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Completed in 1136, The History of the Kings of Britain 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.
About the Author
Very little is known of Geoffrey of Monmouth. He seems to have lived for a time in Oxford and in 1151 he became Bishop Elect of St Asaph, North Wales. He was ordained at Westminster in 1152. According to the Welsh Chronicles he died in 1155.
Lewis Thorpe was Professor of French at Nottingham University from 1958 to 1977. He has published many books and articles on Arthur, both on the French and English traditions. He died in 1977.
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First Sentence
Britain, the best of islands,1 is situated in the Western Ocean, [1,2] between France and Ireland. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
Britain, the best of islands,1 is situated in the Western Ocean, [1,2] between France and Ireland. Read the first page
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
10 of 14 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This is the source of so many of the Arthur stories written later that it is an absolute Must Read for anyone interested in the topic. Fortunately for an old text, it's also easy reading as Monmouth has a good eye for a story (which is all history meant at the time).
As history, it's not at all reliable with the kind of distant relationship with anything that may have occured that the Iliad has to Mycenae. Do not treat as anything remotely resembling gospel as he's clearly made up chunks all over the place.
On the other hand, it is believed that he had access to welsh sources other than the Mabinogion, now lost and that alone would be reason to read him.
As history, it's not at all reliable with the kind of distant relationship with anything that may have occured that the Iliad has to Mycenae. Do not treat as anything remotely resembling gospel as he's clearly made up chunks all over the place.
On the other hand, it is believed that he had access to welsh sources other than the Mabinogion, now lost and that alone would be reason to read him.
11 of 17 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
This needs reviewing on two levels. The easiest is the translation which is very clear on its sources from the various versions of Geoffrey which exist. It does not give too many footnotes in the text - I would have preferred more as I have little other background on the myth. As a first encounter with the text though this version is very accessible, within limits.
The actual tale as far as I can tell is written to condemn the Saxons (called Angles only once) and paint the real Britons as being of great stock, apparently descended from the Trojans and related to the Romans. The Britons have a long history full of strange names and detail - for example the source of King Lear! All very well until we hit Merlin and Uther Pendragon. There is the story of the conception of Arthur and a massive prophecy from Merlin who then mostly vanishes. The Arthur story has the sword Caliburn and Guinevere, noble knights and great battles. Unknown to me Arthur also conquers Iceland, France and Rome! In fact the book is riddled with attacks on Gaul or by Gaul, and Brittany is of course Amorica and really settled by the Britons. Arthur is betray by Mordred and vanishes of allowing the text to quickly pass through to the ultimate demise of the Britons (apart from a few scattered in the places now recognised as Celtic - Wales, Cornwall and so forth).
So the English are the baddies and thankfully the Normans sorted them out in 1066, but one day the Britons will rise with their King Arthur - what will we English do I wonder?
All in all an amusing read, and shows the power of politics and the seeds of the more modern legends.
The actual tale as far as I can tell is written to condemn the Saxons (called Angles only once) and paint the real Britons as being of great stock, apparently descended from the Trojans and related to the Romans. The Britons have a long history full of strange names and detail - for example the source of King Lear! All very well until we hit Merlin and Uther Pendragon. There is the story of the conception of Arthur and a massive prophecy from Merlin who then mostly vanishes. The Arthur story has the sword Caliburn and Guinevere, noble knights and great battles. Unknown to me Arthur also conquers Iceland, France and Rome! In fact the book is riddled with attacks on Gaul or by Gaul, and Brittany is of course Amorica and really settled by the Britons. Arthur is betray by Mordred and vanishes of allowing the text to quickly pass through to the ultimate demise of the Britons (apart from a few scattered in the places now recognised as Celtic - Wales, Cornwall and so forth).
So the English are the baddies and thankfully the Normans sorted them out in 1066, but one day the Britons will rise with their King Arthur - what will we English do I wonder?
All in all an amusing read, and shows the power of politics and the seeds of the more modern legends.
15 of 26 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
For an twelfth century story-book writer, Monmouth does a very good job. His writing style is both entertaining and informative. He does tend to exaggerate quite a bit regarding accurate information, but the book makes a very good read, and there is a whole section devoted to the first fully developed legend of King Arthur.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Too good to be TRUE?
A captivating book, with a good range of thoughtful vocabulary. I would like to add, that Geoffery of Monmouth, has embedded such a detail that has created an impact towards using... Read more
Published 21 months ago by yoghurt
Debuking the debunkers
There are better translations than this from much earlier years, however, to the reader of general interest, this would hinge on one's ability to read a stronger form of English,... Read more
Published on 3 Mar 2009 by nO_JeZeBeL
Unique and interesting read
In terms of reliability as a historical source Monmouth's History of the Kings of Britain ranges from just plausible to down right nonsensical but you can't take away the sheer... Read more
Published on 31 Aug 2008 by M. J. Leek
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