Arthur: Warrior and King

by Don Carleton

People have been looking for the sites of the long-lost and mysterious battles of King Arthur for a thousand years. In this book, the result of extensive consultation with experts across academic disciplines, the author's researches into Arthur's battles point to fascinating new conclusions about his life: King Arthur's greatest battle, at Badon, was fought at Bristol, close to the site of the famous Clifton Suspension Bridge. Guinevere was not Arthur's wife but his mistress. Arthur was probably Irish and initially a warrior not a king. He fought on behalf of a named Irish king against whom he rebelled.

Arthur was brain-damaged by the wars and died, unable to speak, on the Isle of Skye. Much of the history of the time was lost because of natural events around 540 AD. But the warrior elite, of which Arthur was part, went on to rule what later became known as Wessex, the cradle of the English nation - for which King Arthur became a founding legend.

272 pages, Hardcover

First published October 18, 2018

About the author

Don Carleton is an English journalist published in national newspapers and magazines, a broadcaster and scriptwriter on radio and television, and a teacher of English literature at school and university level. He was the head of the information service at the University of Bristol for many years. He has been the publishing editor of a wide range of titles for the University of Bristol on topics such as architecture, medieval studies, French literature, history, children with cancer, and engineering.

Carleton is the author of the standard history of Bristol University, a study of the Princes Theatre, Bristol and his version of Ibsen's Love's Comedy brought the Norwegian classic, 150 years after it was written, into professional production in English for the first time. The London production at the Orange Tree Theatre received critical acclaim.

Reviews

[Jo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Carleton examines the various historic writings and stories passed down about the legendary Arthur to see if any of it could be true. It's a balanced account that explores plausibility and states what can be learned by each piece of evidence. I found it interesting and worthwhile.