BOOK III. 530. commander and the conductor of the toil of war; but Geraint is profusely celebrated with dignified periphrasis. 30 In the same manner Arthur appears in the Afallenau of Myrddin; and in Taliesin he is mentioned as a character well known and reverenced31, but not idolised; yet he was then dead, and all the actions of his patriotism and valour had been performed. Not a single epithet is added, from which we can discern him to have been that whirlwind of war which swept away in its course all the skill and armies of Europe. That he was a courageous warrior is unquestionable; but that he was the miraculous Mars of the British history, from whom kings and nations sunk in panic, is completely disproved by the temperate encomiums of his contemporary bards. One fact is sufficient to refute all the hyperboles of Jeffry, whose work has made him so extravagantly great. Though Arthur lived and fought, yet the Anglo-Saxons were not driven from the island, but gradually advanced their conquest, with progressive dominion, whether he was alive or whether he was dead. Reflecting on this unquestionable fact, we may hesitate to believe that Arthur was victorious in all his battles 32, because, if he wielded the whole force of Britain, and only fought to conquer, what rescued Cerdic, Ella, the son of Hengist, and the invaders of Essex and East-Anglia from absolute destruction? 30 As "the glory of Britain-the terrifier of the foe-the molester of the enemy-the great son of Erbin-the strenuous warrior of Dyvnaint." Llywarch, p. 3-7. 31 Myrddin styles him modur tyrfa, king of a multitude. Afall. 1. W. A. 153. 32 Nennius, c. 62., says, this "in omnibus bellis victor extitit." But the author quoted by Higden, p. 224., says more probably of Cerdic, who often fought with Arthur, "si semel vinceretur, alia vice acrior surrexit ad pugnam."-Gildas, s. 26., implies an alternation of victory previous to the battle of Bath. The MS. Chron. Divis., cited by Langhorn, 70., affirms it. The Welsh triads notice many of Arthur's friends and warriors; and mention one stanza as his composition. But this must be mere, tradition. Sef ynt fy nhri chadfarchawg, To me there are three heroes in battle; СНАР. III. 530. Arthur perished at last ingloriously, in a civil feud His death. with Medrawd his nephew, who is said to have engrossed the affections of Gwenhyfar, his wife. But as the blow of Arthur on Medrawd is mentioned as one of the most mischievous blows in Britain 34, this may have been the immediate cause of Medrawd's hostility. The character of Medrawd has been branded with much reproach by the Welsh, because their favourite Arthur perished in the war which he excited. But there is a triad which records his gentleness, good nature, and engaging conversation; and declares that it was difficult to deny him any request. 35 He must have been powerfully supported, to have raised an army capable of confronting Arthur in the field. Maelgwn, who reigned in Gwynedd, seems to have been one of Medrawd's allies; for Gildas inculpates him for having destroyed the king his uncle, with his bravest soldiers. 36 The conflict took place at Camlan, where both Arthur and Medrawd fell 37: Arthur, mortally wounded, was carried out of the field. From the coast of Cornwall he was conveyed into Somersetshire. Sailing along the shore they reached the Uzella, which they 33 Trioedd 29. p. 62. 35 Trioedd 83. p. 18. 31 Trioedd 51. p. 13. This battle is placed in 542, by the Annals in Wharton's Anglia Sacra, vol. ii. p. 648.; by many authors cited by Usher, Ant. p. 521.; and by Jeffry and the Welsh Brut ab Arthur. 542. BOOK 542. His death concealed. His family. ascended, and the king was committed to the care of his friends in Glastonbury 38, but their skill could not avert the fatal hour. re-appear, The death of Arthur was long concealed, and a wild tale was diffused among the populace, that he had withdrawn from the world into some magical region; from which at a future crisis he was to and to lead the Cymry in triumph through the island. Why this fiction was invented, we may now in vain inquire. It could not repress the ambition of the Saxons, because the temporary absence of Arthur was sufficient to favour their wishes; and if his living authority could not prevent British insurrection, was it probable that his residence in another region would avail? Yet Taliesin industriously sang that Morgana promised, if he remained a long time with her, to heal his wounds; and it is notorious that the return of Arthur was a fond hope of the people for many ages. Perhaps it was an illusion devised to avert the popular vengeance from those who, by aiding Medrawd, had contributed to produce the lamented event 39; or perhaps some, affecting to reign in trust for Arthur, conciliated the public prejudice in favour of their government, by thus representing that they governed only for him. Of the family of Arthur we know little. We hear of Noe in Caermarthenshire, reputed to be his son; another son, Llechau, is celebrated as an accomplished warrior, 40 His sister Anna married Llew, brother of the famous Urien, and son of Cynvarch; Medrawd was her son. 41 The marriage of Anna united the See Jeffry's curious poem, his best work, MSS. Cott. Lib. Vesp. E. 4. See, also, Giraldus Spec. Eccles. dist. ii. c. 9., cited apud Usher, p. 523. 39 Matth. Westm., p. 192., declares that the king voluntarily concealed himself while dying, that his enemies might not triumph, nor his friends be molested. 40 MSS. Vesp. A. 14. p. 57. Trioedd 10. p. 3. 41 See the genealogy in Mr. Owen's Life of Llywarch. kings of the Northern Britons in consanguinity with CHAP. Arthur. III. 542. covered in 1189. But though the friends of Arthur concealed the His replace of his interment, a future age discovered it. mains disIn the year 1189, when romance had begun to magnify his fame, his body was diligently sought for in the abbey of Glastonbury. The circumstances attending this search give us the first clear and historical certainty about this celebrated man, and are therefore worth detailing. They have been transmitted to us by Giraldus Cambrensis, who saw both the bones and the inscription, as well as by a monk of the abbey; and the same facts are alluded to by William of Malmsbury, a contemporary, and by others. The substance of the account of Giraldus is this. 42 Henry the Second, who twice visited Wales, had heard, from an ancient British bard, that Arthur was interred at Glastonbury, and that some pyramids marked the place. The king communicated this to the abbot and monks of the monastery, with the additional information, that the body had been buried very deep to keep it from the Saxons; and that it would be found not in a stone tomb, but in a hollowed oak. There were two pyramids or pillars at that time standing in the cemetery of the abbey. They dug between these till they came to a leaden cross lying under a stone, which had this inscription, and which Giraldus says he saw and handled-"Hic jacet sepultus inclytus Rex Arthurus in insula Avallonia."43 Below this, at the depth of sixteen feet 42 This account of Giraldus corresponds with that of the monk of Glastonbury, which Leland has extracted in his Assert. Art. p. 50. ; and Usher in his Antiq. p. 117. Malmsbury more briefly alludes to it, De Ant. Glast. 43 A fac-simile of this inscription is given in Gibson's Camden, p. 66.; and in Whitaker's Manchester, part ii. Dr. Whitaker was told that the cross had then lately been in the possession of Mr. Chancellor Hughes, at Wells. The form of the letters suits the age of Arthur. BOOK III. 542. from the surface, a coffin of hollowed oak was found, containing bones of an unusual size. The leg-bone was three fingers (probably in their breadth) longer than that of the tallest man then present. This man was pointed out to Giraldus. The skull was large, and showed the marks of ten wounds. Nine of these had concreted into the bony mass, but one had a cleft in it, and the opening still remained; apparently the mortal blow. 44 Giraldus says, in another place, that the bones of one of Arthur's wives were found there with his, but distinct, at the lower end. Her yellow hair lay apparently perfect in substance and colour, but on a monk's eagerly grasping and raising it up, it fell to dust. 45 The bones were removed into the great church at Glastonbury, and deposited in a magnificent shrine, which was afterwards placed, in obedience to the order of Edward I., before the high altar. He visited Glastonbury with his queen, in 1276, and had the shrine of Arthur opened to contemplate his remains. They were both so interested by the sight, that the king folded the bones of Arthur in a rich shroud, and the queen those of his wife; and replaced them reverentially in their tomb. 46 The circumstances of Arthur's funeral could be known only from Welsh traditions. Giraldus has left us one of these: "Morgan, a noble lady, proprietor of this district, and patroness of the Abbey, and related to Arthur, had the king carried, after the battle of Camlan, to the island called Glastonbury, to heal his 44 Matthew Paris notices the discovery of the bones, but says that it was occasioned by their digging the grave of a monk, who had an earnest desire to be buried in that spot. It is not improbable that this may have been a further inducement with the convent to have the spot dug. 45 Girald. Institutio Principis. ap. Lel. 47. This work still remains in MS. in the British Museum. 46 Mon. Glast. Lel. 55. |