Reference
- Geoffrey of MonmouthGeoffrey of Monmouth was the author of the 12th-century Historia Regum Britanniae (History of the Kings of Britain), a pseudo-history in Latin prose that popularized the legendary monarchs of pre-Saxon Britain. Geoffrey's history is one of the most important and influential texts of the European Middle Ages because it introduced the story of King Arthur, previously known only in Welsh and Breton legend, into the mainstream of European literature...
- Historia Regum BritanniaeThe Historia Regum Britanniae (History of the Kings of Britain) is a pseudo-history in Latin prose that relates the legends of the pre-Saxon kings of Britain. Written by Geoffrey of Monmouth in about 1138, the Historia is highly significant in the Western literary tradition because it is the text that first introduced King Arthur to the mainstream of European literature...
- King ArthurKing Arthur was the legendary king of Britain who became the central figure in a literary tradition that spanned centuries and included hundreds of texts in the later Middle Ages and beyond, even into the 21st century. Over the course of the medieval period, the literary figure of Arthur developed from a Romanized Celtic “leader of battles” to a refined king presiding over the world's most glamorous court, and surrounded by the greatest, most chivalric of knights...
- Credo Reference This link opens in a new window
This link opens in a new window
This link opens in a new window
Credo Reference is an easy-to-use tool for starting research. Gather background information on your topic from hundreds of full-text encyclopedias, dictionaries, thesauri, quotations, and subject-specific titles, as well as 500,000+ images and audio files and over 1,000 videos.
Monmouth, Merlin, and Courtly Love
- Kanopy This link opens in a new window
Geoffrey of Monmouth’s History of the Kings of Britain is arguably the most important literary artifact of the Arthurian tradition. Learn about the political nature of the text, the important elements and characters that Geoffrey wove into it, and how he established the basics of the Arthurian legend as we know it.
Online Resources
- English copy of Geoffrey of Monmouth’s History of the Kings of Britain: British LibraryGeoffrey of Monmouth’s (b. c. 1100, d. 1154) History of the Kings of Britain was an influential medieval account of the history of Britain, from the legendary arrival of Brutus after the Trojan War until the defeat of the British by the Anglo-Saxon invaders in the seventh century. The text popularised the legend of King Arthur and the virtues of his royal court. This copy of the History was produced in England in the late 12th-century. The book was later owned by the French historian Antoine Lancelot (b. 1675, d. 1740), who donated his entire manuscript collection to the French royal library in 1732. This manuscript was digitised with the support of The Polonsky Foundation.
- Geoffrey Of Monmouth: BritannicaGeoffrey Of Monmouth, (died 1155), medieval English chronicler and bishop of St. Asaph (1152), whose major work, the Historia regum Britanniae (History of the Kings of Britain), brought the figure of Arthur into European literature...
Perspectives
The History of the Kings of Britain
Completed in 1136, this classic chronicle traces the story of the realm from its supposed foundation by Brutus to the coming of the Saxons some two thousand years later. Vividly portraying legendary and semi-legendary figures such as Lear, Cymbeline, Merlin the magician, and the most famous of all British heroes, King Arthur, it is as much myth as it is history, and its veracity was questioned by other medieval writers. But Geoffrey of Monmouth's powerful evocation of illustrious men and deeds captured the imagination of subsequent generations, and his influence can be traced through the works of Malory, Shakespeare, Dryden, and Tennyson. Lewis Thorpe's translation from the Latin brings us an accurate and enthralling version of Geoffrey's remarkable narrative. His introduction discusses in depth the aims of the author and his possible sources, and describes the impact of this work on British literature.
Arthurian Narrative in the Latin Tradition
This book takes a unique look at the Latin Arthurian tradition, placing authors such as Geoffrey of Monmouth in the context of Latin histories, monastic chronicles, saints' lives, and other Latin prose Arthurian narratives. Placing them against a background of the Angevin court of Henry II, the book introduces a new set of texts into the Arthurian canon and suggests a way to understand their place in that tradition. The unfamiliar works are summarized for the reader, and there are extensive quotations, with translations, throughout.
Geoffrey of Monmouth and the Translation of Female Kingship
Geoffrey of Monmouth and the Translation of Female Kingship provides the first feminist analysis of the part of The History of the Kings of Britain that most readers overlook: the reigns before and after Arthur's.
Geoffrey of Monmouth
- Films on Demand This link opens in a new window
Geoffrey's mostly fictitious history of Britain "The History of the Kings of Britain" is one of many sources that inspire Malory's account of the Arthurian legend.