The Man Who Invented King Arthur (History's Greatest Fake) Part 3

Who invented King Arthur as we know him? In Part 3 of our 7-part history lecture series, we meet Geoffrey of Monmouth, the twelfth-century clergyman whose History of the Kings of Britain gave Arthur a crown, a wizard, a birthplace and an empire, and may be the greatest literary hoax of the Middle Ages. Merlin, Uther Pendragon, Tintagel, Guinevere, Mordred, Avalon and the sword Caliburnus (Excalibur) all appear in one book from around 1136, based on a source nobody has ever found. We explore why Norman kings, conquered Welsh and Bretons all loved the story, what critics like William of Newburgh and Gerald of Wales said about Geoffrey in his own lifetime, and how the poet Wace added the Round Table. IN THIS LECTURE YOU WILL LEARN: - Who Geoffrey of Monmouth was and why historians doubt his mysterious ancient book - How Merlin was created from earlier Welsh figures - The story of the red and white dragons and the dragon on the flag of Wales - How Tintagel became Arthur's birthplace - Why Arthur's European empire is pure invention - How the Round Table first appeared in Wace's Roman de Brut - Why powerful people needed Arthur to be a king If this lecture opened your eyes, LIKE the video, SHARE it with someone who loves legends, and SUBSCRIBE with notifications on so you never miss Part 4. UP NEXT: Part 4 - Lancelot and Camelot Were Invented: The Truth Behind Arthur's Legend BOOK SOURCES AND FURTHER READING: - Geoffrey of Monmouth, The History of the Kings of Britain, trans. Lewis Thorpe (Penguin Classics, 1966) - Wace, Roman de Brut: A History of the British, trans. Judith Weiss (University of Exeter Press) - Gerald of Wales, The Journey Through Wales and The Description of Wales, trans. Lewis Thorpe (Penguin Classics, 1978) - Nick Higham, King Arthur: Myth-Making and History (Routledge, 2002) - Thomas Green, Concepts of Arthur (Tempus, 2007) - Richard Barber, King Arthur: Hero and Legend (Boydell Press) #KingArthur #GeoffreyOfMonmouth #MedievalHistory