Arthur, King - William Speir

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the age corresponding to the collapse of the Western Roman Empire.

      As I was deciding whether or not to write my own version of the Arthurian legends, my research opened my eyes to what was really going on in Britain in the late 5th century and early 6th century. I gained new insight into what the real Arthur would have faced and accomplished. That’s what I wanted to write about. So rather than write another fantasy novel disguised as history, like most of the Arthurian novels, I decided to write historical fiction and attempt to tell a story of the real Arthur.

      No myths and legends from other sources, no love triangles, no incest, no magic, no ideals from other time periods, no quests, no fantasy embellishments… just a story about a man who united a splintered and fractured island, and for “one brief shining moment,” kept the invaders away, carving out for himself a kingdom and a place in history.

      Many of the names will be unfamiliar. Wherever possible, I chose to use the verifiable names of real people who actually lived during the time period.

      Some of the names will be familiar, but they have been cast into roles that are appropriate for the story and are reasonable explanations for how they became part of the Arthurian legends.

      The major events in the story are based on historical fact, but because of disagreements among scholars about dates and places for certain events, I freely admit that I have taken the liberty of placing these events in the times and places that seem logical/plausible to me and that best advance the story.

      Arthur, King is my attempt to honor the man upon whom the legends are based. I hope that you enjoy it.

      William Speir

      Historical Notes

      Whenever possible, I have attempted to use the real, verifiable names from the time period of the book (464 AD – 517 AD). This includes the names of people and places.

      However, there is a great lack of accurate historical records from the Post-Roman era. In addition, the list of petty kingdoms comprising Britain, and their borders, changed constantly (a king would die, and his sons divided the kingdom between themselves, creating multiple smaller kingdoms).

      To avoid turning this novel into a geo-political commentary on the early kingdoms of Britain, I used the following as my list of kingdoms and their approximate geographies.

      Kingdoms of Britain (from north to south):

      Gododdin — Eastern Scottish Lowlands (Lothian, Edinburgh)

      Strathclyde — Western Scottish lowlands (Dumbarton, Cumberland, Westmorland)

      Bryneich — Northern England (Northumberland)

      Ebrauc — York and northern Yorkshire

      Rheged — Northwest Central England (Cumbria and Lancashire).

      Elmet — Southwest Yorkshire (Lincolnshire)

      Gwynedd — North Wales

      Powys — Eastern Wales

      Dyfed — Southwest Wales

      Brycheiniog — Central and Western Wales

      Glywysing — South Central Wales

      Gwent — Southeast Wales

      Ergyng — Southeast Wales (southwest Herefordshire, the Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire)

      Roman Kingdoms — South Central England (Lundun, Glouvia, Atrebatia)

      Dumnonia — Southwest England (Devon and Kernow/Cornwall, parts of Somerset and Dorset)

      Eastern Saxons — Essex

      Southern Saxons — Sussex

      Western Saxons — Wessex

      I have also used the original, Roman names for the key cities and other locations whenever possible.

      Cities/Locations/Battles in Britain:

      Alauna — Castle Rock, Edinburgh, Scotland

      Bassas — River Near Glasgow, Scotland

      Caerleon — Chester, Powys, Wales

      Caer-Anderida — Pevensey, England

      Camlann — Roman Fort of Camboglanna, on Hadrian’s Wall

      Camulodunum — Colchester, England

      Carn Fadrun — Hillfort at Garnfadryn, Wales

      Cataractonium — Catterick, North Yorkshire, England

      Clausentum — Bittern, Southampton, England

      Coed Celyddon — Near Dumbarton, Scotland

      Dal Raita — Argyll, Scotland

      Din Eidyn — Edinburgh, Scotland

      Din Eidyn Hillfort — Arthur’s Seat, Edinburgh, Scotland

      Dinas Emrys Hillfort — Near Beddgelert, Gwynedd, Wales

      Durocornovium — Swindon, England

      Eboracum — York, England

      Eidynburghe — Edinburgh, Scotland

      Lapis Tituli — Richborough, England

      Llongborth — Near Winchester, England

      Londinium — London, England

      Luguvalium — Carlisle, Cumbria, England

      Mercredesburne — Near Bexhill, East Sussex, England

      Mount Badon — Herefordshire Beacon, Malvern Hills, England

      Netley — Netley Marsh, Near Southampton, England

      Pons Aelius — Newcastle, England

      Ratae Corieltauvorum — Leicester, England

      Venta Belgarum — Winchester, England

      MAP KEY

      KINGDOMS AND DUKEDOMS OF BRITAIN

      A – GODODDIN

      B – STRATHCLYDE

      C – BRYNEICH

      D – EBRAUC

      E – ANGLIAN TERRITORY (PART OF EBRAUC)

      F – RHEGED

      G – PENNINES (SPLIT FROM RHEGED)

      H – LUITCOYT (SPLIT FROM RHEGED)

      I – ELMET

      J – MERCIA TERRITORY

      K – GWYNEDD

      L – CERREDIGION (SPLIT FROM GWYNEDD)

      M – POWYS

      N – DYFED

      O – BRYCHEINIOG

      P – GLYWYSING

      Q – GWENT

      R – ERGYNG

      S – DUMNONIA

      T – ATREBATIA

      U – GLOUVIA

      V – LUNDUN

      W – SAXON TERRITORIES (PART OF LUNDUN)

      X – DAL RAITA

      Y – PICTS & CALEDONIANS

      Z – IRELAND

      LOCATIONS IN BRITAIN

      CAPITALS

      A - DIN EIDYN/EIDYNBURGHE

      B

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