin. Was he a wild man?
Was he driven mad to live in the Celidon Forest? Was he
Arthur's advisor? The questions are almost as numerous as
the answers. He is mentioned in the Black Book of
Carmarthen and the Red Book of Hergest.
Geoffrey of Monmouth even throws in two Myrddins the prophet/magician Myrddin Emrys (Merlin Ambrosius) and the madman Myrddin Wyllt (Merlin Celidonius). It is also significant that Geoffrey has a Merlin as Arthur's court advisor. He was born in
Carmarthen,
which is "Myrddin's Town." Click here
and here
for more.
- Nimue:
alternately the Lady
of the Lake and the sorceress
who learned Merlin's secrets and then imprisoned him.
Click here
and here
for more.
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- Octha:
son
of Hengist who carried on his
father's tradition. Octha is thought to have been the
Saxon leader at the Battle of Badon
Hill. Alternately, he is said
by Geoffrey to have been allowed by Ambrosius to settle
in York and then been captured by Uther Pendragon, let go
to Germany for several years, returned and burned and
plundered his away across half of the island, and then
finally have been killed at St. Albans by an army led by
Uther in a litter.
- Parsival/Perceval:
knight
who found the Holy Grail. Versions differ on where he
found it (Was it the Grail Castle?) and where he had to
go to get it (Through the WasteLand?). Grail and
Round
Table knight whose childlike
innocence rendered him almost impervious to worldly
temptation. His great adventure, in Chretien de Troyes's
poem "Le Conte du Graal," is a visitation with the Fisher
King, who showed him (depending on tradition) either a
dish or the Holy
Grail. He proved unable to ask
the question that would heal the Fisher King and was sent
packing; consequently, he sought the Grail. In some
legends, he finds it; in others, he does not.
- Peredur:
title character in Welsh version/progenitor of Perceval.
In this tale,
which can be found in the Mabinogion,
Peredur sees not the Holy Grail but a head on a
plate. Click here
to read the tale of Peredur.
- Picts:
ancient tribes who lived in what is now eastern and
northeastern Scotland. The term comes from the Latin
Picti, which means "painted," after the people's
propensity to paint their bodies. Hadrian's
Wall and the Antonine
Wall were built to contain
their incursions on Roman territory; and Vortigern had
them in mind when he invited Hengist and Horsa to
Britain. Click here
and here
and here
to learn more about Picts.
- Pwyll: king
of Dyfed in Celtic mythology. He was the keeper of the
cauldron of plenty and was a friend of Arawn, king of
Annwn.
In The Spoils of Annwn, Arthur goes on a quest for
this magic cauldron. Some Arthurian legends incorporate
this cauldron as the Holy
Grail and Pwyll as Pelles,
keeper of the Grail.
- Saxons:
Germanic
raiders and invaders who
settled on the Isle of Thanet at the behest of Vortigern
in order to help in his fight against Picts. Under
Hengist and Horsa, the Saxons
wasted no time in establishing their own kingdoms,
including Kent, Sussex, Essex, and Wessex. Together with
the Angle kingdoms of Northumbria, Mercia, and East
Anglia, they make up the Heptarchy. Other Saxon leaders
include the famous Cerdic. Click here,
here,
here
and of course here
(Saxon Shore) for more on Saxons.
- Scotti:
Irish settlers who eventually took over all of what is
now Scotland and gave it their name. Scotti comes from
the Roman name for the Irish meaning "raider" or
"bandit." The contination of settlements by the Scotti
were a factor in the decision of the Votadini to move to
Gwynedd. Click here
for more about the Scotti.
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- Taliesin: sixth-century
poet whose name has mingled
with that of Merlin through the mists of time. He figures
as a character in the Spoils of Annwn, which is
part of the Book of Taliesin, and in
one
of the tales of the Mabinogion. Twelve of his
poems have survived. One attributed to him, a eulogy to
Cynan Garwyn ap Brochfale, king of Powys, suggests that
Taliesin may have been a native of Powys. Click
here
for more.
- Tristan: nephew of King Mark of Cornwall. Supposedly on a mission to bring Isolde back to Cornwall for Mark to marry, Tristan and Isolde drink a love potion themselves and fall hopelessly in love. Tradition has Isolde marrying Mark. Some legends have Tristan marrying another woman named Isolde; others say the two lovers were banished by the vengeful Mark; others say that Mark killed Tristan and Isolde died of grief. Click here
and especially here
for more.
- Uther Pendragon: legendary father
of Arthur. He is said to have
impersonated Gorlois of Cornwall and impregnated
Gorlois's wife, Igraine, with the child that became
Arthur. Some traditions have him as brother of Ambrosius
and High King of Britain for a time. Geoffrey of Monmouth
says he is buried at the Giants' Dance. Click
here
and here
for more. Click here
to see Howard Pyle's illustration. Click here
for a discussion of Uther and the Seven Swords of
Waylund.
Uther's grip on Britain remains. Modern Cumbria has a
Pendragon
Castle.
- Viviane: alternate name for the Lady
of the Lake.
- Vortigern: the man
who started it all. It was he,
the ruler of Powys (according to the Pillar of Eliseg),
who invited the Saxons to England to fight against the
Picts. Hengist and Horsa settled on the Isle of Thanet
but soon wanted more. Some traditions have Vortigern
marrying a daughter of Magnus Maximus, a Roman usurper.
Others have Vortigern's daughter marrying a Saxon leader.
The name Vortigern is even thought to be just a title,
like Arthur. Click especially here
for more information on Vortigern.
- Votadini: tribe
who moved from what is now Scotland to Gwynedd.
These people came from Gododdin, and their fight against
the Saxons is the subject of the ancient Welsh poem the
Gododdin. Ambrosius and Arthur are both thought to
have been Votadini. Bamburgh
Castle is thought to have been
the fortress of a Votadini leader.
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