Roger Sherman Loomis was a noted medieval scholar, and a large part of the body of his work is an attempt to trace these tales to their origin. In going back to the roots of these tales, it is possible to see how and where variations took place. In Arthurian research, there are two main schools of tho

In a review by Gordon Hall Gerould, the reviewer came to similar conclusions. He feels that Loomis has asked us to accept too much based on too little evidence. While he commends Loomis for his scholarship, he criticizes his methods. "Learning, and enthusiasm, and an agreeable style have not saved the author of this volume from writing what is rather a work of imagination than of scholarship. Mr. Loomis can believe, one fears, anything he wishes to believe. He lacks the power of seeing things in the dry clear light of commonsense, and he is therefore a peculiarly dangerous guide."37

There lies the chief fountainhead of all these streams. There, of course, is the source of the modern Irish and Gaelic folktales, which until the present century were related by professional shanachies and the peasantry themselves. In ancient Irish tradition, too, is the source of the mythical tales which combined with the Romano-British tradition in Wales, Cornwall, and Devon to form the Arthurian legends. These legends passed from the Welsh and Domnonian bards to the Breton contuers, who could easily understand Welsh and at the same time speak French. Thus perfectly equipped to become intermediaries between the Celtic-speaking and the French-speaking worlds, the Bretons adapted their stories to contemporary courtly taste, and soon won a public both in France and England.

The bards that recounted these legends were acting in the traditions of the Druidic schools, which were pagan. Once Christianity had begun to flourish, they were pressed to infuse them with Christian themes. However, pagan and Christian themes did not mix well. The veneer of Christianity on the tales was thin, and the bards were able to continue to transmit the underlying pagan mythologies. After all, the bards and the public did not want to give up their ancient traditions. "One should not forget that such stories as the abduction of Guinevere go back to stories learned and recited in the schools of the druids."

When the agents of Christianity swept over Ireland, they only half succeeded in converting the populace, as the old pagan religion survived mostly intact, remnants of which survive today. "It explains the survival into the late Middle Ages of many Irish sagas in which old gods figure; it explains how the Irish stories, passing into Wales, amalgamating with similar Welsh stories, and attaching themselves to the story of Arthur, were in large measure remnants of Irish mythology which had survived the victory of the Cross."45

Hundreds of years ago, the processes of nature and the elements were not understood in any scientific sense, and these forces thus became the basis for gods in mythologies around the world. The existence of a sun-god was one of the most prevalent beliefs worldwide. Even after the advent of Christianity, laws had to be passed that prohibited worship of the sun and other natural phenomena. This was especially true in Ireland. Due to the influx of Christianity, it became necessary for the contuers to disguise the mythological aspects of the ancient tales.

Loomis sees in Arthur the remnants of Celtic mythology as well. In one particular story about Arthur, he has received wounds that reopen every year. In this way, Arthur represents a god who is wounded or killed every year and is then revived. "There can be no doubt that the immediate derivation of this conception of Arthur as an embodiment of the vital forces of Nature, particularly the sun, is Celtic."34

One of the main pieces of evidence that link the tale Gawain and the Green Knight to Bricrius' Feast of the eighth century is the similarity of the Beheading Test. Additionally, there are several elements in the English version of Gawain and the Green Knight that do not appear to have similarities in Irish legend. Instead, Loomis finds antecedents in several tales in Welsh mythology, particularly that of Pwyll.50

Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Pages = 21 (250 words per page double spaced)