Historical Prototypes With the Name Arthur

[Dept of PMM Artists & things]

We know of at least these historical prototypes bearing the name Arthur or a variant. There is some possibility that the 3rd-5th individuals mentioned are the same historical personage recorded in different documents.

   1) L. Artorius Castus, praefectus castrorum of the VI Legion stationed at York late 2nd century
   2) Artur, filiorum Aedan or 'son of Aedan Mac Gabran'
   3) Arthur map Petr (Artur mac Petuir) of Dyfed, a king of Dessi (Irish) descent. 
   4) Arthur son of Bicoir the Briton
   5) The mention of a "Artuir maic Rethoir" in an Irish genealogy included in the tale of the "Expulsion of the Dessi", an Irish tale believed to have been first written down about 800CE. The accuracy of this genealogy has not been seriously studied, and dates Arthur, based on his placement in the genealogy at about 570-630CE, and credits him with having been a Prince of Dyfed.
   6) Arthwys ap Meurig ap Tewdrig of Glywyssing & Gwent.
   7) Leslie Alcock referred to a King Arthwys of the North, probably the Pennines region. He appears to have been the son of Mor ap Ceneu ap Coel. Though different sources give different fathers, he was certainly a grandson of St. Ceneu. David Ford mentions one of the other source entries, in that Masgwid Gloff apparently had a son named Arthwys. Masgwid was the son of Gwrast Ledlwm ap Ceneu ap Coel. It has been suggested that he (Masgwid) ruled in the Lennox area of modern Scotland. 

   Another bit of evidence to consider is Aneirin's Y Gododdin poem. Even though Arthur appears only in the later "B" version and not in the "A" version, which possibly makes the reference no older than the ninth or tenth century, the Y Gododdin reference tells us that Arthur was considered a fit model for a Votadini warrior fighting in northern Britain. This stanza tells us nothing of Arthur's historicity, since a mythic model could exist, but since there are documented royal northern Arthurs, we must ask ourself, "Is this a reference to one of these documented Arthurs, or a reference to an unknown (either historic or mythic)?" As R.J. O'Toole states, "Occam's razor requires us to accept the simplest proposition, as the most likely, i.e. that this is a reference to one of the historic Arthurs, unless a compelling reason exists to postulate an unknown."

May the Real Arthur Please Stand Up

   Over the years, many scholars and lay people have proposed evidence of the prototype for Arthur, the real man behind the mask of centuries. Here are just a few.

Cuneglasus ap Owein

Owein Ddantgwn

Riothamus

Arthur is a later in life rendition of Aurelius Ambrosius or his warlord (brother) Uther