Historic Figures of the Arthurian Era

The author has determined in an earlier McFarland book (The Historic King Arthur, 1996, paperback 2007) that there was not a historic King Arthur during the sixth century. However, as listed in The Historia Brittonum, there was a “great king of all the kings of Britain” named Ambrosius Aurelianus who was conflated with a heroic Arthur of the second century, and hence with the legendary King Arthur. To further authenticate the Celtic/Romano “King Arthur,”—that is, Ambrosius—the author here examines seven major historical figures of the period A.D. 383–500 based upon the Genealogical Preface of The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle and the emendation of dates in that chronicle. Those seven allies and adversaries are Vortigern, Vortimer, Vitalinus, Cunedda, Cerdic, Octha, and Mordred.
Through an extensive analysis of Arthur’s 12 battles listed in the Historia Brittonum, this work explores both the influences of the High King’s allies, and the shifting allegiances of his enemies. A battle list provides possible geographic locations for each of the battles, including a new site for Arthur’s fateful battle at Camlann.

The late Frank D. Reno lectured throughout the United States and in 2002 was invited to Britain to contribute to the BBC documentary Arthur: King of the Britons. He lived in Lafayette, Colorado.

Frank D. Reno
Format: softcover (6 x 9)
Pages: 358
Bibliographic Info: 14 photos, 12 maps, 10 tables, glossary, appendices, notes, bibliography, index
Copyright Date: 2010 [2000]
pISBN: 978-0-7864-4509-7
eISBN: 978-0-7864-9220-6
Imprint: McFarland

List of Illustrations      ix
List of Abbreviations of Works Cited in the Text      xi

Prologue      1

1. New Perspectives of Ancient Insular History      15
The De Excidio of Gildas Badonicus      19
The Annales Cambriae      29
The Historia Brittonum      30
The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle      36

2. Other Early Manuscripts      49
Geoffrey of Monmouth: Pseudohistory and the Welsh Chronicles      54

3. Riardd Ambrosius      66

4. Who’s Who: Ambrosius’s Father, the Superbus Tyrannus Vortigern
The House of Constantine      74
The Superbus Tyrannus      84
Vortigern      90
Conclusions      100

5. Vortimer and Vitalinus: Arthurian Enigmas
Vortimer      105
Vitalinus      125

6. The Breach of Colors: Cunedda’s Role in Civil War
Introduction      144
Cunedda: A Pivotal Figure of History      146
Homeland      149
Motive for Cunedda Migration      151
The Chronological Computation of Cunedda’s Migration      153
Cunedda’s Ancestry and Progeny      155

7. The Breach of Colors: Romanitas Versus Cunedda’s Progeny and the Saxons
The Interfusion of Arthur’s Personality      160
Cunedda’s Progeny as Arthur’s Adversaries      164
Octha’s Invitation into Britain      170

8. Arthur’s Battles with the Saxons      177
The Cities of Roman Britain      181
Geographic Possibilities of the Historia Brittonum Battle List      183

9. The Strife of Camlann      214
Mordred, Arthur’s Nemesis      228

Epilogue
Narrative History      237
Identification of Historical Figures and Locales      240
The Earliest Manuscripts as History      249
Resolutions      262

Appendix A: A Century and a Half of Dark-Age History      271
Appendix B: Two Tales of The Mabinogion      281
Chapter Notes      285
Glossary of Terms and Proper Names      303
Bibliography      327
Index      333

• “Scrupulously documented…well worth a visit”—C&RL News
• “A worthy addition to any library of material devoted to King Arthur and British history”—Operaphile