| Geoffrey Of Monmouth |
Article Index for Geoffrey Of |
Website Links For Geoffrey |
Information AboutGeoffrey Of Monmouth |
|
WRITINGS Geoffrey of Monmouth wrote several works of interest. The earliest one to appear was ''Prophetiae Merlini'' ("The Prophecies of Merlin"), which he wrote at some point before 1135. Geoffrey presented a series of , it was widely read — and believed — much as the prophecies of Nostradamus were centuries later; John Jay Parry and Robert Caldwell note that the ''Prophetiae Merlini'' "were taken most seriously, even by the learned and worldly wise, in many nations", and list examples of this credulity as late as 1445.''Arthurian Literature in the Middle Ages'', p. 79. Next was '' Historia Regum Britanniae '' (History of the Kings of Britain), the work best known to modern readers. It claims to relate the history of Britain down to the 7th century, but was in fact a work of fiction. (John Morris in ''The Age of Arthur'' calls it a deliberate spoof.) It includes numerous Legend s, including the claim that Trojan hero Aeneas was the ancestor of the first line of British kings. It is one of the first texts to mention King Arthur (having him subdue most of Europe, no less) and is the first surviving text to mention King Lear (as King Leir). Lastly, Geoffrey wrote the ''Vita Merlini'' ("The Life of Merlin") at some point between 1149 and 1151. This is Geoffrey's own retelling of the earlier Myrddin legend from Welsh tradition. All of these books were written in Latin , as were most learned works of the medieval period. Most modern scholars acknowledge Geoffrey's work to be largely fiction containing little trustworthy historical fact -- although many are tempted to agree with William Of Newburgh , who wrote around 1190 that "it is quite clear that everything this man wrote about Arthur and his successors, or indeed about his predecessors from Vortigern onwards, was made up, partly by himself and partly by others, either from an inordinate love of lying, or for the sake of pleasing the Britons."Quoted by Thorpe, ''Kings of Britain'', p. 17. Further, his structuring and reshaping of the Merlin and Arthur myths has had a huge influence in the perception of those figures ever since: he may be viewed as the major establisher of the Arthurian canon.Thorpe, ''Kings of Britain'', p. 20ff., particularly pp. 20–22 & 28–31. NOTES REFERENCES & FURTHER READING
EXTERNAL LINKS
English Translations Available on the Web:
|
|
|