King Arthur : myth-making and history / / N.J. Higham

• Record Nr.: UNINA9910782942003321
• Autore: Higham N. J.
• Pubbl/distr/stampa: London ; ; New York : , : Routledge, , 2002
• ISBN: 1-134-61428-4; 1-134-61429-2; 1-280-10863-0; 0-203-99402-7
• Descrizione fisica: 1 online resource (313 p.)
• Disciplina: 942.01/4
• Soggetti: Britons - Kings and rulers; Mythology, Celtic - Great Britain; Historiography - Great Britain; Arthurian romances; Britons - Historiography; Mythology, British; Great Britain History To 1066 Historiography
• Lingua di pubblicazione: Inglese
• Formato: Materiale a stampa
• Livello bibliografico: Monografia
• Note generali: Description based upon print version of record.
• Nota di bibliografia: Includes bibliographical references (p. 275-295) and index.
• Nota di contenuto: Front Cover; King Arthur; Copyright Page; Contents; List of figures; Acknowledgements; Introduction; I. A King out of Time: Arthur in the twentieth century; Arthur comes of age; Arthur in the spotlight; Conclusion; II. The Genesis of Arthur; Being 'British': The political and ideological context; Alternative ideologues and British authority; Prototype Arthurs; Bears and gods; Conclusion; III.Contested Histories: Anglo-Saxons and Britons c. 730-830; Bede and the Britons; Welsh-Mercian interactions; Reclaiming the past: Writing British history in the early ninth century; The Historia Brittonum: Authorship and purposeBritons, Trojans and Romans; Vortigern and the adventus Saxonum; St Patrick and Arthur; Arthur and the Old Testament; Arthur's battles; The image of Arthur; The English historical framework; Conclusions; The Pillar of Eliseg; IV. Text in Context: The Annales Cambriae c. 954; England, Wales and the ; Vikings; Heroic poetry; Y Gododdin; Asser; The Armes Prydein; The Annales Cambriae; Conclusions; V. The Rise and Fall of the 'Historical' Arthur; The Arthurian legend to c. 1100; Arthur as cultural icon; Arthur as royal cult; Arthur in question; The fall of King ArthurConclusion; VI. Postscript: The Rhetorical Arthur; Bibliography; Index
• Sommario/riassunto: This seminal new study explores how and why historians and writers from the Middle Ages to the present day have constructed different accounts of this well-loved figure.N. J Higham offers an in-depth examintaion of the first two Arthurian texts: the History of the Britons and the Welsh Annals. He argues that historians have often been more influenced by what the idea of Arthur means in their present context than by such primary sourcesKing Arthur: Myth-making and History illuminates and discusses some central points of debate:* What role was