Research Catalog

Title

King Arthur's place in prehistory : the great age of Stonehenge / W. A. Cummins.

Author

Cummins, W. A. (Walter Arthur), 1929-

Publication

Far Thrupp, Stroud, Gloucestershire ; Wolfeboro Falls, NH : A. Sutton, 1992.

Items in the Library & Off-site

Holdings

Details

Description

x, 195 p. : ill.; 26 cm.

Summary

This search for the real King Arthur, behind Dark Age and medieval legend, is a fascinating piece of historical, archaeological and scientific detective work. Although there is a romantic popular image of Arthur and his knights of the Round Table, it has long been believed that the figure behind the legendary character was a resistance leader of the British against the threat of Saxon domination. Dr Cummins goes further, tracing the legend back to an earlier Bronze Age prototype for Arthur, who may be linked with the Wessex Culture, and Stonehenge in particular. The suggestion that a limited amount of genuine historical tradition about people and events in Bronze Age Britain has survived, heavily disguised, in classical and medieval sources, is unique. Dr Cummins's closely argued text is, however, coherent and convincing. His use of sources, such as the work of the much maligned twelfth-century historian Geoffrey of Monmouth, who links Arthur with Utherpendragon, Ambrosius, Merlin and Vortigern, throws new light on King Arthur, Stonehenge and the Bronze Age in general. Not only of interest to archaeologists and historians, but also to anyone who has ever been fascinated by the legend of King Arthur, this exciting and thought-provoking new book indicates that what happened in the second millennium BC at Stonehenge was of such intensity that its imprint was left on folk memory and preserved in oral tradition for over two thousand years - and even until today.

Subject

• Arthur, King
• Stonehenge (England)
• Great Britain > History > To 449
• Great Britain > History > Anglo Saxon period, 449-1066

Genre/Form

• History
• History.

Bibliography (note)

• Includes bibliographical references (p. 185-188) and index.

Processing Action (note)

• committed to retain

Contents

Pt. I. The Historical Sources -- Ch. 1. The Quest for Arthur -- Ch. 2. The Dark Ages: Arthur Disappears -- Ch. 3. Stonehenge Connection: The Temple of Ambrius -- Ch. 4. Greek Connection: The Hyperboreans -- Pt. II. Testing the Historical Sources -- Ch. 5. Stonehenge: Some Legends Tested -- Ch. 6. Stones from Ireland: Merlin Tested -- Ch. 7. Greek Contacts: The Hyperboreans Tested -- Ch. 8. Prehistoric Climate: Diodorus Tested -- Pt. III. The Great Age of Stonehenge -- Ch. 9. Merlin: Architect of Stonehenge -- Ch. 10. Stonehenge: Building Costs -- Ch. 11. The Temple of Ambrius: Religion of the Hyperboreans -- Ch. 12. Egyptian Analogy: Prehistoric Civilization in Britain? -- Ch. 13. Prehistoric Pilgrims and the Tourist Trade -- Ch. 14. Who was King Arthur? -- Ch. 15. Vortigern: Tyrant King and the End of Stonehenge.

ISBN

0750901861 :

LCCN

^^^93133160^

OCLC

• 28017872
• SCSB-10751347

Owning Institutions

Harvard Library