Arthur

King Arthur is an important figure in the mythology of Great Britain, where he appears as the ideal of kingship both in war and peace. He is the central character in the cycle of legends known as the Matter of Britain. more...

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There is disagreement about whether Arthur, or a model for him, ever actually existed. In the earliest mentions and in Welsh texts, he is never given the title 'King'. An early text refer to him as a dux bellorum ('war leader'), and medieval Welsh texts often call him ameraudur ('emperor'; the word is borrowed from the Latin imperator, which could also mean 'war leader').

Historicity

The historicity of the Arthur of legend has long been debated by scholars. One school of thought believes that Arthur had no historical existence. Some hold that he originally was a half-forgotten Celtic deity that devolved into a personage (citing sometimes a supposed change of the sea-god Lir into King Lear). Supporters of this theory often link it to the Welsh etymology of Arthur's name as derived from 'bear', proposing bear gods named Artos or Artio as the precedent for the legend, but these particular deities are known to have been worshipped by the continental Celts, not the Britons.

Another view holds that Arthur was a real person. Though some theories suggest he was a Roman or pre-Roman character, by most theories, and in line with the traditional cycle of legends, he was a Romano-British leader fighting against the invading Anglo-Saxons sometime in the late 5th century to early 6th century. The late historian John Morris made the alleged reign of Arthur at the turn of the 5th century the organising principle of his history of sub-Roman Britain and Ireland under the rubric The Age of Arthur: A History of the British Isles from 350–650' (1973), even though he found little to say of an historic Arthur, save as an example of the idea of kingship, one among such contemporaries as Vortigern and Cunedda, Hengest and Coel. Recent archaeological studies show that during Arthur's alleged lifetime, the Anglo-Saxon expansions were halted until the next generation. If he existed, his power base would probably have been in the Celtic areas of Wales, Cornwall and the West Country, or the Brythonic 'Old North' which covered modern Northern England and Southern Scotland. However, controversy over the centre of his supposed power and the extent and kind of power he would have wielded continues to this day.

Possible identity

A number of identifiable historical figures have been suggested as the historical basis for Arthur, ranging from Lucius Artorius Castus, a Roman officer who served in Britain in the 2nd century; Roman usurper emperors like Magnus Maximus; and sub-Roman British rulers like Riothamus, Ambrosius Aurelianus, Owain Ddantgwyn and Athrwys ap Meurig.

Arthur's name

The origin of the name Arthur is itself a matter of debate and is very much connected to the debates concerning his historicity. Some, like the above, see it as derived from the Latin 'Artorius', a Roman family name meaning 'plowman' which became 'Arturius', among other variants, in Roman inscriptions. The 5th to 6th century Welsh art (arth is a later form) means 'bear'. Thus, theories for the Welsh origin of the name Arthur have been proposed. One has art + ur, 'man of the bear' or 'bear-man', thus giving us Artur. Also, the Latin form of Arthur appears as Arturus in the earliest writings, never Artorius. The supposition of the Latin '-us' could suggest the original name was the Welsh Artur. Yet \"Artorius\" in its later forms when pronounced in Celtic languages could have yielded \"Arthur\" as well as \"Arturus\", both of which forms do occur in the medieval literature.

Read more at Wikipedia.org