[SunkenCiv]

Thanks for the pings.

Regarding the magic sword, I rather doubt it. I do wonder about the magic cauldron found in the Mabinogeon, though. ;')

Somewhere around here there's at least one past topic (2004, or earlier) in the GGG catalog about the various possible Arthurs. Every few years someone comes up with a different one. The trappings of the legend probably came from other, earlier tales (much as is generally held — not by me — to be the case for Homer's Iliad) of various origins, times, and characters. The French had a lot of influence over the Arthur story; however, the historical person is referenced, just not by name, by I think it was Gildas (he seems to have had a grudge against Arthur).

The name, Arthur, it has been suggested, is a compound of Arth and Ursa (Arthursa); both mean "bear" in Welsh and Latin, respectively. This may be even more appropriate just because the historical figure may be a composite of several medieval (or even pre-Roman) heroes, irrespective of the bits and pieces of unrelated lore plastered over him.

Camulodunum the Roman town in Britain was a Latin transliteration of a tribal name of some sort, and appears to have given us the name "Camelot" (again, that's from the period of French development of the story). One book about the hunt for an historical Arthur puts his capital in Viroconium, which is perhaps more likely a location than most other suggestions.

The Wansdyke apparently postdates Roman occupation, and was one of several "Dark Age" walls. That has been attributed to Arthur or his purported family. Wat's Dyke, in Wales, was not constructed in response to Offa's Dyke, but is in fact pre-Roman. I think the Wansdyke is held to postdate the Romans because part of it was laid down right over a Roman road.

To all -- please ping me to other topics which are appropriate for the GGG list. Thanks.

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[nopardons]

bttt

[SunkenCiv]

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