Looking around for evidence of such an expedition, he came on a fifth-century King of the Britons identified in contemporary sources as Riothamus or Riotimus (probably a title, ""Highest King,"" rather than a proper name), who is indeed reported to have led an army into Gaul against the Visigoths and whose dates can perhaps be juggled to accommodate at least some of the anti-Saxon campaigns claimed for the legendary Arthur. Ashe decided to examine a part of the legend that has seldom been regarded as central: the story that Arthur took an army to Burgundy in a campaign involving a Roman emperor. That identification, however, rests on some highly worthwhile thinking. The first two are fairly well-trodden ground, and Ashe tends to rather grand generalizations and summaries when not grappling with the specific details he needs to corroborate his identification. Ashe, author of several British-published books about the light shed on Arthurian legend by recent developments in pre-Saxon archaeology, provides a) a general popular survey of the major texts bearing or possibly bearing on Arthur (from Gildas, Nennius, and Geoffrey of Monmouth to chroniclers of the Frankish, Gothic, and Saxon migrations) b) a brief account of the survival of quasi-Roman values in the post-Roman West and c) a claim to have identified a historical original of the legendary Arthur. They have history and character and stories to tell other than the obvious ones.A step in an interesting direction.
Please remember that these are all vintage books that have often seen better days but, for me and hopefully you too, therein lies their charm.
Through our Etsy page we hope to be able to pass on to like minded souls some of the treasures we find on our wanderings. A Britain where the ghosts are unquiet, where the woods are alive and where distinctions between the present, the future and the past are permeable. Stories that explore a Britain other than the one we think we know. Wyrd Britain is a blog (and Facebook page) concerned with stories in, of, from and about the stranger places of Britain. In very good condition with some shelf wear and a small crease to the top left rear. Geoffrey Ashe is a shaker of establishment archaeology and ancient history and as such does scholars a good service - GLYN DANIELĬrisp, imaginative and contemporary.a book that will madden the academic historian and delight th ecommon reader. It attacks all the problems which have gathered around Arthur and te Grail legend, and makes what is perhaps the first coherent and cogent narrative out of the whole tangle - OBSERVER
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