The Arthurian legend experienced a profound change in the 12th century; some would argue that this was when the real legend began. Previously Arthur had been a soldier, a warrior, the Dux Bellorum leading the British post-Roman resistance against Germanic invaders; but this same Arthur had also ventured into the Otherworld fighting giants, witches and hunting a supernatural boar; treading the border between history and myth. Unlike other heroic precursors, such as Charlemagne who could be used by Norman monarchs to legitimise their claims to the throne, the historicity of Arthur of Britain was unproven.
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| King Arthur (14th Century Tapestry) |
This was to change in the 12th century when Arthur was promoted to Emperor taking his armies to war in Europe and becoming firmly rooted in the historical past. Geoffrey of Monmouth, considered the Father of the Arthurian Legend, can be seen as the starting point behind this new all-conquering Arthur in his Historia Regum Britanniae (History of the Kings of Britain, c.1136). However, although Geoffrey's work was generally well received there were doubtors who accused him of lying and inventing his history of Arthur. Geoffrey claimed he translated his account from an ancient book given to him by Walter, Archdeacon of Oxford, from which he constructed a noble history of the Britons, from their founder Brutus of Troy (c.12th century BC) to the last Welsh king Cadwallader (7th century AD). The story of Arthur occupies Books 9-11, but his death is shrouded in mystery; Geoffrey has the mortally wounded king taken to Avallon to be cured of his wounds, a mystical isle where his sword was forged.
Geoffrey’s work is seen a major transformation in the Arthurian legend; Post-Galfridian Arthurian works portray his influence showing the popularity of his Historia among medieval authors (over 200 manuscripts survive).
Following Geoffrey, the Norman poet Wace put Geoffrey’s Chronicle into Old Norman dialect, indicating his target audience. Wace based his Roman de Brut (c. 1155) on Geoffrey’s Historia and introduced the Round Table into the Arthurian legend. The Brut of Layamon, an English priest, followed around 50 years later, putting the ‘Chronicle of Britain’ into English poetry for the first time, incorporating items from Welsh tradition not found in either Geoffrey or Wace.
By now the Brut tradition of British history had been established, with Welsh versions appearing in the 13th century, yet two major events in the last quarter of the 12th century spurred an outburst of Arthurian literature.
In 1190-91 the grave of King Arthur and his Queen Guinevere had been discovered in the monk’s cemetery at Glastonbury Abbey. An inscription on a leaden cross found in the grave confirmed this place was indeed ‘Avallon’. Around this time the French poet Chrétien de Troyes introduced the 'Grail' to the Matter of Britain in his final Arthurian Romance Perceval, or the Story of the Grail. Chrétien left his tale of Perceval unfinished which left a multitude of later writers free to complete the interpretation of the Grail in their own words.
What caused this surge in Arthurian literature in the 12th century; could it have been a sudden interest in Arthuriana following the discovery at Glastonbury and Geoffrey’s tome, or was something else at play here?
Since Geoffrey of Monmouth, Arthurian literature was carefully shaped over the next two hundred years or so with all these threads linked to a common patronage. This has been interpreted as the use of the Arthurian legend by one particular Royal dynasty as political propaganda to establish their origins in legitimacy to the English throne.
The First Planagenet King of England
The House of Plantagenet originated in the French region of Anjou, whose inhabitants were known as Angevins. The dynasty begins with Geoffrey V, Count of Anjou who married the Empress Matilda, daughter of Henry I of England, known as Henry Beauclerc, the fourth son of William the Conqueror. Geoffrey of Anjou wore a sprig of the yellow broom plant, ‘planta genista’ in Latin, which attracted the epithet “Plantagenet”. Geoffrey and Matilda had a son, named Henry, known as “Curtmantle”.
Henry Curtmantle spent the years from age 9 – 13 at the court of his uncle Robert, Earl of Gloucester. Geoffrey of Monmouth had dedicated his History of the Kings of Britain to Robert who was also a staunch ally of Henry’s mother the Empress Matilda. It is likely that during his time at Robert’s court in Bristol the young Henry was first exposed to tales of King Arthur. The young Henry was also tutored by Thomas Becket, the man who later, when Archbishop, was murdered in Canterbury Cathedral by four knights in the employ of the Plantagenet king.
Following the death of of Henry I, King of England, in 1135 a succession crisis led to widespread civil unrest, known as The Anarchy, in England and Normandy. The sole legitimate heir to Henry I, his son William, had died in the ‘White Ship’ disaster of 1120. Henry tried, unsuccessfully, to install his daughter Matilda as his heir. Matilda was known as ‘Empress’ as she had moved to Germany to marry the Holy Roman Emperor Henry.
With no apparent male heir to Henry I, his nephew Stephen Blois seized the throne. In 1139 Matilda invaded south-west England with the support of her half-brother Robert of Gloucester, illegitimate son of Henry I and a very powerful Earl who some wanted to take the throne in his own right.
When Henry V, Holy Roman Emperor, died in 1125 Matilda was recalled to Normandy by her father Henry I to marry Geoffrey of Anjou in 1128 forming an alliance between between England and Anjou, securing the southern border of Normandy.
The Civil War raged on, becoming something of a stalemate; the way out was an agreement on the future succession of England. In 1153, the Treaty of Westminster stated that Stephen would remain monarch of England for the rest of his life but on his death Henry (Curtmantle), the eldest son of Geoffrey and Matilda would succeed him as king of England. Geoffrey of Monmouth appears on the Treaty as a witness.Henry inherited Anjou in 1151 and a year later became the Duke of Aquitaine by marrying Eleanor of Aquitaine, just weeks after the annulment of her marriage to King Louis VII of France. Eleanor and Louis had two daughters from their marriage, Marie and Alix. Marie was countess of Champagne and Troyes.
One year after signing the Treaty of Westminster Stephen died, Henry was crowned in 1154 as Henry II of England, followed by his sons Richard and John, commencing the era of the Plantagenets in England. At its peak, the Angevin Empire stretched from Scotland to the Pyrenees.
The Dynasty that Shaped a Legend
It can be of no coincidence that the commencement of the English reigns of the Plantagenet kings was also the time of a great upsurge in the literary evolution of the Matter of Britain centring on the emergence of the story of the Grail. Part of this was the coming togeteher of Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine who filled their courts with poets and writers. Which forces the question, were the Plantagenets responsible for moulding the Post-Galfridian legend of Arthur? Some points to consider:
• Robert, Earl of Gloucester, illegitimate son of Henry I of England, was patron of Geoffrey of Monmouth’s History of the Kings of Britain.
• Geoffrey’s book, c.1136, details the reign of Arthur from his miraculous conception at Tintagel Castle to his mysterious disappearance after the battle of Camlann.
• The mysterious disappearance of King Arthur fuels the Brittonic hope of his return. However, belief in Arthur’s survival was apparent in the south west of England before Geoffrey’s book as witnessed by the Canons of Laon in 1113.
• Young Henry Curtmantle (the future king Henry II of England), educated at Robert, Earl of Gloucesters’s court at Bristol.
• Robert was a staunch ally of the daughter of Henry I, the empress Matilda in the civil war against Stephen of Blois.
• The civil war concludes with an agreement in 1153, known as the Treaty of Westminster, that Stephen will reign as king of England but on his death the throne will pass to Matilda’s son Henry; Geoffrey of Monmouth is a witness to the treaty.
• In 1154 Matilda’s son is crowned Henry II of England. He marries Eleanor of Aquitaine two weeks after the annulment of her marriage to King Louis VII of France. Eleanor had two daughters from her first marriage, Marie and Alix.
• The union of Henry and Eleanor produced eight children, including the future kings of England, Richard the Lionheart, and John, and an explosion in Arthurian literature.
• Henry’s court is filled with poets and writers such as Walter Map and Gerald of Wales.
• c.1155 the Norman poet Robert Wace writes Roman de Brut, a verse Chronicle based on Geoffrey of Monmouth’s History of the Kings of Britain. Wace introduces the Round Table to the Arthurian story and dedicates his Brut to Queen Eleanor.
• Wace’s later work, the Roman de Rou, was commissioned by Henry II of England.
• Toward the end of the 12th century the English priest Layamon compiled a Chronicle of Britain, the first version of Geoffrey’s Chronicle in English. JSP Tatlock argues that Layamon wrote his Arthurian narrative with Arthur of Brittany in mind.
• Queen Eleanor and her daughters introduces chivalry and courtly romance to the Matter of Britain. Her daughter, Marie, Countess of Champagne, is patron to the French poet Chretien de Troyes.
• In Lancelot, the Knight of the Cart Chrétien introduces Lancelot and his love affair with Guinevere to Arthurian Romance. It is believed to have been a story assigned to him by Marie Countess of Champagne, and completed not by Chrétien himself, but by the clerk known as Godefroi de Leigni, which has been interpreted as his disapproval of the subject matter.
• In the last quarter of the 12th century Chrétien de Troyes introduced the Grail to the Matter of Britain in his final Arthurian Romance Perceval, or the Story of the Grail.
• Chrétien's Perceval is dedicated to his patron Philippe d'Alsace, Count of Flanders who provided him with the book that he claimed he adapted into the Story of the Grail. Philippe mediated in some of Henry II’s disputes with King Louis VII and Thomas Becket. Chrétien left his Perceval unfinished, possibly due to his own passing or Philippe’s death while on Crusade.
• The Lancelot-Grail (Vulgate Cycle) is (incorrectly) attributed to Walter Map, possibly in part, due to his presence at Henry’s court, but written certainly by a similar courtier.
• Without an heir himself, Richard I (The Lionheart) decreed that his nephew, Arthur of Brittany, should succeed him to the throne of England.
• In 1190-91 the grave of King Arthur was discovered at in the cemetery at Glastonbury Abbey. According to Gerald of Wales, the location was disclosed by Henry II. Henry had been a good patron to the Abbey, but once Richard I took the throne in 1189 funds were concentrated on the Crusades.
• The discovery in 1190-91 occurred during the short Abbacy (1189-1193) of Henry de Sully, appointed by Henry II’s son Richard I.
• We are told that Henry de Sully was not the same man who was abbot of Fécamp Abbey in Normandy, and the eldest brother of Stephen Blois, King of England, and Henry of Blois, Bishop of Winchester. Fécamp boasted relics of the Holy Blood which had promoted the abbey to a major site of pilgrimage. Sully apparently died at Fécamp in 1189, the year his namesake arrived at Glastonbury.
• In 1191 Richard presented Tancred of Sicilly with King Arthur’s sword ‘Caliburn’ in return for ships for the Third Crusade. Christopher Berard argues that Arthur of Brittany was to be knighted with the sword by Tancred at the wedding to his daughter.
• Glastonbury Abbey was hopeful of Arthur of Brittany’s patronage when he was king of England. However, it was not be as the young Prince mysteriously disappeared in 1203 leaving the throne of England clear for John, Richard’s younger brother, who many suspected of being implicated in the matter. Subsequently, John purposefully avoided Arthurian matters although he also possessed an Arthurian sword; Curtana said to be the sword Tristan used to kill the giant Morholt.
• Henry III granted the Twelve Hides of Glastonbury to the Abbey in 1227, making several later visits to the Abbey in 1235 and 1236, the first by a reigning monarch for two hundred years.
• In 1233 Richard, Earl of Cornwall, brother of Henry III, purchased the ‘Island of Tyntagel’ and is credited with building the castle there. According to Geoffrey of Monmouth, Tintagel was the place of King Arthur's conception. Later writers claimed it was the place of his birth. Richard had the castle built in an ancient style to appear older than it actually is.
• Edward I visits Glastonbury Abbey in 1278 and translates the remains of Arthur and Guinevere to a black marble tomb in front of the High Altar.
• Edward’s ceremonial visit to Glastonbury followed his success in the first Welsh war in which he defeated Llewelyn ap Gruffydd, self proclaimed Prince of Wales. A short period of peace followed but it was not long before Edward was at war with the Welsh again. At the end of Edward’s second Welsh war Arthur’s Crown had been surrendered and sent to Westminster Abbey and Llewelyn’s head followed it to be impaled on a stake at The Tower.
• Edward I constructs the Round Table, the top now hangs on the wall at the Great Hall at Winchester. The Round Table was probably constructed for a feast with chivalric tournaments, a trend that continued for centuries. In the 16th century king Henry VIII had the table repainted in Tudor colours with himself in Arthur’s place, as we see it today.
• In 1331 Edward I’s grandson Edward III made a similar visit to Glastonbury, and like his forebear called in to Queen Camel and the Iron Age hillfort at Cadbury which had been identified as Camelot from the 12th century, but never recorded as such in the Romances.
• Edward III continued to hold regular Round Table chivalric tournaments in which Arthurian characters and scenes were re-enacted.
• In 1343 Edward III set out his intention to create the Order of the Round Table, comprising 300 knights, but this was abandoned and in 1348 he announced the creation of the Order of the Garter, consisting of 25 knights, the number of places around the Winchester Round Table, with permanent places for the monarch and the Prince of Wales, a tradition that survives today.
• The origins of the Order’s garter and motto, “Honi Soit Qui Mal Y Pense” (Shame on Him Who Thinks Evil of It), are uncertain but it appears to share much with the 14th century English Arthurian work “Sir Gawain and the Green Knight.”
Arthurianism
When Henry II took the throne of England he was in need of a predecessor from the past to legitimise his rule. As Christopher Berard observes, Henry had the good fortune to be the first king of England with the opportunity to present himself in the model of Geoffrey of Monmouth’s “Arthur”.
"Arthurianism" is defined by Berard as imitation or evocation of Arthur in a political or cultural context. This included hosting and participation in Arthurian pageants, such as, but not restricted to, Round Table tournaments and patronage of Arthurian literature; anything that could draw comparison between contemporary figures and Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table. As we have seen above, this is something the early Plantagents did particularly well; by emulating Arthur they were bringing him back to life.
Arthurianism in Early Plantagenet England (Boydell Press, 2019) by Christopher Michael Berard charts the history of the first 150 years of Arthurianism, in five chapters from its beginnings under Henry II (154-1189), during the reigns of Richard I (1189-1199), John (1199-1216), Henry III (1216-1272), to its peak during the reign of Edward I (1272-1307).
© 2019 Edward Watson
http://clasmerdin.blogspot.co.uk
Further Reading:
Dan Jones, The Planatgenets (William Collins, 2013)
Martin Aurell, The Plantagent Empire 1154-1224 (Routledge, 2007)
Martin Aurell, 'Henry II and Arthurian Legend' in Henry II: New Interpretations, eds. Christopher Harper-Bill and Nicholas Vincent (Boydell Press, 2007)
Sian Echard, ed., The Arthur of Medieval Lation Literature (University of Wales Press, 2016)
Sian Echard, Arthurian Narrative in the Latin Tradition (Cambridge University Press, 2008)
Karen Jankulak, Geoffrey of Monmouth (University of Wales Press, 2010)
Michael Faletra, trans & ed.,The History of the Kings of Britain (Broadview Press, 2007)
JSP Tatlock, The Legendary History of Britain (Gordian Press, 1974)
Francis Ingledew, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight and the Order of the Garter (University of Notre Dame Press, 2006)
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