As I was deciding whether or not to write my own version of the Arthurian legends, my research opened my eyes to what was really going on in Britain in the late 5th century and early 6th century. I gained new insight into what the real Arthur would have faced and accomplished. That’s what I wanted to write about. So rather than write another fantasy novel disguised as history, like most of the Arthurian novels, I decided to write historical fiction and attempt to tell a story of the real Arthur.
No myths and legends from other sources, no love triangles, no incest, no magic, no ideals from other time periods, no quests, no fantasy embellishments… just a story about a man who united a splintered and fractured island, and for “one brief shining moment,” kept the invaders away, carving out for himself a kingdom and a place in history.
Many of the names will be unfamiliar. Wherever possible, I chose to use the verifiable names of real people who actually lived during the time period.
Some of the names will be familiar, but they have been cast into roles that are appropriate for the story and are reasonable explanations for how they became part of the Arthurian legends.
The major events in the story are based on historical fact, but because of disagreements among scholars about dates and places for certain events, I freely admit that I have taken the liberty of placing these events in the times and places that seem logical/plausible to me and that best advance the story.
Arthur, King is my attempt to honor the man upon whom the legends are based. I hope that you enjoy it.
William Speir
Historical Notes
Whenever possible, I have attempted to use the real, verifiable names from the time period of the book (464 AD – 517 AD). This includes the names of people and places.
However, there is a great lack of accurate historical records from the Post-Roman era. In addition, the list of petty kingdoms comprising Britain, and their borders, changed constantly (a king would die, and his sons divided the kingdom between themselves, creating multiple smaller kingdoms).
To avoid turning this novel into a geo-political commentary on the early kingdoms of Britain, I used the following as my list of kingdoms and their approximate geographies.
Kingdoms of Britain (from north to south):
Gododdin — Eastern Scottish Lowlands (Lothian, Edinburgh)
Strathclyde — Western Scottish lowlands (Dumbarton, Cumberland, Westmorland)
Bryneich — Northern England (Northumberland)
Ebrauc — York and northern Yorkshire
Rheged — Northwest Central England (Cumbria and Lancashire).
Elmet — Southwest Yorkshire (Lincolnshire)
Gwynedd — North Wales
Powys — Eastern Wales
Dyfed — Southwest Wales
Brycheiniog — Central and Western Wales
Glywysing — South Central Wales
Gwent — Southeast Wales
Ergyng — Southeast Wales (southwest Herefordshire, the Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire)
Roman Kingdoms — South Central England (Lundun, Glouvia, Atrebatia)
Dumnonia — Southwest England (Devon and Kernow/Cornwall, parts of Somerset and Dorset)
Eastern Saxons — Essex
Southern Saxons — Sussex
Western Saxons — Wessex
I have also used the original, Roman names for the key cities and other locations whenever possible.
Cities/Locations/Battles in Britain:
Alauna — Castle Rock, Edinburgh, Scotland
Bassas — River Near Glasgow, Scotland
Caerleon — Chester, Powys, Wales
Caer-Anderida — Pevensey, England
Camlann — Roman Fort of Camboglanna, on Hadrian’s Wall
Camulodunum — Colchester, England
Carn Fadrun — Hillfort at Garnfadryn, Wales
Cataractonium — Catterick, North Yorkshire, England
Clausentum — Bittern, Southampton, England
Coed Celyddon — Near Dumbarton, Scotland
Dal Raita — Argyll, Scotland
Din Eidyn — Edinburgh, Scotland
Din Eidyn Hillfort — Arthur’s Seat, Edinburgh, Scotland
Dinas Emrys Hillfort — Near Beddgelert, Gwynedd, Wales
Durocornovium — Swindon, England
Eboracum — York, England
Eidynburghe — Edinburgh, Scotland
Lapis Tituli — Richborough, England
Llongborth — Near Winchester, England
Londinium — London, England
Luguvalium — Carlisle, Cumbria, England
Mercredesburne — Near Bexhill, East Sussex, England
Mount Badon — Herefordshire Beacon, Malvern Hills, England
Netley — Netley Marsh, Near Southampton, England
Pons Aelius — Newcastle, England
Ratae Corieltauvorum — Leicester, England
Venta Belgarum — Winchester, England
MAP KEY
KINGDOMS AND DUKEDOMS OF BRITAIN
A – GODODDIN
B – STRATHCLYDE
C – BRYNEICH
D – EBRAUC
E – ANGLIAN TERRITORY (PART OF EBRAUC)
F – RHEGED
G – PENNINES (SPLIT FROM RHEGED)
H – LUITCOYT (SPLIT FROM RHEGED)
I – ELMET
J – MERCIA TERRITORY
K – GWYNEDD
L – CERREDIGION (SPLIT FROM GWYNEDD)
M – POWYS
N – DYFED
O – BRYCHEINIOG
P – GLYWYSING
Q – GWENT
R – ERGYNG
S – DUMNONIA
T – ATREBATIA
U – GLOUVIA
V – LUNDUN
W – SAXON TERRITORIES (PART OF LUNDUN)
X – DAL RAITA
Y – PICTS & CALEDONIANS
Z – IRELAND
LOCATIONS IN BRITAIN
CAPITALS
A - DIN EIDYN/EIDYNBURGHE
B