chapter sixteen summary

Author: * Walensis Volcae - 25 Posts on this thread out of 64 Posts sitewide.
Date: Jun 7, 2004 - 09:28

* Having traced the life and times of the real king Arthur, we close in on the historical figure himself, piecing together the evidence to reveal the flesh and blood warrior behind the legend.

1. The most likely date for Arthurs death coincides precisely with the abandonment of Viroconium about 520. This is the generally accepted date for Cuneglasus becoming king of Powys, and Maglocunus becoming king of Gwynedd, a time when the two kingdoms split apart. Since Viroconium was under no threat from the Saxons for decades to come, the only explanation for the abandonment of the city for a more defendable site is a threat from the adjoining kingdom of Gwynedd. In other words, Cuneglasus was preparing to defend himself against the threat from Maglocunus. Internal feuding breaking out at this time is not only evidence for Arthur's demise, but also suggests that Cuneglasus and Maglocunus were his rival successors.

2. Arthur appears to have been the son of the Head Dragon, the leader of the Votadini in the 480s and king of both Gwynedd and Powys. The Head Dragon seems to have been Cunedda's son, Enniaun Girt, who according to the genealogies is the grandfather of Maglocunus and Cuneglasus, both of whom become kings in their own right. If Enniaun Girt was Arthur's father, then Arthur must have been the father of either Maglocunus or Cuneglasus.

3. Since Maglocunus was by far the most powerful of the two kings, then perhaps Arthur was Maglocunus' father, named in the genealogies as Cadwallon Lawhir. However, on reading Gildas we discover that Maglocunus did not succeed from his father, but from his Uncle, From the genealogies we discover that his uncle was Cuneglasus' father.

4. The name of this Dark Age warlord survives in a list of genealogies, compiled around 955 from earlier monastic records and now attached to the Annales Cambriae in a manuscript indexed, 'Harley 3859' in the British library. The genealogy reveals that Cuneglasus' father was called Owain Ddantgwyn.

5. All the available evidence indicates that Owain Ddantwyn was the historical figure who assumed the title 'Arthur'. He ruled in the same place and at the same time as our research has located king Arthur. He ruled Gwynedd and Powys simultaneously, and was thus the most powerful ruler in Britain at the time of the battle of Badon, in which Arthur led the British to their most important victory of the era. Arthur almost certainly means the Bear and Owain Ddantwyn was the father of Cuneglasus, whom Gildas refers to as the 'charioteer of the bear's stronghold'.

6 According to Geoffrey of Monmouth, Arthur was mortally wounded at the battle of Camlann while attempting to quash a revolt led by his nephew. Although this nephew is called Modred, the legend may have sprung from the real-life Maglocunus who, according to Gildas, aquired his kingdom by overthrowing his uncle. Since Gwynedd and Powys formed a united kingdom prior to the succession of Maglocunus in Gwynedd, the border land between the two kingdoms is the logical site for a battle in which Maglocunus severed his kingdom of Gwynedd from the kingdom of Powys.

7. A bleak and remote valley about five miles to the east of Dolgellau in central-west Wales is actually called Camlan, although it is spelt with a single 'n'. It is surely beyond coincidence that the only location in Great Britain ever known to have been called Camlan is precisely and strategically situated in the border area of the kingdoms of Gwynedd and Powys as they existed in the early sixth century. Not only is Camlan the name given to Arthur's last battle by Geoffrey of Monmouth, but the Annales Cambriae also record Arthur's death at the battle of Camlann.