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Geoffrey of Monmouth Archive
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Networking Scribes
Posted on May 5, 2013 | No CommentsThis was the keynote paper given at the Celtic Studies Association of North America Annual Conference at the University of Toronto April 18 - 21, 2013. -
Chaucer’s Arthuriana
Posted on March 18, 2013 | No CommentsThe majority of medieval scholars, including Roger Sherman Loomis, argue that the popularity of the Arthurian legend in England was therefore on the wane in the latter half of the fourteenth century; as a result, the major writers of the period, such as John Gower and Geoffrey Chaucer, refrained from penning anything beyond the occasional reference to King Arthur and his court. -
Aspects of the English royal succession, 1066-1199: the death of the king
Posted on December 28, 2012 | No CommentsThe death of any ruler in the twelfth century, even if it were expected, caused a considerable amount of shock and disquiet amongst those who were left behind. -
Sympathy for the Devil: the legend of Gog and Magog
Posted on December 12, 2012 | No CommentsIn this discussion I want to consider a similar demonising of the ‘other’ in the form of the giants who were the indigenous inhabitants of Albion before the first civilised settlers arrived -
Male Friendship in The Lord of the Rings: Medievalism, the First World War, and Contemporary Rewritings
Posted on December 10, 2012 | No CommentsI would like to present this research about male friendships in the First World War and to discuss how Tolkien’s work reflects what we see in other writers who represented their experiences in the First War -
‘In the Beginning’: The London Medieval Graduate Network Inaugural Conference
Posted on November 13, 2012 | No CommentsThis is a summary of the The London Medieval Graduate Network Inaugural Conference by Rachel Scott. The conference was held on November 2nd at King's College London. -
The Myth of Merlin and the Men Behind the Legend
Posted on October 3, 2012 | No CommentsIs there a historical basis for the character we know as Merlin? -
The Arthur of the chronicles
Posted on September 30, 2012 | No CommentsEven if we cannot accept the claim made by Geoffrey in his introduction that his putative source was ‘attractively composed to form a consecutive andorderly narrative’, he certainly made extensive use ofWelsh genealogies andking-lists. -
Many Motives: Geoffrey of Monmouth and the Reasons For His Falsification of History
Posted on August 19, 2012 | No CommentsIt is clear to most modern historians who have studied Geoffrey’s Historia that its contents bear little to no resemblance to real events. Even in Geoffrey’s own lifetime many historians condemned the work. -
Edward I and the Ritualization of English Royal Round Table Festivals
Posted on May 21, 2012 | No CommentsIn the Annales Angliae et Scotiae, a chronicle written around the year 1312 by a monk from the abbey of St Albans, there is a description of the wedding ceremonies between King Edward I and Margaret of France, that took place on 10 September 1299. -
Edward I, Arthurian Enthusiast
Posted on May 21, 2012 | No CommentsThe association of the kings of England with the legends of Arthur may be assumed to start with the dedication of one of the manuscripts of Geoffrey of Monmouth's Historia Regum Britanniae to... -
The figure of Merlin in English literature from the beginnings to 1740
Posted on May 3, 2012 | No CommentsMerlin's first appearance in early Welsh poetry as prophet and seer was considerably expanded by Geoffrey of Monmouth who was the first to associate him with the saxon and British kings of England, particularly Arthur. -
“Hic Facet Arthurus, Rex Quondam, Rexque Futurus:” The Analysis of Original Medieval Sources in the Search for the Historica King Arthur
Posted on April 24, 2012 | No CommentsThe heroic tales of the legendary King Arthur have survived throughout many centuries. Modern society has learned of this celebrated figure through oral and literary tradition, such as the works of Geoffrey of Monmouth’s pseudo-history Historia Regum Britanniae, Sir Thomas Malory’s romantic epic Le Morte d’Arthur and medieval Arthurian poetry. -
Elements of the Arthurian Tradition in Harry Potter
Posted on April 3, 2012 | No CommentsBoth heroes exist to save their people from doom. According to Geoffrey of Monmouth, who authored Historia Regum Britanniae (History of the Kings of Britain) in 1136, Arthur ‘led his troops against the Saxons, who were still making trouble in various parts of the country, and after various vicissitudes he defeated them on a hill outside Bath, wielding a wonderful sword called Caliburn’1 (Ashe, ‘Quest’). -
Hidden Manna and the Holy Grail: The Psychedelic Sacrament in Arthurian Romance The Mystery of Manna: The Psychedelic Sacrament of the Bible Park Street Press (2000)
Posted on April 3, 2012 | No CommentsScholars are generally agreed that Arthurian wonder tales like “Cullhwch and Olwen” must have been widely distributed in Wales, Cornwall, and Brittany in advance of the Norman conquest of England in 1066. Belief in a living Arthur was then in the air. -
Women Characters in Arthurian Literature
Posted on October 16, 2011 | No CommentsThe main issue, then, is how Arthurian women characters have been portrayed throughout the centuries and the reasons for those particular ways of portrayal. -
Women and Castles in Geoffrey of Monmouth and Malory
Posted on June 16, 2011 | No CommentsWomen and Castles in Geoffrey of Monmouth and Malory By Susan E. Murray Arthuriana, Vol.13:1 (2003) Introduction: An imposing part of the literal and literary landscapes, castles were an integral... -
Hero or Tyrant: Images of Julius Caesar in Selected Works from Vergil to Bruni
Posted on June 9, 2011 | No CommentsHero or Tyrant: Images of Julius Caesar in Selected Works from Vergil to Bruni By Sarah M. Loose Master’s Thesis, Brigham Young University, 2007 Abstract: Gaius Julius Caesar is not... -
Cannibalism, the First Crusade, and the Genesis of Medieval Romance
Posted on May 22, 2011 | No CommentsAlmost nine hundred years ago, between 1130 and 1139, the legend of King Arthur erupted for the first time in full literary form in England, elaborated out of obscure hints and sketchy entries in written history and Celtic legendary tradition by Geoffrey of Monmouth... -
Roma as Character: The Role of Rome in Historia Regum Britanniae
Posted on February 8, 2011 | No CommentsRoma as Character: The Role of Rome in Historia Regum Britanniae By Stephen Brown Labyrinth: An online journal published by the Classical Studies Department of the University of Waterloo, Issue... -
Lessons from History: Historia Regum Britanniae and Twelfth Century Turmoil
Posted on December 20, 2010 | No CommentsLessons from History: Historia Regum Britanniae and Twelfth Century Turmoil Raza, Ali CHIVALRY AND HISTORY IN THE MIDDLE AGES (UNDERGRADUATE PAPER), University of Guelph (Online paper 2010) Abstract History often...