King Arthur – According to Geoffrey of Monmouth

It’s time to start putting all this together.

I take the following information from the next written record of Arthur, “The History of the Kings of Britain” by Geoffrey of Monmouth, who lived and wrote in the 1100’s A.D., centuries after Arthur was supposed to have lived. He claims to have gotten his material from ‘a certain very ancient book written in the British language.’ (Introduction, pg. 11) They think the book was in Welsh. Here is a shortened, paraphrased version of the story.

In the year 410 A.D., the Visigoths, a barbarian tribe from Germany, coveting the lifestyle of the Romans, made their way to Rome and sacked it. That means they burned and pillaged and hauled away booty. This was the beginning of the decline of the Roman Empire. In order to protect itself, what was left of Rome called its border troops home. The Roman soldiers who had kept the peace in Britain withdrew to the mainland. The Pictish peoples of the north, always warlike and fearsome, spilled south and began to wreak havoc.

In this time of chaos and danger, the clergy took council and selected Guithilinus, an Archbishop, to travel to Brittany to get an army. He approaches King Aldroennus and offers him the kingship of Britain. King Aldroennus is not tempted. He likes being ruler in his own land which he rules in liberty. But he offers his brother, Constantine and two thousand troops. Constantine accepts, raises his army and goes to Britain with Guithelinus. The council there accepts him, places the crown on his head, and gives him a noble woman to marry. They have three sons, Constans, Aurelius Ambrosius and Uther Pendragon. Constans, as the firstborn, is given to the church. Aurelius and Uther are given to Guithilinus to be raised, or educated.

After serving as king for ten years, a Pict manages to assassinate Constantine. A disagreement arises about who to put on the throne. Constans is in a monastery. One faction is for putting Aurelius on the throne, another for putting Uther on the throne. But they are all very young. Still others are for putting some other member of the royal family on the throne.

Let’s stop here and take a look at what we have so far.

1. It is the clergy, the spiritual leader of the day, who goes in search of someone to be king and protect the people of the land from enemies which abound on all sides. Am I stretching things to suggest that this sounds like Samuel, the prophet and spiritual leader of his day, seeking out and anointing first Saul, and then David to be kings of Israel? We will see the same pattern with Merlin and Arthur.

2. The firstborn son, Constans, is sent to a monastery. This is just not Roman at all. In fact, it sounds very much like the ways of the tribes of Israel. All firstborn, especially sons, belonged to the Lord. However, once they left Egypt, the tribe of Levites and the sons of Aaron were chosen to serve as the priests and teachers for everyone. Of the rest of the tribes of Israel, they were to pay a ransom of 5 shekels to the priests and Levites, for their firstborns. But what do you do if you are a tribe of Israel without Levites among you to officiate? You go back to the original law. Your firstborn belong to the Lord, they belong to the church. Remember, at this time, no matter what Geoffrey of Monmouth says, the Church in Breton was not Roman. It is referred to as the Celtic Christian church by scholars.

3. What royal family? “Still others are for putting some other member of the royal family on the throne.” That’s what Goeffrey said. Perhaps the better question is, whose royal family? It would have to be the family of Constantine’s unnamed wife. Apparently, she wasn’t just noble, she was royal and that made her sons royal. So why the disagreement? Why not take one of the boys and plunk them on the throne and designate a regent? Perhaps it was because there was no sister, no throne princess, to give the boys a legitimate claim to the throne. Perhaps Roman ways – inheritances passing from father to son – was in conflict with Breton ways – the king was either the brother of the throne princess or married to her.

Out of this conflict rises Vortigern, leader of the Gewissei. He takes the direct Roman approach. He goes to the monastery where the first-born son Constans is living, removes him, dresses him up in royal robes and sits him on the throne. Poor boy, he’s only eight or nine years old. He’s been trained to be a churchman, not a ruler of government. He turns all the affairs of the kingdom over to Vortigern. According to Geoffrey of Monmouth, Vortigern delights in this and, plotting to get the kingship for himself, eventually has Constans assassinated by Picts and takes the throne for himself.

In the ensuing chaos, those who had the care of the two younger brothers, Aurelius and Uther, flee overseas to Brittany for their safety.

Uneasy lies the crown on the head of an usurper who has no inherited right to the throne, by birth or by marriage.

Next time: The Rise of Merlin