The earliest known description of Arthur's noble endeavors was written by Gildas, (ca. 490-540) the author of De excidio et conquestu Britanniae makes reference, albeit vague, to an Arthurian figure; however, the name Arthur is not mentioned in the story (Strayer 564). The full flourish of writings associated with his miraculous feats and victories do not reach a crescendo for several hundred years after Gildas (Strayer 564). During the Middle Ages, however, Arthurian myth was prominent and en vogue and attempts to discover the truth behind the myth have been pursued for generations. Arthur's history, as Geoffrey Ashe reminds us in The Discovery of King Arthur, is "more than just a medley of yarns, more than just a saga in the romanticism of myth. It puts him within a definite period. It names definite places and takes him to definit

e countries" (3). It is this fact and the fragmentary, often contradictory references of an Arthur (the Latin "Artur,""Arturius," or "Artorius") from ancient records, that lends enough validity to the story to set researchers on the Clodfelter 2 trail of the legendary king. However, progress has been stymied for a number of reasons and even now we can say little of substance about the man behind the myth. A major difficulty facing researchers is that the role of the historian in the Dark Ages was rather flexible; a mixture of storyteller and propagandist whose regional traditions, personal prejudices, and loyalties were bound to greatly influence the nature of its material (Coglan 214). In Arthur, Richard Barber clarifies this fact and speaks of the early tendency to use history as "...an inspiration or as a warning to the men of the present, or as part of a vast divine scheme for man's spiritual salvation" (Coglan 7). Another problem facing historians is that the earliest sources we have are never originals, but copies, and considering their age we must allow for the propagation of errors. One possible such error is found in the Annals of Wales, written in the tenth century. Its entry concerning the Battle of Badon claims that Arthur carried Christ's cross on his shoulder for three days, but it's likely that "shoulder" should instead be "shield," due to confusion between the Welsh words "scuid" and "scuit" (Alcock 51-52). The search for the truth of legend continues. Perhaps the best known of all Arthurian legends is that of Geoffrey of Monmouth. His History of the Kings of Britain, (ca. 1136) "Besides planting highly erroneous notions of British history,...supplied a basis and framework for Arthurian romance and exerted an influence extending through Spenser, Shakespeare, and many others" (Coglan 209). In it, Geoffrey recounts the history of Britain's leaders back to their beginning in 1115 BC to King Cadwallader's death in AD 689. Geoffrey's account, though most agree not strictly factual, offers a clear look into the events surrounding Arthur's death and

Some common words found in the essay are:
Norman England, Celtic Germanic, King Cadwallader's, King Arthur, Richard Barber, Battle Badon, ArturArturius Artorius, Celtic Irish, , WithArthur Gildas, king arthur, strayer 564, discovery king arthur, de excidio, coglan 214, arthurian legends, arthur's death, mention arthur's, attributed arthur, oxford history england, middle ages, king arthur york, coglan 8,
Approximate Word count = 1397
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)