The "Against Armed Tribes" Reconstruction of the LAC Stone
Severan Campaigns Overlaid with the Arthurian Battles of the HISTORIA BRITTONUM
Over the last few months I've been becoming more and more convinced that the legendary Arthur who supposedly belongs to the 5th-6th centuries is actually a displaced reference to the early 3rd century L. Artorius Castus. Several blog posts have been written on this idea (not new! - although my approach is), starting with a proposed reading for the Castus memorial stone which allows for us to have this Roman officer leading legions to the North under Severus.
I've already alluded to what appear to be some interesting coincidences in the sources. Some links concerning these follow:
Several things really stand out for me. First, the Arthurian battles of the HB, discounting Badon, all seem to accord really well with what we know of Castus and the Severan campaigns. Second, the Arthurian tradition on more than one front involves both the Maeatae (Irish Miathi) and the Caledonii - the two tribal confederacies against which Severus fought. Third, the Tribruit battle seems to be the Trajectus at North Queensferry associated with Severus's son, Caracalla, who was on the expedition with the emperor. Fourth, Uther is carried on a litter during his northern wars, just as was the case with Severus. [Granted, there were other known leaders who were conveyed in this manner during battles. I have written about the first know occurrence of this motif, one that features Augustus. There was also a count in 9th century Brittany whose name somewhat resembles the Pascent of Vortigern's family. But none of the other litter-borne entities fought in the North of Britain.] Fifth, in the 5th century hagiography we have St. Germanus first go to Britain with a certain Lupus, and then on his second foray with a Severus. The saint quite improbably commands the British army in a famous battle. Lupus was the name of the governor under Severus when troubles started with the Northern tribes. And, of course, Caracalla would later assume the title of Germanicus. Sixth, the Camlan battle of the Annales Cambriae appears to be a chronologically shifted reference to Arthur of Dyfed and does not involve an otherwise mysterious predecessor of the same name. This along with the claimed death of Arthur of Dalriada while fighting the Miathi (!) does not help us establish the existence of a 5th-6th century prototype for our hero.
But I had totally forgotten that Uther's Northern wars are distinctly devided into two phases - something which again mirrors what happened with Severus. When we take out the Ygerna interlude, we have Uther starting his rule at York. Obviously, this was the headquarters of Severus during the Roman period.
After York, Uther goes to Mount Damen, which I have recently identified as the mountain of the Damnonii. Hence Alclud then appearing in the story. The Caledonii were immediately north of Strathclyde.
For the second campaign, Uther goes to Albany to assist Lothian, the old Votadini/Gododdin kingdom. The Maeatae/Miathi were immediately to the west of Lothian. St. Albans is a blunder on Geoffrey's part or an intentional alteration; it signifies that Uther actually died in Albany, i.e. Scotland. We know this because Picts are involved and it is safe to say there were no Picts in St. Albans. Yes, Severus died at York, but he was planning more action in the Scotland when that happened.
I really see no reason to keep fighting what seems to be the inevitable conclusion to my Arthurian research: the Irish-descended dynasties in Britain took the name Arthur in the 6th and subsequent centuries of the Dark Ages because it had achieved truly legendary - one might say mythological - status among the British of the North. Yet the man upon which the legend was based was not British. Castus was Roman. And we see the same Irish families "white-washing" their early pedigrees by substituting Roman names for Irish ones. The 3rd century leader of legions to the North in only a few centuries had become a sort of savior figure and so he was put to good propagandist use as war-leader who had vanquished the invading Saxons.
Before I suggested ARM.GENTES for the Castus inscription, we could not build a good case for Arthur originating with Castus. Why? Because we needed a man who had made himself remembered in Britain. And to be remembered he had to be a part of something like the Severan campaigns against the Northern tribes.
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