Comments on: King Arthur

King Arthur

homunculus — Mon, 21 Jun 2004 12:09:26 -0800

Artorius, Ambrosius, Arthur. An examination of the history behind the legend of King Arthur.

By: bob sarabia

bob sarabia — Mon, 21 Jun 2004 12:28:04 -0800

i see someone else has been watching the history channel hmm?

By: homunculus

homunculus — Mon, 21 Jun 2004 12:37:27 -0800

Yeah, I started to watch it last night, but gave up on it quickly. Actually I found most of these links a few weeks ago when I heard there was going to be a new movie. At least the show reminded me of the links.

By: bob sarabia

bob sarabia — Mon, 21 Jun 2004 12:45:41 -0800

actually, i had a hard time concentrating on watching it too. i think it was Patrick Stewarts voice. Nice links, btw. thanks!

By: Postroad

Postroad — Mon, 21 Jun 2004 12:52:28 -0800

I had served under King Arthur. We found him to be a great leader, though as a ruler, he seemed not to have the same control and panache he had during battles. At the Ropund Table (we peeked in windows) I thought his wife, the queen a bit of a flirt, always flipping her hair and casting glances at this or that guy sitting about the round table...We thought of him as you later folks think of Reagen--a leader whose many faults are overlooked because of his charm and smooth acting ways.

By: homunculus

homunculus — Mon, 21 Jun 2004 13:12:47 -0800

I thought his wife, the queen a bit of a flirt, always flipping her hair and casting glances

By: stbalbach

stbalbach — Mon, 21 Jun 2004 13:17:40 -0800

King Arthur came to America.

By: homunculus

homunculus — Mon, 21 Jun 2004 13:31:32 -0800

Well, tell him to get lost, we already have a king!

By: insomnia_lj

insomnia_lj — Mon, 21 Jun 2004 13:46:27 -0800

For those interested in a bit of the backstory for the new movie "King Arthur", I did an interview with Mark Ryan awhile back, who is the swordmaster for the new movie in question. He went into some details regarding the historical background of the movie, and revealed some interesting details about the production. (Mark, though best known as Nasir from "Robin of Sherwood", also did some swordfighting in "Charlie's Angels", which makes me just two degrees of seperation from Drew Barrymore and Lucy Liu. Yum!) Will it be good? Dunno. The interview and longer conversation I had regarding the movie indicates that there are aspects to the picture that might make it more interesting than it appears, however. So much depends on how well they flush out their Arthurian premise. How do you make a movie that, in one sense, competes against a beloved legend? Perhaps the legend has far more flesh and blood to it than the history ever could. As long as it's not Troy bad...

By: Smart Dalek

Smart Dalek — Mon, 21 Jun 2004 13:57:44 -0800

I still think Riothamus of Domnonée was Arthur. The real question which remains unanswered: who was Gambrinus?

By: linux

linux — Mon, 21 Jun 2004 14:34:44 -0800

I remember doing some research on this a year ago, checked a few books out of the library. It's certainly fascinating. I liked how the History Channel related the creation of myth and its use in the Norman Conquest.

By: taz

taz — Mon, 21 Jun 2004 15:21:33 -0800

And of course we can't have an Arthur thread without mentioning the great Camelot Project (and all those yummy images). Also interesting is the idea of Arthur as or relating to the Bear God (discussed a bit here, near the bottom of the page). From a Geocities site on bear cult: "The Celtic word for bear was arth or arthe, Latinsed as Artos, which can be found in place names and gives rise to the name of 'Arthur'. In the Pyranees, in the Valley of the Bear, there is a 6th century BC inscription to a Celtic god Arthe, and it reads 'Our Holy Father Arthe'. The constellation of the Great Bear is known in Wales as 'Arthur's Wain'. King Arthur is sleeping in an underground cave until Britain needs him recalls a bear in hibernation. It seems likely that Arthur was originally a sun god, and Yule was called Alban Arthur or 'Arthur's Time' by the Celts. The bear rising from his underground sleep represented the rebirth of the sun from the underworld at midwinter. In Gaelic tradition it is said that the Kean mathon ['head of the bear'] was one of the seven signs or names of star clusters engraved on the shield of Arthur." (Cache.) And Marc Devere Davis outlines why, with this connection in mind, Arthur is Cuneglasus (cache of an Angelfire site).

By: CunningLinguist

CunningLinguist — Mon, 21 Jun 2004 15:42:23 -0800

Strange women lying around in ponds distributing swords is no basis for a system of government!

By: Hildago

Hildago — Mon, 21 Jun 2004 18:10:30 -0800

Thanks! Now I know all about Commander Arthur!

By: homunculus

homunculus — Wed, 23 Jun 2004 21:53:37 -0800

Builders of Stonehenge found