The King Arthur Conspiracy: How a Scottish Prince Became a Mythical Hero

by Simon Andrew Stirling

Arthur led the Britons to the brink of victory but was cut down by treachery and betrayal. Arthurian legends have since been corrupted, leading to popular but false assumptions about the king and the belief that his grave could never be found. Drawing on a vast range of sources and new translations of early British and Gaelic poetry, Arthur explodes these myths and exposes the shocking truth. In this, the first full biography of Arthur, Simon Andrew Stirling provides a range of proofs that Artuir mac Aedain was the original King Arthur; he identifies the original Camelot, the site of Arthur’s last battle and his precise burial location. For the first time ever, the role played by the early Church in Arthur’s downfall and the fall of North Britain is also revealed. This includes the Church’s contribution to fabricated Arthurian history, the unusual circumstances of his burial and the extraordinary history of the sacred isle on which he was buried.

320 pages, Hardcover

First published February 29, 2012

Reviews

[Cas Peace · Rating 5 out of 5]

With its wealth of historical and mythical information, this book is a truly fascinating read. I loved the lyrical sound of the Celtic and Gaelic names, and the author’s deep knowledge of his subject shone through clearly. I was effortlessly guided back through the ages to a time of warring tribes, warrior kings and early Christian saints; secretive Druidic cults and ancient bards. Simon Stirling wields a masterful pen as he skilfully unpicks the deliberate web of deceit and misdirection surrounding the figures of Arthur, ‘Merlin’ and Taliesin, to reveal the human beings beneath.

Despite my interest in the premise behind this book I confess I was reluctant to have the trappings of legend stripped away from my idea of ‘King Arthur’ (probably because I’m an author of fantasy novels!). After reading it, however, I find I can appreciate and admire the man of history while leaving the myth untouched. I now have a longing to visit the places of Arthur’s great battles, to walk beside his grave, and to admire for myself the great cauldron that came to be known as the Holy Grail.

I would recommend this fascinating and well written book to anyone with a love of history, a taste for drama, or simply a desire to understand how legends are formed.

[ben c · Rating 2 out of 5]

I found this hard going - but there may be some substance to it, much propagandistic/revisionism required for subsequent monarchs etc, its entirely plausible that Camulodunum = Camelot (Colchester), and it my not fit the narrative that remains of the romans were holding the line on the Saxons for a time

[Wheeliam · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good read. However a lot of contradiction by author

[Gooitzen · Rating 1 out of 5]

Interesting - but still a Myth

[Thomas Adams · Rating 1 out of 5]

I was very disappointed with this book. The author talks about looking at evidence objectively without a preconceived agenda, but he clearly doesn't heed his own advice since the whole thing is his own conclusions based on what he _wanted_ the facts to be with an obvious and vicious bias on his own part. Mr. Stirling takes great pains to portray Christian historical figures in as negative a light as possible, painting the revered Saint Columba as a conniving opportunist, and throwing out facts that don't fit his anti-Christian bias. Basically, Simon Stirling's approach to history is this: If a Christian said it, it's a lie!
He also takes great pains and liberties with ancient legends to recreate Arthur Mac Aedan's character as a pagan warlord, when all historical evidence suggests beyond reasonable doubt that he was a Christian. He takes myths that have no connection with the people he is writing about, and _insists_ that such myths are subliminal messages about these people. Well here's the problem with that: I could just as easily associate those myths with virtually anybody else who lived prior to the time of their writings.

Now when Stirling deals with undisputed historical facts, it's pretty good, but such instances are very scant, as he seems to prefer to cherry-pick poems that he can re-interpret to suit his agenda.