Worlds of Arthur: Facts and Fictions of the Dark Ages - Softcover

Halsall, Guy

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0198700849 ISBN 13: 9780198700845

Publisher: Oxford University Press, 2014

Synopsis

King Arthur is probably the most famous and certainly the most legendary medieval king. From the early ninth century through the middle ages, to the Arthurian romances of Victorian times, the tales of this legendary figure have blossomed and multiplied. And in more recent times, there has been a continuous stream of books claiming to unlock the secret or the truth behind the "once and future king."

The truth, as Guy Halsall reveals in this fascinating investigation, is both radically different--and also a good deal more intriguing. Broadly speaking, there are two Arthurs. On the one hand is the traditional "historical" Arthur, waging a doomed struggle to save Roman civilization against the relentless Anglo-Saxon tide during the darkest years of the Dark Ages. On the other is the Arthur of myth and legend, accompanied by a host of equally legendary people, places, and stories: Lancelot, Guinevere, Galahad and Gawain, Merlin, Excalibur, the Lady in the Lake, the Sword in the Stone, Camelot, and the Round Table.

The big problem with all this, notes Halsall, is that "King Arthur" might well never have existed. And if he did exist, it is next to impossible to say anything at all about him. As this challenging new look at the Arthur legend makes clear, all books claiming to reveal "the truth" behind King Arthur can safely be ignored. Not only the fanciful pseudo-historical accounts--Merlin the Magician, the Lady in the Lake--but even the "historical" Arthur is largely a figment of the imagination. The evidence that we have, whether written or archeological, is simply incapable of telling us anything detailed about the Britain in which he is supposed to have lived, fought, and died.

About this title

About the Author:

Guy Halsall has taught at the universities of London and York, where he has been a professor of history since 2003. His early specialism was in the history and archaeology of the Merovingian period (c.450-c.750), and he has since published widely on a broad range of subjects: death and burial, age and gender, violence and warfare, barbarian migrations, and humour. This investigation into the 'worlds of Arthur' brings him back to the study of early medieval British history and archaeology with which his scholarly training began.

Review:

"Written by our leading authority on Early Medieval Warfare this sweeping synthesis cuts through all the fantasy Arthuriana to the chaotic reality of the tumultuous years after the end of Roman Britain. With a fresh and incisive look at all the key sources, and a masterly and imaginative use of the archaeological evidence, Guy Halsall offers nothing less than a rethinking of what happened at the time of the Anglo-Saxon migrations. Readable, authoritative, and witty, this is an ambitious and wide ranging synthesis which will appeal to all who are interested in the history behind one of the world's greatest collections of myths and stories, vividly recreating the fractured world out of which medieval Britain emerged. And while some may regret the loss of the Hollywood Arthur, Halsall shows us that behind that image is a reality which is no less fascinating."--Michael Wood, historian, broadcaster, and author of In Search of the Dark Ages

"An excellent book."--McClatchys Newspapers

"Halsall's is a very good book aimed at the general public, but it is also a very original and thought-provoking book for specialists of the period, both historians and archaeologists...It is refreshing to see a distinguished historian take the time to explain in simple and suggestive terms (sometimes even picturesque) some quite difficult concepts and arguments: Halsall does have a talent for it, using charts, diagrams, maps, and chronologies that make the book a very friendly object to its reader...[H]is argument is a cogent and well-put one, delivered in clear and clever language, without jargon, and one should definitely read it..."--Speculum

About this edition

• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Publication date: 2014
• ISBN 10: 0198700849
• ISBN 13: 9780198700845
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 384