CHAPTER IX. The battles of Arthur; his real character; progress of the Saxons in the North. The final establishment of the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms. TWELVE great battles are ascribed to Arthur, fought either in the north, or in the west of England. Of these battles, they may all have been real actions: but in all probability this prince was present at few only of them; as Arthur had no real authority but in Cornwall and Wales; although by his alliance with Modred, a prince of Cumberland, some transactions in the North are ascribed to him. He was engaged in many domestic contests; but it is probable he never had any engagement of consequence with the Saxons, until he headed the British force at the battle of Badon Mount, near Bath. This decisive battle was fought with Kenric, A. D. 520, according to Usher; or 530, according to other accounts. The last will agree with that old chronology preserved in the red book of Hergest; and given in the Cambrian Register. According to the statement there contained, 128 years expired from the age of Gwrtheyrn (or Vortigern) to the battle of Badon, in which Arthur and the British chiefs overcame the Saxons. Twentytwo years further expired from thence to the battle of Camlan, and the death of the British hero. A little previous to this was fought the battle of Llong-borth, recorded by the muse of the venerablę Llowarch. A chieftain of Devonshire, called Geraint ap Erbin, fell in that contest; and his elegy is preserved among the remains of the Cumbrian Bard, who gives a poetic description of the battle in all the horrors that attend war and slaughter. Mr. Turner very plausibly conjectures that this was the unfortunate battle fought with Porta, on his first landing at the place, called still by his name, PORTSMOUTH. Another of Arthur's battles is mentioned by Llowarch; it was fought on the Llawen; and the Bard lost Gwen, his favourite son. The bravery of this youth is set forth in expressive and laconic terms by his father. "As he was my son, he did not recede." Llywarch had been driven from his territory in the North; and he, with his sons, found a refuge in Powys; and valiantly continued to support the British cause. In the battle of Bath, or Badon Mount, Arthur de feated the Saxons under Kenric. Previous to this Gildas, who dates his birth at this time, says, the Saxons and the native Britons alternately prevailed, but here the victory was decisive. In consequence of the success of Arthur in this engagement, the Silurian territories were preserved inviolate; and the natives left in possession of the country to the west of the Severn. This famous battle is noticed by an ancient Bard: Gwae hwynthwy ynvydion, pan vu gwaith Badvon Arthur ben haelion y llavneu bu gochion Gouynion gwaed daredd mach deyrn y gogledd. Woe to them, the miserable ones, because of the action at Badon. Arthur was at the head of the brave, when the blades were red with blood: He avenged on his enemies the blood of warriors; Warriors who had been the defence of the kings of the North. Arthur, according to the fictions of Geoffry of Monmouth, is said to have achieved the highest renown by his battles on the continent, and in Ireland, as well as in his native isle and even as to his invincible prowess at home, it has been greatly exaggerated, so that his very existence has been called in question. Caerleon, being the seat of the Silurian princes, was Arthur's court he had also a palace in Cornwall, probably at Lestwithiel, and another at Penryn, in Cumberland. All the princes of the Cymry acknowledged his authority, and willingly followed him for many years to battle; but he was not invincible, he was unfortunate like other men, and had to retreat before Kerdic, his powerful antagonist, who, in spite of Arthur and the Britons, established himself in the kingdom of Wessex. All the contests of Arthur were not fought with the Saxons, for he was engaged in domestic contests with native chieftains; and his ambition procured him enemies, and his friends acted a treacherous part towards him. These circumstances led to the disastrous battle of Camlan, where this valiant prince fell, a prey to civil discord. Modred, the nephew of Arthur, being the son of his sister Anna, married to a chieftain in the north, acted a base and unworthy part. This young prince seduced the queen, and eloped with her into Cumberland, where he fomented disturbances; and, rather than submit himself to his uncle and his sovereign, he raised a civil war; and thus the British princes, who ought to have had one common interest, spent their strength in domestic feuds. The consequence of this state of discord was the ruin of the native Britons, by the loss of the brave Arthur, who fell by the hands of the perfidious Modred. There appears to be plausible reasons for disputing the scene of this action, which brought the life and reign of Arthur to a termination. Camlan is supposed to have been in Cornwall; and this seems to be confirmed by the account handed down to us, of the interment of the prince in the isle of Avalon, or Glastonbury, where his corpse might easily have been conveyed by water. But as the territory of Modred was in the north, the fatal battle most probably was fought on that side of the island; and it may have been at Kirby Lonsdale, agreeable to the opinion of Mr. Carte.* This, however, if admitted, entirely does away the magnificent tale of Arthur's interment among the holy martyrs and illustrious saints at Glastonbury. As to the account of Arthur's interment at Glastonbury, it rests upon the authority of Giraldus Cambrensis, a writer, it is true, too respectable to fabricate a tale, but easily induced to credit every thing of the marvellous. This celebrated character, who flourished in the reign of Henry II., affirms, that he was present at the abbey, when a leaden cross was taken up, with an inscription in rude, but legible characters, to this effect: HIC JACET SEPULTUS INCLYTUS REX ARTHURUS IN INSULA AVALONIA. But all this might have been managed by the monks to advance the credit and sanctity of the place; and by the desire of the king to do away the delusion of some of the Welsh, that Arthur was to re-appear on the stage of the world, and restore to them their long-lost sovereignty. It was perhaps to gratify the national vanity of a subjugated people, that Henry the eighth gave his eldest son the name of Arthur. It may be observed, that in the family of the duke of Beaufort (earl of Gla * See Carte's History of England; and Smollett. morgan, lord of Ragland and Chepstow), this once royal name is still cherished: but what appears to an antiquary a striking coincidence between ancient and modern times is, the name of the first hero in Europe in the present age, the illustrious ARTHUR, Duke of Wellington.* It has been very usual with some writers, to impute every fiction that they discover, connected with our ancient history, to the Welsh Bards; but such gentlemen may be informed, that truth has always been the motto of our Bards. It is certain, that in the fragments of the very ancient Bards we have a great deal of mythology: but that was never designed to pass for history. The fabulous narratives which found their way into our old chronicles are in prose, and were brought over from the continental Bretons. It is from thence we have those tales, which transport us into fairy regions, beyond the limits of all historical probability. These Armoric fictions of king Arthur and his famous Caliburno, Sir Launcelot, Sir Tristam, and all the rest of the knights of the Round Table, are not found in the simple fragments of our ancient poetry. The Arthur of Geoffry, and the object of veneration in the Druid mythology, have nothing to do with our Silurian hero, the son of Mouric; known more commonly under the name of Uthyr, the pendragon, or generalissimo. The reader who wishes to have the history of this great chieftain cleared up, should consult the Anglo-Saxon history of Mr. Turner. "That there was a prince of this name," says Mr. Owen, "or who had such an appellation given him, on * The name of Arthur implies either a person of high renown, or one of undaunted fierceness; from the Welsh name (Arth) for a bear. Thus we have the ursa major and minor among the constellations. The Welsh call the constellation Lyra Telyn Arthur, or Arthur's lyre. 2 |