Geoffrey of Monmouth (in Welsh: Gruffudd ap Arthur or Sieffre o Fynwy) (c. 1100 – c. 1155) was a clergyman and one of the major figures in the development of British history and the popularity of tales of King Arthur. Look up Welsh in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... August 5 - Henry I becomes King of England. ... Events Frederick I Barbarossa crowned Holy Roman Emperor. ... Clergy is the generic term used to describe the formal religious leadership within a given religion. ... English historians in the Middle Ages is an overview of the history of English historians and their works in the Middle Ages. ... A bronze Arthur in plate armour with visor raised and with jousting shield wearing Kastenbrust armour (early 15th century) by Peter Vischer, typical of later anachronistic depictions of Arthur. ...

Biography

Geoffrey's birthplace is unknown, but he may have been born in Monmouth in Wales, possibly of Breton ancestry. Certainly he had significant connections to Monmouth, as his name suggests, and the descriptions of Caerleon in Historia Regum Britanniae indicate familiarity with the area. He studied at Oxford University, where he met Walter, who was Archdeacon of Oxford. On 21 February 1152 Archbishop Theobald consecrated Geoffrey as bishop of St Asaph, having ordained him a priest 10 days before. "There is no evidence that he ever visited his see," writes Lewis Thorpe, "and indeed the wars of Owain Gwynedd make this most unlikely."^[1] Geoffrey attested about six different charters between the years 1129 and 1151; the date of his death is recorded in the Welsh Chronicles. Monmouth (Welsh: Trefynwy) is a town in south Wales, county town of the historic county of Monmouthshire. ... This article is about the country. ... Historical province of Brittany, showing the main areas with their name in Breton language The traditional flag of Brittany (the Gwenn-ha-du), formerly a Breton nationalist symbol but today used as a general civic flag in the region. ... Monmouth (Welsh: Trefynwy) is a town in south Wales, county town of the historic county of Monmouthshire. ... Caerleon (Welsh: ) is a suburban village and community, situated on the River Usk in the northern outskirts of the city of Newport (of which it is also a electoral ward) in south-east Wales. ... Geoffrey of Monmouths Historia Regum Britanniæ (English: The History of the Kings of Britain) was written around 1136. ... The University of Oxford, located in the city of Oxford in England, is the oldest university in the English-speaking world. ... Events March 4 - Frederick I Barbarossa is elected King of the Germans Eleanor of Aquitaine has her marriage to Louis VII annulled May 18 - Eleanor of Aquitaine marries Henry of Anjou Church of Ireland acknowledges Popes authority Almohad Dynasty conquers Algeria Establishment of the archbishopric of Nidaros (Trondheim), Norway... The Archbishop of Canterbury is the spiritual leader and senior clergyman of the Church of England, recognized by convention as the head of the worldwide Anglican Communion. ... Theobald (died April 18, 1161) was Archbishop of Canterbury from 1138 to 1161. ... The Bishop of Saint Asaph is the Ordinary of the Church in Wales Diocese of Saint Asaph. ... Lewis Thorpe, Professor of French at the University of Nottingham, translator, and husband of the Italian scholar and lexicographer Barbara Reynolds. ... Owain Gwynedd (in English, Owen) (c. ...

Writings

Geoffrey wrote several works of interest. The earliest one to appear was Prophetiae Merlini ("The Prophecies of Merlin"), which he wrote at some point before 1135. Geoffrey presented a series of apocalyptic narratives as the work of the earlier Merlin who, until Geoffrey's book came out, was known as "Myrddin".^[2] The first work about this legendary prophet in a language other than Welsh, it was widely read — and believed — much as the prophecies of Nostradamus were centuries later; John Jay Parry and Robert Caldwell note that the Prophetiae Merlini "were taken most seriously, even by the learned and worldly wise, in many nations", and list examples of this credulity as late as 1445.^[3] Look up Apocalypse in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Merlin Ambrosius (Welsh: Myrddin Emrys (Merlin the Wise); also known as Myrddin Wyllt (Merlin the Wild), Merlin Caledonensis (Scottish Merlin), Merlinus, and Merlyn) is the personage best known as the mighty wizard featured in Arthurian legends, starting with Geoffrey of Monmouths Historia Regum Britanniae. ... Welsh redirects here, and this article describes the Welsh language. ... Nostradamus: original portrait by his son Cesar Michel de Nostredame (December 14, 1503 – July 2, 1566), usually Latinized to Nostradamus, was a French apothecary and reputed seer who published collections of prophecies that have since become famous world-wide. ...

Next was Historia Regum Britanniae (History of the Kings of Britain), the work best known to modern readers. It purports to relate the history of Britain, from its first settlement by Brutus, a descendant of the Trojan hero Aeneas, to the death of Cadwallader in the 7th century, taking in Julius Caesar's invasions of Britain, two kings, Leir and Cymbeline, later immortalised by Shakespeare, and one of the earliest developed narratives of King Arthur. In it, he outlines the rise and fall of many British kings, including Arthur himself and his father, Uther the Conqueror. Geoffrey claims to have translated it from an ancient book written in Welsh, although few take this claim seriously. Much of it is based on the Historia Britonum, a 9th century Welsh-Latin historical compilation, Bede's Historia ecclesiastica gentis Anglorum and Gildas's 6th century polemic De Excidio Britanniae, expanded with material from Roman histories, Welsh legend, genealogical tracts, and, some claim, Geoffrey's own imagination.^[4] It contains little believed historical fact, and many scholars are tempted to agree with William of Newburgh, who wrote around 1190 that "it is quite clear that everything this man wrote about Arthur and his successors, or indeed about his predecessors from Vortigern onwards, was made up, partly by himself and partly by others, either from an inordinate love of lying, or for the sake of pleasing the Britons."^[5] Further, his structuring and reshaping of the Merlin and Arthur myths has had a huge influence in the perception of those figures ever since: he may be viewed as the major establisher of the Arthurian canon.^[6] Geoffrey of Monmouths Historia Regum Britanniæ (English: The History of the Kings of Britain) was written around 1136. ... Brutus of Troy or Brutus I of the Britons (Welsh: Bryttys), according to the accounts of the early Welsh historians Nennius and Geoffrey of Monmouth, was the first king of the Britons. ... Troy or Ilion, see Troy (disambiguation) and Ilion (disambiguation). ... Aeneas flees burning Troy, Federico Barocci, 1598. ... Cadwaladr ap Cadwallon ( 633–682, reigned from 655) (Latin: Catuvelladurus; English: Cadwallader), also known as Cadwaladr Fendigaid (the Blessed) was a king of Gwynedd. ... Gaius Julius Caesar [1] (Latin pronunciation ; English pronunciation ; July 12 or July 13, 100 BC or 102 BC – March 15, 44 BC), was a Roman military and political leader and one of the most influential men of World history. ... Leir was a legendary king of the Britons as accounted by Geoffrey of Monmouth. ... Cunobelinus (also written Kynobellinus, Cunobelin) was a historical king of the Catuvellauni tribe of pre-Roman Britain. ... Wikipedia does not yet have an article with this exact name. ... A bronze Arthur in plate armour with visor raised and with jousting shield wearing Kastenbrust armour (early 15th century) by Peter Vischer, typical of later anachronistic depictions of Arthur. ... The Historia Britonum, or The History of the Britons, is a historical work that was first written sometime shortly after AD 820, and exists in several recensions of varying difference. ... Bede (IPA: ) (also Saint Bede, the Venerable Bede, or (from Latin) Beda (IPA: )), (ca. ... Folio 3v from Codex Beda Petersburgiensis (746) The Historia ecclesiastica gentis Anglorum (in English: Ecclesiastical History of the English People) is a work in Latin by the Venerable Bede on the history of the Church in England, and of England generally; its main focus is on the conflict between Roman... Gildas (c. ... William of Newburgh (1136?-1198?), also known as Nubrigensis, was a 12th century English historian, and monk, from Yorkshire. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ...

Lastly, Geoffrey wrote the Vita Merlini ("The Life of Merlin") at some point between 1149 and 1151. This is Geoffrey's own retelling of the earlier Myrddin legend from Welsh tradition, and is an epic in hexameter verse. All his works were written in Latin, the international literary language of medieval Europe. Vita Merlini, or The Life of Merlin, is a work by Geoffrey of Monmouth composed in Latin around AD 1150. ... Hexameter is a literary and poetic form, consisting of six metrical feet per line as in the Iliad. ... Latin is an ancient Indo-European language originally spoken in Latium, the region immediately surrounding Rome. ...

Not all his contemporaries were convinced by Geoffrey's "History". For example, Giraldus Cambrensis recounts the experience of a man possessed by demons: "If the evil spirits oppressed him too much, the Gospel of St. John was placed on his bosom, when, like birds, they immediately vanished; but when the book was removed, and the History of the Britons by Geoffrey Arthur was substituted in its place, they instantly reappeared in greater numbers, and remained a longer time than usual on his body and on the book."^[7] Giraldus Cambrensis (c. ...

Notes

1. ^ From the introduction to his translation of The History of the Kings of Britain (London: Penguin Books, 1966), p. 12.
2. ^ The Welsh scholar Rachel Bromwich observed that this "change from medial dd > l is curious. It was explained by Gaston Paris as caused by the undesirable associations of the French word merde". (Bromwich, Trioedd Ynys Prydein: The Welsh Triads, second edition [Cardiff: University of Wales, 1978], p. 472 n.1.)
3. ^ Arthurian Literature in the Middle Ages, p. 79.
4. ^ Thorpe, Kings of Britain pp. 14-19.
5. ^ Quoted by Thorpe, Kings of Britain, p. 17.
6. ^ Thorpe, Kings of Britain, p. 20ff., particularly pp. 20–22 & 28–31.
7. ^ Gerald of Wales, The Journey through Wales/The Description of Wales (Lewis Thorpe ed.), Penguin, 1978, Chapter 5, p 116.

Rachel Bromwich (born 1915) is a British scholar. ... Bruno Paulin Gaston Paris (August 9, 1839 - March 6, 1903), was a French scholar, the son of Alexis Paulin Paris. ... Look up Shit in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

References and further reading

• Geoffrey of Monmouth. The History of the Kings of Britain. Translated, with introduction and index, by Lewis Thorpe. Penguin Books: London, 1966. ISBN 0-14-044170-0
• John Jay Parry and Robert Caldwell. "Geoffrey of Monmouth" in Arthurian Literature in the Middle Ages, Roger S. Loomis (ed.). Clarendon Press: Oxford University. 1959. ISBN 0-19-811588-1
• John Morris. The Age of Arthur: A History of the British Isles from 350 to 650. Barnes & Noble Books: New York. 1996 (originally 1973). ISBN 1-84212-477-3

External links

Wikisource has original text related to this article:

Geoffrey of Monmouth

• Latin Chroniclers from the Eleventh to the Thirteenth Centuries: Geoffrey of Monmouth from The Cambridge History of English and American Literature, Volume I, 1907–21.

Image File history File links Wikisource-logo. ... The original Wikisource logo. ... The Cambridge History of English and American Literature. ...

English translations available on the web

• Historia Regum Britanniae:
  • By Aaron Thompson with revisions by J. A. Giles at http://www.yorku.ca/inpar/geoffrey_thompson.pdf. (PDF)
  • (Arthurian passages only) edited and translated by J. A. Giles at http://www.lib.rochester.edu/camelot/geofhkb.htm.
  • Brut y Bryttaniait, translated from a medieval Welsh version (which has a few interesting differences) by Wm. R. Cooper at http://www.annomundi.co.uk/history/chronicle_of_the_early_britons.htm
• Vita Merlini, Basil Clarke's English translation from Life of Merlin: Vita Merlini (Cardiff: University of Wales Press, 1973).
  • At Jones Celtic Encyclopedia
  • At Sacred Texts