Arthur is variously described as a war lord (dux bellorum), as a Christian soldier who carries either an image of the virgin or Christ’s cross on his shoulders and as a legendary figure associated with miraculous events: for example a stone in Wales that bears the footprint of his dog always returns to the same place if moved. The earliest written source to present King Arthur as a historical figure is the Historia Brittonum, a history of the Welsh assembled from a variety of sources possibly by Nennius, a Welsh monk and scribe who lived in the first half of the ninth century or by Merfyn Frych, King of Gwynedd (reigned 825-844). (Click on an image for an enlarged view and detailed description.) The Latin Chronicles of William of Malmesbury and Geoffrey of Monmouth The early versions of the legend Historia Brittonum Arthurian manuscripts in the British Library: the French tradition Introduction
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