Fascinating and looking forward to reading the book. What are thoughts now on the mention of Arthur in Y Gododdin where the name Arthur is used as a positive comparison to the dead warriors of The Battle of Catreth?
The main problem is with dating the passage. Some have dated the composition of the Gododdin to centuries after the period it is set in. I am working on an analysis of the metre of Old Welsh poetry at the moment and hopefully I'll be able to figure out a clear way to date the Gododdin in due course.
Prof Mees Many thanks look forward to that - will you be at the Leeds International Medieval Conference in July? I will be there as organiser for the Tolkien sessions be great to meet up and/or do you know if your book will be there for purchase? Thanks Andy
Prof Mees look forward to that. Will you be attending the International Medieval Conference in Leeds this July and will your book be available for purchase there? I will be attending for Tolkien sessions which I organise and to give a paper. Thanks Andy
There's a theory I think could be right that the Mount Badon Battle took place on a plateau of high land called Lansdown that overlooks the city of Bath in Somerset.
This is such an interesting article; thank you for sharing it! I find this period of British/English history so fascinating because so much of our work is piecing together evidence that doesn't quite tell the whole story, so we have to weigh it up. I didn't know about the Sussex brooch - I'll have to look more into that for my own research. There continue to be finds that suggest continuing Roman culture later into the 5th and even into the 6th century, which I find really exciting! Thanks again for this piece.
Too much historical research and commentary is built around deconstruction. It is far easier to build a career attacking existing theories and popular beliefs by demanding extraordinary evidence than it is to support and advance a more positive vision. See the Jesus Seminar as an example.
Fascinating article- thank you. Increasingly, there are evidence for the survival of "pockets of Romantas" into the 5th century and beyond- evidence from Lincoln (St Peter in the Bail), Chedworth Villa room 28 roman mosaics now dated to the fifth century (https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/visit/gloucestershire-cotswolds/chedworth-roman-villa/archaeological-discoveries-at-chedworth-roman-villa) , the Vergilius Romanas (http://www.vortigernstudies.org.uk/artlit/vergilius.htm ), the Thetford Hoard, now dated to the 5th century ( https://the-past.com/news/new-thoughts-on-the-thetford-hoard/) , and Highdown Hill in West Sussex with its 5th century hoard of gold coin at Patching and Roman inscribed glass. Very good to see the intriguing Sussex brooch with its syncretic animal head brooch, cross, and cross bow brooch shape- it is frustrating from the British Museum files that a closer identification of find spot than Sussex could not be made with even a letter from Bruce Mitford in the file!
Fascinating and looking forward to reading the book. What are thoughts now on the mention of Arthur in Y Gododdin where the name Arthur is used as a positive comparison to the dead warriors of The Battle of Catreth?
The main problem is with dating the passage. Some have dated the composition of the Gododdin to centuries after the period it is set in. I am working on an analysis of the metre of Old Welsh poetry at the moment and hopefully I'll be able to figure out a clear way to date the Gododdin in due course.
Prof Mees Many thanks look forward to that - will you be at the Leeds International Medieval Conference in July? I will be there as organiser for the Tolkien sessions be great to meet up and/or do you know if your book will be there for purchase? Thanks Andy
I wasn't intending on going to Leeds this year -- although I mentioned it to the publisher as a place to promote the book.
Many thanks if it is there will defo purchase and I know other Tolkienists who would do the same. A
Prof Mees look forward to that. Will you be attending the International Medieval Conference in Leeds this July and will your book be available for purchase there? I will be attending for Tolkien sessions which I organise and to give a paper. Thanks Andy
Great article Bernard, once again. Gildas mentions the battle, but not Arthur?
That's right, Gildas doesn't mention Arthur. But Gildas was writing a sermon and he doesn't name Vortigern or figures like Hengist and Horsa either.
Shortens the sermon, which in general my congregations preferred. A shame for us though, 1500 years later!
If Arthur wasn't real, we'd be forced to invent him.
There's a theory I think could be right that the Mount Badon Battle took place on a plateau of high land called Lansdown that overlooks the city of Bath in Somerset.
The connection of Bath with Mt Badon is generally rejected by linguists -- I explain why in my earlier post https://ageofarthur.substack.com/p/the-battle-of-mount-badon
Thank you. I've just joined so I'll be reading up. I'm disappointed though. I so want it to be! Not how history works though!
This is such an interesting article; thank you for sharing it! I find this period of British/English history so fascinating because so much of our work is piecing together evidence that doesn't quite tell the whole story, so we have to weigh it up. I didn't know about the Sussex brooch - I'll have to look more into that for my own research. There continue to be finds that suggest continuing Roman culture later into the 5th and even into the 6th century, which I find really exciting! Thanks again for this piece.
Too much historical research and commentary is built around deconstruction. It is far easier to build a career attacking existing theories and popular beliefs by demanding extraordinary evidence than it is to support and advance a more positive vision. See the Jesus Seminar as an example.
Yes, imagine if you hired a member of the Jesus Seminar to build a bridge.