SEPTEMBER MEETING
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At this meeting we discussed King Arthur and his Knights, and the picture emerges of knights in shining armour on horseback, with lance, sword and shield riding off to do battle against evil on behalf of the damsel in distress. This is however the romantic picture as painted by the Medieval Historians in the 11/12th centuries who were collecting and writing his story down.
The reality is very different. His story is deeply entwined in Celtic mythology and starts as the Roman Legions finally leave Britain in AD410.
From the emerging chaos of many tribes seeking to dominate , a leader called Vortigern emerges and by AD425 has declared himself high king over all Britain, but as he hated the Roman Imperial State System he dismantled all of it and so left Britain in a confused and shaky state and open to all invaders. So he did what the Romans did and invited some Saxons over to defend the British against invading tribes which they did. Then the Saxons wanted more land and trouble started.
In about AD450 Vortigern and many of the tribal leaders had a meeting with the Saxon leaders Hengest and Horsa and tried to sort things out, but the Saxons drew their knives and killed all of the British leaders - in the” Night of the Long Knives“- except Vortigern who was married to Hengist’s daughter. Vortigern fled and his son tried to fight on, but was poisoned by the Saxons.
After this , power in Britain passed into the hands of a coalition of Lords under the leadership of Ambrosius Aurelianus, who was referred to as the last of the Romans and represented the faction who wanted a return to Roman ways.
One source mentions his royal parents, suggesting he may have sprung from a marriage between an old noble British family and a high ranking Roman Official .
Under his leadership they took up arms against the invaders of Britain, the Saxons were pinned down along the east coastal regions, trade re-established with the continent and a basic form of law and order was established in the land. This ran fitfully for 30/40 years. Indeed , one report states that some of the Saxons and Jutes emigrated as they felt that the British venture had failed.
In the late 5th century King Arthur emerges as the leader of the British ,as the Saxons and other foreign tribes start to move westwards again across Britain. It is said that Arthur fought at least 12 battles against the invading hordes in different parts of Britain. The last one -called the Battle of Badon- probably at the beginning of the 6th century , soundly defeated the Saxons and their allies and the result was again their being confined to the eastern coastal regions for probably another 30/40 years until after Arthur’s death . Then when the Saxons, Jutes and Angles again started to move across Britain they came this time as settlers rather than invaders and started to marry into British families and establish a stock that would eventually become a new race called the Anglo Saxons.
Michael Page.
The next meeting will be on Monday 18th October, and the subject will be South America.
