Scholary Publications on Arthurian and related Topics
Peer-reviewed Papers in Journals
Howard Wiseman, Parergon 17,
1-10 (2000).
This paper is published
in Parergon, the
Journal of the Australian
and New Zealand Association for Medieval and Early Modern Studies. It
has been very gratifying to see this work cited in several papers and the following books:
A longer version of
this paper, including
a discussion of the date of the battle of Camlann, The
derivation of the date of the Arthurian entries in the Annales
Cambriae from Bede and Gildas can be found on the Vortigern Studies
site.
Howard M. Wiseman, Journal of the
Australian Early Medieval Association 7, 9–31 (2011).
Note that the first page of the version reproduced here
differs from that in the printed version in using a more conventional
font for the title, as well as fixing typos introduced in the
publication process.
Those interested in Arthur could read the final footnote first.
Howard M. Wiseman, Arthuriana 31, 3 (Fall), 40–81 (2021).
Unfortunately the publisher does not allow posting of the pdf on a public website. If you want the paper and
cannot obtain it from the link above, please email me.
Invited Conference Paper
Howard Wiseman, pp. 173-193 in "Arthur, la mer et la guerre", Civilisation médiéval 26, (Classiques Garnier, Paris, 2017).
Edited by Alban Gautier, Marc Rolland and Michelle Szkilnik.
This is the paper accompanying an invited talk at the conference "Arthur, la mer et la guerre" at Boulogne-sur-Mer in 2014.
Reviews and other Opinion Pieces
Howard Wiseman, The Heroic Age 6,
The Forum
(2003).
The Heroic Age is
a fully
peer-reviewed academic journal intended for professionals,
students and independent scholars, focussing on North-western Europe
during the early medieval period (from the late 4th through 11th
centuries).
Here is my abstract: In this book, David Howlett claims to
discover secret meanings in early Mediaeval Welsh
compositions in
Latin, including the dates for the battle of Badon and
Gildas'
composition of the de Excidio Britanniae. I argue that these
dates are baseless.
Howard M. Wiseman, The Heroic Age 10,
The Forum
(2007).
This contains my considered (in 2006) view on the historicity of
Arthur: (i) The evidence suggests that there was a famous
historical 6th century Arthur. (ii) If there was such a man, he was
probably the
Arthur, the
war-leader of the Britons at the battle of Badon. (iii) There's not
much more we can say about him with any degree of confidence.
Howard M. Wiseman, The Heroic Age 10,
Reviews
(2007).
Here is the first line: This book was a great disappointment.
Howard M. Wiseman, The Heroic Age 12,
Reviews
(2009).
Howard Wiseman, The Heroic Age 16,
The Forum
(2015).
Abstract: Geoffrey Ashe proposed that Geoffrey of Monmouth's account of Arthur's Gallic warfare and subsequent downfall is best explained as drawing upon a hypothetical "historical abstract" of the recorded deeds of Riothamus, king of the Britons, in c. 470. Here I show that Ashe's argument fails even on its own terms, and suggest a more plausible hypothetical source that may have inspired certain aspects of Geoffrey of Monmouth's account.
Also worth mentioning ...
A wikipedia article which I (as user "Vortimer") rescued from being a list of legendary Kings.
I am wholly responsible for its form and largely responsible for its content.
I've also contributed to many other related articles.
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