King Arthur by Christopher Hibbert (PDF)

Description

The tales of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table are among the best-known stories in the world, but they are often relegated to the realm of legend. However, Arthur was a man, not a myth. In this book, acclaimed historian Christopher Hibbert vividly brings to life the sixth-century British monarch and his extraordinary court.

User’s Reviews

Reviews from Amazon users which were colected at the time this book was published on the website:

⭐This is really excellent book. There is excellent detailed coverage of the development of the Arthur legend, though little about political motives for various developments. Hibbert identifies what and where he thinks Arthur was. He makes an excellent case for thinking Arthur succeeded Marcus Aurelius, was based in southwestern England, and served as a Roman-style Britain-wide military leader against the Celts. He is right; if Marcus Aurelius ruled a powerful area in southwestern England just before Arthur’s time and was not Arthur, then Arthur must have succeeded him in some sense of the word, in military power in the same region. Arthur was active at the beginning of the 6th century and died between 537 and 542 AD. He also points out that by the end of the 6th century kings all over Britain were naming sons after Arthur, which requires that someone like him had lived.While I was looking for historical evidence about Arthur’s identity, I especially liked Hibbert’s characterization of Arthur. Like most successful dark age warlords, Arthur wasn’t necessarily likeable. He killed two of his sons in battle, one of whom wasn’t the son of a woman he was married to when he was conceived. His sons weren’t nice people; what could have raised them. He may also have taken money from monasteries, possibly by force. Hibbert explains that Gildas, a contemporary monk and historian, describes the events but doesn’t name Arthur, or does he. Actually, he may mention having served Arthur, “the Bear”. It is not clear if Arthur’s name came from the Roman name Artorius or the Briton word for bear, or both. Gildas’ brother claimed a kingdom in Scotland, and made a deal with the Pictish leader to be able to make his claim. This forced Arthur to attack and kill him. Gildas would not have cared for Arthur. As for taking money from monasteries, the money for the military campaigns came from somewhere. If Arthur did take money from monasteries, than Gildas certainly did not like him.The largest deficiency in his book is that he slightly glosses over the archeological evidence on the two southwestern English centers where Arthur lived. Another is that he leaves out the plague, which would have conclusively strengthened his case. In the early 530s Krakatoa did one of its most powerful eruptions ever, creating the Sunda Strait in Indonesia, and creating years of climate disaster, famine, and civil and military upheaval worldwide. Bubonic plague broke out in East Africa, spread along trade routes to the Mediterranean, then spread to southwestern England. The effects are documented historically and archeologically, and mentioned in most accounts of King Arthur, and a number of other medieval Welsh sources. The population was decimated. People were dead in the fields and there was noone to harvest grain. Similar plague stories survive from other parts of Europe. Eventually the Saxons took advantage of the loss of population to spread across southwestern and western ENgland. The fact that this proven historical event is mentioned in most Arthur stories is remarkable, nd not possible if they were made up. It proves Arthur existed and proves he existed in southwestern England. The plague mostly hit southwestern England on account of its strong trade ties with the MEditerranean. The Saxons traded mostly with Germany and scandinavia and weren’t hit by the plague.What I least liked about the book is the brilliant artwork of a 15th or 16th century French king or Holy Roman Emperor on the cover. What the ….?!! A dark age warrior or Roman knight (there actually were Roman knights) would have been A LOT more appropriate. Most of all, someone is likely to conclude from the cover that the book has little worth! I nearly did! And then there’s the review by the guy who bought the book thinking it is a novel based on legends of King Arthur, and went ape when he found out he had to read, because he didn’t read what the book is about, just looked at that stupid cover. I think he’s a valid claim to get his money back. That cover is criminally deceptive. The cover makes the book look appealing to people who don’t like to read!

⭐Christopher Hibbert is most defintiely my favourite historian. However, this book is not his best. Whilst Hibbert brings as much historical fact as he can to the questions surrounding the authenticity of the tales of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round table, the reader is left bemused. Whilst some of the historical facts uncovered by Hibbert would seem to confirm that King Arthur did exist in early Britain (serving to lend credence to some of the most well loved stories in Arturian legend) they cannot confirm the ‘essence’ of Arthur.. surely the life-blood of the legend(s).For this reason this book did not meet my expectations but has left me feeling justified in clinging to my belief in Arturian legend!

⭐This is a well written, fast reading history/ legend story about one of histories most fascinating people (or legends).I now finally have some logical answers to the Arthur legend. It was a fun read.

⭐A quick and easy read, this work covers the evidence, speculation and literature of King Arthur from the 6th century until The Once and Future King. It is a brief overview and certainly not an in-depth study, and it doesn’t touch on any of the literature and works that have followed T.H. White’s work. For what it is, it is a solid bit of work.

⭐This book examines the Arthurian legend, starting with the earliest mentions of the 6th century hero in historical references shrouded in the mists of time, to the present day. Linking folktale, legend, poetry, myth, actual written records, and archaeological discoveries, Hibbert explores the various versions, documenting the evolution of an obscure dark age warlord into a romantic, medieval, chivalrous knight of epic proportion and reknown. The text is hot-linked to reference material for those who like to “read more about it.” Thoroughly enjoyed this quick, factual refresher.

⭐The historical research was made understandable and interesting. There was no real conclusion as to whether the romanticized really existed…the one depicted in modern movies. Gods book.

⭐King Arthur, written by Christopher Hibbert, had a lot of information. I kept going back through the book to try to get a grasp of the real Arthur beneath all of the legends that surround him. The book was just full of information and Mr. Hibbert must have studied him for years to be able to write this and make sense of Arthur. This is one book I will read again. It also took me a long time to finish because for almost every name, I would go on the web and find more information about him or her.

⭐I was really surprised by how easily the writing in this book flowed. It definitely is a historical look at the legends and written records and locations in Great Britain that pertain to King Arthur. It was a fascinating read and I learned a lot about him and did so in a very pleasant manner. So, if I ever get across the big pond, I’ll have to look up Tingel(?) Castle where Arthur was born……..

⭐It’s a pleasantly written and interesting account of the story of King Arthur, his knights and their adventures linked with the actual history of Britain in the period from the end of Roman rule to the middle of the next century. He traces how the legend emerged, the adaptations throughout the years and the place of Arthur in the British folk memory. It’s dated but still worth reading.

⭐I enjoyed reading this book. It pulls together various sources to try and seperate the man from the myth. Reading this it appears that the stories of Arthur might never have gained such poularity had it not been for the continental influence, particularly from Brittany in France. From uncertain origins, historical fact and cultural tradition this book tells the story of England’s most famous king without the romantic overlay.

⭐Read it in one sitting, very boring and nothing new about either the thinking or the information

⭐For the general reader. An attempt to assess the facts behind the legends. Seems very, fair giving for and against arguments for most hypotheses.

⭐Im Unterschied zu vielen anderen Büchern über König Arthur versucht es der Autor mal mit einer neutralen Bewertung. Er beschreibt auf unterhaltsame Weise viele Quellen, wirkt aber nie theoretisch oder trocken. Seine Verweise auf Orte und Quellen über ganz Europa sind interessant. Da ich viele der Orte in Großbritannien kenne und auch die regionale, mehr oder weniger große Begeisterung für diese (historische?) Gestalt etwas beurteilen kann, hat mich die Art der Herangehensweise um so mehr begeistert. Ein gutes, interessantes, schön geschriebenes, sehr unterhaltsames Buch. Auch für den Sprachenanfänger gut zu lesen, weil in einem sehr schönen Englisch geschrieben.

⭐

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