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:
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 contact me.
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.
Howard Wiseman, The Heroic Age 6,
The Forum
(2003). Paper also available here.
The Heroic Age was the name of 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).
It is now called The Journal of Early Medieval Northwestern Europe
Abstract: In this book, David Howlett claims to
discover secret meanings in early MediaevalWelsh
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). Paper also available here.
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 Wiseman, The Heroic Age 16,
The Forum (2015). Paper also
available here.
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.
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. Return
to The Ruin and Conquest of Britain main
page