The Myth of Arthur’s

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Geoffrey, Wace, and Layamon

 Geoffrey of Monmouth (1100 - 1155)

● Monmouth was likely the town he resided in

● He was a cleric and possibly Welsh
● His works were written in Latin
● His works discussed the History of Britain, the
excerpt in the book is from his work The History
of the Kings of Britain
● Many of his other works were focused around
King Arthur and the Prophet Merlin
● The legitimacy of his works has been doubted
Wace (1100-1174)

● Norman Poet
● His works were primarily French
● The excerpt in the book is his rendition of Geoffrey's
account of King Arthur’s Myth
● His works primarily focused on the history of Britain,
leading to his account of The Myth of King Arthur
● Other works: Roman De Rou, devoted to the Norman
Conquest
Layamon

● Poet of the late 12th/Early 13th Century

● Author of Brut, the poem noted in the text
● Member of a secular clergy
● Resided in Worcestershire
● Wrote biographical poems, and poems based on other
worldly events
Arthurian Timeline

http://www.ancient.eu/timeline/King_Arthur/
King Arthur Theories

● Was king Arthur ar real person, or just someone of myth

and literature?
● Many texts revolving around Arthur paint him to be a
man of great nobility and courage
● He was written about so often, that the reality of him and
his story became skewed
● King Arthur became a Christ-like figure throughout
history
Geoffrey's Rhetoric

● It’s been argued that Geoffrey's original text was actually ironic
in it’s tone
● In a way, it was meant to make satire of the noble sounding
speech that was often given
● Instead, it’s speculated that his text was actually given to warn
readers of his tone of naive acceptance of nobility and class
● However, Wace’s interpretation of the text actually presented
the story in more romanticized way than was originally
presented by Geoffrey
What exactly is Avalon?

● In the story, it’s perceived to be an almost angelic resting and

healing place in which King Arthur went to heal and rest
● However, it is speculated that Arthur’s body was actually buried
by a hermit in Glatsonbury Monestary
● This speculation was brought about by Thomas Mallory’s
introduction of the story The Whole Book of King Arthur and His
Knights of The Round Table
● Although this work in itself has been noted as being questioned
in its reliability
Works Cited

Newstead, Helaine. “About Geoffrey of Monmouth.” Latomus, vol. 10, no. 1, 1951, pp. 53–59. JSTOR.

Lloyd, John Edward. “Geoffrey of Monmouth.” The English Historical Review, vol. 57, no. 228, 1942, pp. 460–468.
JSTOR

MARTIN, CAROL A.N. “Hoel-Hearted Loyalty and the Ironization of Arthur in Geoffrey's ‘Historia Regum Britanniae.’”
Arthuriana, vol. 11, no. 3, 2001, pp. 21–48. JSTOR.

Newstead, Helaine. “About Geoffrey of Monmouth.” Latomus, vol. 10, no. 1, 1951, pp. 53–59. JSTOR.

Parry, Joseph D. “Following Malory out of Arthur's World.” Modern Philology, vol. 95, no. 2, 1997, pp. 147–169.
JSTOR.

Peyton, Henry H. “THE MYTH OF KING ARTHUR'S IMMORTALITY.” Interpretations, vol. 5, no. 1, 1973, pp. 55–71.
JSTOR.