THE NORTHERN ARTHUR WINS HIS MOST IMPORTANT BATTLE

Bremetennacum Veteranorum Roman Fort, Ribchester

"A more common view, however, is that this poem [Geraint son of Erbin] should be understood against a background of legend containing traditions of the south-west into which Arthur has been introduced."

- Nerys Ann Jones, ARTHUR IN EARLY WELSH POETRY

I've at last had a chance to carefully consider all of my past research concerning the possibility of a Southern Arthur.  My findings for such were to be included in a major revision of my book THE ARTHUR OF HISTORY, but I've now decided to let those continue in article form on the present blog site.  Instead of again offering that volume, I have decided to only offer what I feel is my best theory for a Northern Arthur.  All of the material in support of the latter historical candidate can be found in my book THE BATTLE-LEADER OF RIBCHESTER.

Why, my readers will ask, did I ultimately forsake the Southern Arthur?

Because there was strong evidence in the earliest Arthurian sources for a northern chieftain.  In addition, the southern tradition seemed either to be dependent on the fiction of Geoffrey of Monmouth or was the result of folkloristic relocation, a process natural enough when one considers that the North had become totally English, while the Celtic "fringe" of Wales and Cornwall remained intact enough to receive and preserve the Arthurian story.  The same is even true of Brittany, where the Arthurian tradition enjoyed a sort of renaissance that led to the flowering of French Arthurian literature. 

My placement of Arthur at Ribchester of the Roman period Sarmatian veterans always answered a great many questions that had remained open for decades.  We were able to explain where his name came from, as memory of the 2nd century Roman prefect of the Sixth Legion, L. Artorius Castus, could easily have been passed down among the generations at Bremetennacum.  Castus, in turn, seems to have used Sarmatians for battle in Britain and on the Continent and, if I am right, he led 1500 of them to Rome to execute the Praetorian Prefect Perennis.  

My proposed father for Arthur at Ribchester - Sawyl Benisel, descendent of the dragon-standard bearing Sarmatians - permits us identify Uther Pendragon and his son Madog and grandson Eliwlad (= Madoc Ailithir son of Sawyl) and to show why all subsequent Arthurs belonged to Irish-descended dynasties in Britain (Sawyl married an Irish princess).  Uther's close connection to the god Mabon is a reflection of the Maponos worship at Ribchester.  And the Arthurian battles fit perfectly into a schema designed for a man born at Ribchester and fighting Saxons along the Roman Dere street.  Camboglanna and Aballava on Hadrian's Wall are, respectfully, almost certainly Arthur's Camlann and Avalon.

While the Southern Arthur is tempting, I now believe him to be a pale reflection of the real man who belonged to the North.  It is, unfortunately, true that the popular imagination is unable to disentangle itself from the Southern Arthur.  And anyone who allies himself with that tradition automatically not only gains a high degree of acceptance from the vast majority of Arthur "fans", but is able to tap into potential economic opportunities made available through exploitation of their enthusiasm.  I cannot allow myself to be guided by those things - not if I want to live with myself!  Certainly, I have no desire to be contrary for the sake of being contrary.  Still, I have to cling to what the current state of my research tells me is the most probable solution to the Arthurian mystery.  

I am reissuing my THE BATTLE-LEADER OF RIBCHESTER and will continue to periodically promote that title as my prevailing theory.