King Arthur

King Arthur is a legendary British ruler and the central character in Arthurian legend. He is possibly based on an actual historical figure who may have ruled parts of southwestern England around the early sixth century between the departure of the Romans and the completion of Anglo-Saxon settlement. Much of the legend was compiled by Thomas Malory, whose work influenced Alfred, Lord Tennyson and later writers including T. H. White. Several films have been made about Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table.

Legend

Prominent characters besides Arthur include the wizard Merlin, the evil witch Morgan le Fay, and Arthur's wife Queen Guinevere. The Knights, most of whom are heroic and chivalrous, include Sir Lancelot who loves Guinevere, and Sir Galahad who famously seeks the Holy Grail. Famous stories in the legend include the Sword in the Stone, Camelot, the Lady of the Lake, Excalibur, and Avalon.

Mons Badonicus

The main evidence for a real Arthur is the so-called Battle of Mons Badonicus (Mount Badon) in about 503 when a Romano-British force defeated the Saxons at an unknown location, possibly in Wales. The existence of this battle is known from much later historical references which are vague about events and the outcome. It was perhaps a siege rather than an actual battle.

Annales Cambriae

One of the later sources is the Annales Cambriae, a 10th century manuscript, which says the legendary King Arthur died in 537, and that he was a Celtic chieftain who held out in western Britain against the invading Anglo-Saxons. Conveniently, that date sits within the aftermath of the major natural catastrophe which occurred in 535.

Byzantine and Chinese writers have left accounts of the sun being dimmed for two years from 535 to 537 with consequent crop failure, drought, famine and (in 542) plague. In many parts of the world, especially Britain, Mexico and central Asia, resultant poverty caused political upheavals that had a significant effect on later civilisation. Evidence from the natural world, such as tree rings and levels of sulphur in ice deposits, indicate that a catastrophe took place at this time which would have caused the problems reported.

Sunless years

Chinese and other Asian accounts also report what seems to have been a massive explosion accompanied by severe tremors somewhere to the south. Investigation of the notorious volcano at Krakatoa, between Java and Sumatra, has revealed massive ash and lava deposits that date back to about this time. The theory is, therefore, that Krakatoa exploded with even greater force than in its famous eruption of 1883. Massive ejections of ash were deposited in the upper atmosphere, obscuring the sun for two years and causing the disruptions noted by contemporaries.

There seems to have been a famine in Britain during the two sunless years that must surely have caused insurrection. The story of Mordred's revolt, resulting in the deaths of both Arthur and himself, may be a reflection of what actually happened. Such a conflict would have seriously weakened the Celtic nation. Equally, it is logical to assume that famine and the effects of the subsequent plague caused a decimation of Celtic inhabitants. This would have given an overwhelming advantage to increasing numbers of Anglo-Saxons. It is fair to assume that latecomers among these people may themselves have been uprooted by similarly chaotic conditions in westerb and central Europe. In the end, the Celts were overrun and driven further west and north. England (Angle-land as in the French Angleterre) then began to take shape. It could therefore be argued that England is a legacy of Krakatoa.