Arthurian Studies
Gildas Bandonicus , a Celtic monk, lived in the 6th century from about 494 AD to 570 AD. Gildas is the only substantial source which survives through to today from the period of the Anglo-Saxon conquest of Britain, and the best source of information on the Dark Ages in Britain, prior to the books by Bede (who wrote his "Ecclesiastical History of the English People" almost 200 years later, in 731 AD) The earliest account of the battle of Badon comes from Gildas, who wrote in his De excidio et conquestu Britanniae, about the battle in Mons Badonicus.
Gildas, Welsh Monk
King Arthur, who was he?
So who was King Arthur We can be certain King Arthur was not a medieval King with a bevy of knights in suits of armour and a big castle called Camelot. We know very little historically but if he existed, then King A rthur was probably a 5th century warrior chief who protected his peoples from the Saxon invaders for a time.
Exploring Arthurian Legend
Activity 1. Historical Background and Review Begin by asking students to tell the story of King Arthur. Use the chalkboard to take notes on the characters they mention, the places, and motifs (e.g., Camelot, Excalibur, the Round Table, the Holy Grail). Discuss where they have acquired their probably-extensive knowledge about this legendary figure and why his story should persist into our times.KING ARTHUR AND THE HOLY GRAIL
compiled by Dee Finney Someone should have asked the question long ago, why did Cortez expect to find gold in the Americas i n the first place? Why did the crew on the boats of Columbus expect to find gold? Why did the marauding Spaniards kill eight million native American Indians looking for gold. The truth is that the royal families of England and Spain had spoken as far back as King Arthur in 530 AD that their "treasure house" was located in the "Mericas" (Source for this statement needed Landaff Charters from the sixth century).
THE CAMELOT PROJECT at the UNIVERSITY OF ROCHESTER
Subscribe to The Camelot Project's RSS feed THE CAMELOT PROJECT is designed to make available in electronic format a database of Arthurian texts, images, bibliographies, and basic information. The project, begun in 1995, is sponsored by the University of Rochester and prepared in The Robbins Library, a branch of Rush Rhees Library. The Camelot Project has been created by Alan Lupack, Director of the Robbins Library, and Barbara Tepa Lupack. General Editors: Alan Lupack and Barbara Tepa Lupack Editorial Board: