The Real King Arthur: A History of Post-Roman Britannia, A.D. 410-A.D. 593

by P.F.J. Turner

The REAL King Arthur draws upon ancient records, early traditions, modern archaeological discoveries and the latest historical research to reconstruct the life and times of the genuine person behind... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0963743422
• ISBN13: 9780963743428
• Release Date: January 1993
• Publisher: S K S Publishing Company
• Length: 2 Pages
• Weight: 1.45 lbs.

Customer Reviews

Wonderful fun....

Turner has done a masterful job of assembling, analyzing, and interpreting the extant material about THE REAL KING ARTHUR. He presents a coherent, comprehensive, and scholarly opinion. He suggests the last Romano-British Imperator, Lucius Artorius Castus was the man we know today as Arthur. He says Arthur not only preserved the Romano-Britannic culture for two generations following the demise of the Western Roman Empire, he decisively shaped modern Scotland, and modern Wales, which still flies his `Red Dragon', is his legacy. Although the invaders from the continent (Anglo-Saxon) eventually conquered most of the island, they did not subdue the Celtic culture which can still be found in the western parts of the United Kingdom.Turner's book is complexly written and filled with detail. Scholars will recognize his sources...Patrick, Gildas, Nennius, Bede, the Mabinogian, and Geoffrey of Monmouth, etc. In addition, Turner draws on recent archeological evidence to support his work. His knowledge of Latin, as well as the ancient Anglo-Saxon and Celtic (Welsh, Irish, Scots) languages is impressive. Using language as a tool, Turner first identifies and then links the relevant puzzle pieces. For example, he suggests Arthur's sister Anna Ambrosia (known as Mawr-anna or "great Anna" in her lifetime because she was the sister of Arthur) and the Celtic war goddess Morrigan became conjoined in the transmission of the Arthurian tales until, by the time of the Middle Ages, the French Romances characterized her as Morgan le Fey-traitorous sister and necromancer.Arthur's stepfather Aurelius Ambrosius was the "utherpendragon" (overall big dragoon or "chief war leader" in Celtic) or "Magister Militum" (Latin). He married Ygerna, Arthur's mother after he slew her husband Gorlois (Arthur's father) in a battle for supremacy in southwestern Britain. A more recent example of this Celtic practice occurred when the Welsh Henry VII (red rose) married Elizabeth of York (white rose) after he slew her brother Richard III, thereby uniting the royal households (Tudor Rose). Turner suggests there was no prior connection between Aurelius and Ygerna and that Anna was Aurelius' daughter by a former wife. Aurelius, lacking a male heir, adopted the adult Arthur just as Julius Caesar adopted Augustus Caesar, his sister's son. Geoffrey of Monmouth did not understand the Roman practice of adult adoption so he used the wizardry of Merlin to explain the inconsistency between Aurelius' and Ygerna's wedding date and Arthur's birth date. Probably the most interesting sleuthing Turner does involves the identity of the real Lancelot. Apparently, Anna's son and Authur's nephew Medrawd (Celtic) or Medrautus Lanceartius (Latin) was a brilliant horse soldier known for his skill with a lance. The gallant Mordred was left to guard the home front while Arthur was away, and he became restive and adulterously involved with Arthur's second young wife the beautiful but bored Gwenhwyfar (Findabair or wh

A fascinating history presented by a great author!

First of all, this book is incredibly well written! To give such a clear and seamless presentation of such a turbulent and complicated period of history is a truly remarkable achievement. This account, far beyond being simply "readable," is exciting and engrossing, progressing much as a mystery novel or detective story, where more and more clues are presented to the reader as the story progresses. And what's really astonishing is that, all the while, the book remains scholarly, very carefully citing its sources, discussing divergent theories, and providing evidence for its assertions, all of which allows the reader to participate in the action, rather than just sitting passively by. I found myself savoring this book, reading it slowly and carefully, not wanting it to end, which is the sign of a great book! It is obvious that Turner is a very capable historian and has a remarkable grasp of nearly every facet of the early post-Roman history of Britain, and he uses his extensive knowledge to present a very convincing argument for the true identity of the historical Arthur. But the facts aren't incontrovertible, and it may be that some of his guesswork is wrong. But even that being so, this book is a pleasure to read, for it raises some fascinating possibilities that will undoubtedly remain lodged in the reader's head for a long time afterwards. And, to cap it all off, the book has a great bibliography and a truly comprehensive index -- a great aid when re-reading and for further research! All in all, this book offers something for everyone, both a unique perspective on a timeless story, and a wonderful starting point for further exploration of an extremely fascinating historical period.

Try Turner's "The Real King Arthur"

As coherent a discription of 5th Century Britain and the motives of it's inhabitants as anything else I've read. It's written in a roughly chronological sequence, and easy to read. I've found it to be one of the best books on the topic of a historical Arthur.

Quite interesting

and particularly refreshing in it's lack of hype about discoveries of secrets leading to some revealed truth that are all too common in this sort of book. It is simply an attempt to dig through the historical record and construct a consistent and reasonable history of Britain in the late 5th and early 6th centuries, and of the Romano-British military leader Lucius Artorius Castus, and how his story could well have become the story of King Arthur. I found it quite readable. The book is careful to document the references it draws on without drowning in footnotes, and it does a good job of balancing the historical presentation with discussions of how the stories could later have transmuted into the literary tradition of Arthur.

Dynamic History

It is refreshing to read a book that treats history as a human activity, rather than a parade of empty facts. The transformation from Roman times to medieval times comes across as genuine people doing real things. The process of historical change is as fascinating as the people who make it happen. I highly recommend this book.