While everyone knows the story of King Arthur, few will have heard of King Lucius, a figure who has been consigned to myth and largely forgotten in the annals of British history. Examining the primary sources as well as the archaeological evidence for this second century king, David Knight convincingly refutes the generally accepted view expounded at the beginning of the twentieth century that identifies Lucius as King Abgarus of Edessa. He reconstructs the story of this fascinating figure, who applied to the Pope for formal baptism in AD 177, making him the first Christian King in Britain, and traces the history of the story of Lucius, separating the myth from reality and attempting to restore this King to his rightful place in British history.

While everyone knows the story of King Arthur, few will have heard of King Lucius, a figure who has been consigned to myth and largely forgotten in the annals of British history. Examining the primary sources as well as the archaeological evidence for this second century king, David Knight convincingly refutes the generally accepted view expounded at the beginning of the twentieth century that identifies Lucius as King Abgarus of Edessa. King Lucius of Britain reconstructs the story of this fascinating figure, who applied to the Pope for formal baptism in AD 177, making him the first Christian King in Britain, and traces the history of the story of Lucius, separating the myth from reality and attempting to restore this King to his rightful place in British history.

Written in the 1130s, Geoffrey's imaginative history of the Britons from Brutus to Cadwallader, and the first to recount the woes of Lear and the glittering career of Arthur, rapidly became a bestseller. An ideal text for scholars, this is a reprint of the Latin text with a facing English translation.

One of the finest narrative poems of the Middle Ages translated in its entirety by a recognized authority on the poem. This volume represents an important chapter in the evolution of the Arthurian legend. It is marked as an epic poem by its celebration of battle and conquest and its unsentimental depiction of combat and death.

A comprehensive examination of the historical and mythological evidence for every major theory about King Arthur • Explores the history of every Arthur candidate and the geographical arguments that have placed him in different locations • Examines 1,800 years of evidence for Arthur’s life and the famous series of 12 battles fought against the Saxons in the 6th century • Reconstructs the history of the 6th century in Britain, when the first references to Arthur and the core events of his reign appear Few legends have had the enduring influence of those surrounding King Arthur. Many believe the stories are based on historical truth. For others Arthur represents the archetype of the brilliant monarch reigning over a fairy-tale kingdom, offering his knights the opportunity to prove their mettle in battle and find gnostic illumination through initiation into sacred mysteries like that of the Grail. Presenting the culmination of more than 40 years’ research, John and Caitlín Matthews examine the historical and mythological evidence for every major theory about the existence of King Arthur. Drawing on modern techniques in archaeology and scholarship, they reconstruct the history of the 6th century in Britain, the period when the first unambiguous references to Arthur appear. They explore the history of every Arthur candidate, the geographical arguments that have placed him in different locations, and the evidence for his life and famous battles fought against the Saxons. Was the greatest British hero of all time not a king but a 2nd-century Roman officer active around Hadrian’s Wall in Cumbria? A 5th-century soldier who operated in areas as far apart as Cornwall, Wales, Scotland, or Brittany? Or an entirely mythical fiction that provided a figure of light during a dark period of British history? Examining other literary figures from the 5th century such as Vortigern and Ambrosius, the authors also break down the plots of all the major Arthurian romances, including those by Chretien de Troyes, Sir Thomas Malory, and Robert de Boron, to reveal the historical events they are based on. Piecing together the many fragments that constitute the image of Arthur, both the man and the myth, the authors show how each face of Arthur has something to offer and how his modern popularity proves the enduring power of the hero-myth, truly earning Arthur the title he first received in the 15th century: The Once and Future King.