The Arthurian Question

: Explorations in Geohistorical Methodology

Abstract

The chief difficulty confronting the student of Arthurian origins is the paucity of contemporary source material. Here, I will be exploring a new approach to the earliest Welsh and Cambro-Latin sources, considering what historical value can
be extracted from this material by augmenting standard procedures of textual criticism and philological analysis with analytical perspectives derived from network analysis, fuzzy logic, and meme theory. In this way, I hope to develop a transferable ‘geohistorical methodology’ that is applicable to other cultural historical questions from protoliterate domains of this kind. The geoethnic distribution of the name Art[h]ur as a personal name in the post-Roman world indicates the Cambro-Gaelic communities of the North Channel region as the probable point of origin for the historical Arthur and his legendary complex. Of the known historical Arthurs, Artúr mac Áedáin emerges as the most plausible candidate, though we cannot rule out the possibility of an earlier namesake from the same milieu. Geohistorical analysis of the Battle List and the Arthurian allusion in the Gododdin B-text suggests two streams of tradition – one Latinate and ecclesiastical, the other courtly and vernacular – both emanating from the Scottish Borders/Central Belt context. The folk-topography of the Twrch Trwyth legend may indicate a third stream of Arthurian tradition, mediated into South Wales via the Irish Sea networks. The convergence of these streams resulted in the ‘Arthur of the Welsh’, whose syncretic legendary complex was witnessed variously by Geoffrey of Monmouth and the compiler of Culhwch ac Olwen. What is offered here is a framework for probabilistic analysis rather than a certain answer to the Arthurian question. A pedagogic summary of the geohistorical methodology and its various tools and techniques is presented in the appendices, along with relevant technical documentation and some suggested future applications and directions of development.

Date of Award	2025
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	Aberystwyth University
Supervisor	Eurig Salisbury (Supervisor) & Simon Rodway (Supervisor)