Arthur and the Fall of Roman Britain (A Review)
A Narrative History for Fifth Century Britain
Feb 5, 2009
Writing a history book about “King Arthur” has always been something of a fool’s errand. There just isn’t enough historical material, and what few sources do exist are often fragmentary, obscure, and conflicting. However, in this new book, Edwin Pace finds a way of combining a number of hitherto unconnected sources to create a believable and thought-provoking chronology of the legendary Arthur.
His hypothesis is simple enough: Arthur is Vortigern, the man dubbed “The Proud Tyrant” by the sixth-century writer, Gildas. Vortigern led the British in the period after the final Roman withdrawal from Britain and is most famous for inviting Saxon mercenaries to guard Britain from Pict and Irish raiders. Pace also states that Arthur is synonymous with two other figures, Riothamus who led a British army onto the continent in the fifth century, and Cateyrn who died on the battlefield at Camlann. Although it may seem a bit over-the-top to say that Arthur was all of these people, it is worth mentioning that most of these “names” were probably not names at all, but titles. That was almost certainly true for Vortigern and Riothamus and may have even been true for Arthur.
With this thesis in place, Pace goes on to tell a cohesive story of Britain in the fifth century. Much of this story revolves around Arthur's relationship with Ambrosius Aurelianus. Most histories place Arthur after Ambrosius, but the author here turns that on its head, and states that Ambrosius may have even been Arthur’s son. What is especially interesting in the narrative is how the author connects the events of Britain to what is happening in the rest of the Roman world. Normally, stories of Arthur isolate him in Britain, but providing this bigger picture gives the whole story a ring of added truth.
Edwin Pace’s arguments are many, complex and well-constructed. Unless the reader is very knowledgable in Arthurian lore, he or she will have to pay attention just to keep up. That said, Pace has a smooth style of writing that is easy and enjoyable to read. In a few places he includes a bit of fictitious narrative, which some might find distracting from an otherwise historically grounded work, but others might find a refreshing break.
In the end, what really makes this book appealing is the author’s attempt to be inclusive regarding historical material. Because of their seemingly conflicting nature, Arthurian scholars have often spent a lot of time deciding which sources not to believe. Pace, on the other hand, does his best to include them all. Although he concedes that many sources confuse date, the writers were still attempting to pass along the facts as best they knew them.
Although readers may not be convinced with every point the author makes, most will probably accept that his argument is a completely valid theory.
Arthur and the Fall of Roman Britain: A Narrative History for Fifth Century Britainby Edwin Pace. Invermark Books (2008).
