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15 of 20 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
Blatant misuse of sources, 16 Jul 2001
By A Customer
Oh Dear! The researches on Arthurian matters by Wilson And Blackett are well known in Arthurian circles and they have finally reached the High Street. As many readers will not be aware of the readings of Welsh manuscripts I thought it would be interesting to show how this pair have misrepresented them. The Holy Kingdom relies upon the identification of two names from South Wales Genealogies being Arthur I and Arthur II. The genealogies are given below as per the manuscript and then with the interpretation of them by the authors of THK. Their genealogy for Arthur I is taken from a very reliable source dating from c.958 known as the Harleian Genealogies (MS 3859) which is given below from Early Welsh Genealogical Manuscripts, Peter Bartrum, 1966, as per the original manuscript. (map, m., or ap means "son of") Eidinet map Anthun map Maxim guletic qui occidit Gratianum regem Romanorum. The Holy Kingdom p.178 gives the above manuscript as: Eidinet ap Arthun ap Maxim Gulc tic qui occidit Gratian cum regum Romanorum You will see that they have changed Anthun into Arthun who they claim is Arthur I. There is no maybe or possibly just "-that is, Arthur" p.178. They then go on to claim that Annun Du (Annun Black) is the same person as Arthun (their Arthur I) who they call quite inaccurately Arthun Du. "A thousand years old, these [the Brecon Manuscripts] are contained in the British museum Vespasian A. XIV and the Harleian 4181 collections. They are invaluable records, much quoted and referred to but, according to Alan and Baram, never actually read by those who quote them. Three times the statement is made, in Welsh as well as Latin, that Arthun the Black, known as the 'King of Greece', was a son of Macsen wledig - Magnis Maximus." The Brecon manuscripts are commonly known as the Brychan MSS and below are the exact transcriptions of the three manuscripts from EWGT. Annhun rex Grecorum (in Cotton MS. Domitia I, folios 157v-158v §10, EWGT p.18) Annun niger regis Grecorum (in Cotton MS Vespasian A xiv folios 10v-11v §10, EWGT p.14) Annwn du, vrenhin Groec (in Jesus College MS20 §1, EWGT p.42) A digital facsimile of this manuscript can be viewed on the Oxford university early texts website (click on fo. 33r the name is near the top of the page)As can be seen from the above nowhere do the manuscripts say Arthun Du. With this point proved the rest of their argument falls to bits. I could go on for pages, but this is not the place. The rest of the book contains inaccuracies and leaps of faith based on the works of antiquarians from South wales of the 19th century. These works where some of the earliest attempts to look at welsh history, but are woefully inadequate by todays standards. An interesting story maybe, but not accurate and by ignoring most of the modern academic works on welsh history the authors have achieved very little.
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