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Historical Arthur

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rex icelingas
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Historical Arthur

Post by rex icelingas » Tue April 28th, 2009, 5:43 pm

There isnt really a right answer to this,so its a bit of fun and down to your own opinion

Which Author do you believe has come the closest to a Historical Arthur (In personality rather than Geographical location)

Arthur the most praised Duke of Battles of Nennius and the Triads or the numbskull Tyrant of the various Saints lives?
maybe he is the inspirational Anti-Hero of Bernard Cornwall?
the heavy drinking,Bed Hopping Swordsman of Helen Hollick ?
or the flash in the pan war leader of Alfred Duggan?

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Post by Carla » Tue April 28th, 2009, 5:56 pm

Interesting question! I imagine my answer would vary depending on my point of view.

If I'm a peasant and he's requistioning my barley to feed his horses (not to mention my daughter to 'entertain' his warband), I bet I think the Saints' Lives are closest. If I'm an up-and-coming warrior in his warband and we've just won Badon, then I'm in the Nennius camp :-)
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SarahWoodbury
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Post by SarahWoodbury » Tue April 28th, 2009, 11:03 pm

The one I'm writing, of course! Not that it's published or any of you have read it :)

I suspect, honestly, that if he even existed, he was a battle leader/ruler of some kind who had lived a fairly brutal existence. What kind of person does hacking people to death make you? How does anyone survive that kind of life emotionally intact? It's hard to imagine how introspective a person could actually have been under those circumstances.

So, on one hand, the Arthur of the Triads who won battles, gets my vote. The numbskull? Probably not, simply because he wouldn't have made it as far as he did if that were true, and would not have been remembered.

A womanizer? Probably. Loyal to his men? Probably as well. Maybe Bernard Cornwell gets it most historically right. It's been a while since I read his books, but I just finished Agincourt, and that sounds about right.

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Post by Ash » Tue April 28th, 2009, 11:29 pm

I have read just about every Arthur story out there. I also think Cornwell comes the closest to my idea, historically and personality wise.

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Post by Volgadon » Wed April 29th, 2009, 1:00 pm

I agree about Cornwell's Arthur.

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Post by chuck » Wed April 29th, 2009, 3:09 pm

For me it's a toss up between Cornwell's and Jack Whyte's Arthur....Rosemary Sutcliffe's Arthur should be mentioned in your discussions

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Post by Lauryn » Wed April 29th, 2009, 7:25 pm

[quote=""chuck""]For me it's a toss up between Cornwell's and Jack Whyte's Arthur....Rosemary Sutcliffe's Arthur should be mentioned in your discussions[/quote]

I liked the Jack Whyte version of this story - not least because it ran to 8 books (if you include Clothar the Frank & Uther). My only critique about his writing is that he never met a female character he couldn't delegate to the wings quickly.
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Post by Anna Elliott » Thu April 30th, 2009, 12:32 am

[quote=""Lauryn""]I liked the Jack Whyte version of this story - not least because it ran to 8 books (if you include Clothar the Frank & Uther). My only critique about his writing is that he never met a female character he couldn't delegate to the wings quickly.[/quote]

That is one of the reasons I love Cornwell's version of Arthur--the way he handles the female characters. They're so vivid--believable and yet far from the usual stereotypes. And I think his Arthur is wonderfully done, too, of course. :) I love the quote from Arthur's mistress (don't have the book in front of me, so I'm going to get this slightly wrong, I'm sure) where she says that Arthur's character is like a chariot driven by a team of two horses, one his ambition and one his conscience. Brilliant.

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Post by annis » Thu April 30th, 2009, 4:16 am

I'm probably another in the Bernard Cornwell camp, though I do have a very soft spot for Rosemary Sutcliff's interpretation of Arthur (Artos) in "Sword at Sunset"

Does anyone else remember AA Attanasio? He wrote some interesting historical fantasy round the 1980s/90s. I've still got copies of "Wyvern' and "Hunting the Ghost Dancer" somwhere, probably my favourite Attanasio titles. He also wrote an Arthurian series, heavy on the mythology, but quite intriguing.

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Post by cat » Sun August 22nd, 2010, 5:04 pm

As you guys have already pointed out, the debate over who was the 'Real Arthur' has likely been going on since the Middle Ages and I doubt we'll ever learn the true facts in the matter. *laughs* As a young girl, I was enthralled by the stories of knights in shining armour and the great King Arthur and his round table in Camelot. I grew up and figured out that that was only a fairy tale. However, I didn't sink my teeth into researching the facts and origins of those legends until I went to the cinema and watched the 2004 film King Arthur. Now THAT woke me up and ignited a fire in my belly to learn all that I could in regards to Arthur, and yes I know that film is full of historical inaccuracies too. But it showed me a completely different 'Arthur'. I'm still quite the novice on the subject, but after reading numerous texts on the matter, and enjoying quite a few historical novels along the way...I like the idea of the legends growing out of perhaps two or three soldiers/warlords from the Dark Ages.

So the 'Arthur' given to us by the likes of Cornwell, Hollick and Sutcliff get my vote for sure. Personally, I like Lucius Artorius Castus (140-197) as a good contender for the origins of the tales...along with Ambrosius Aurelianus (430-500) as well. But there is evidence that could rule out even Aurelianus if the dates for the battle of Camlann are accurate enough. Castus of course was around much earlier...but I like to think that his deeds probably fed the early tales of a great warlord or 'King' of the Britons during the Dark Ages that later evolved into the tales of the Knights of Camelot.

A womanizer? Most likely *laughs* He would have had to be charming and very charismatic for such long lasting tales about his exploits to still yet endure. I bet he was handsome too. *g*
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