Τhe British Legend of King Arthur Conquering Greece

A fifteenth period depiction of King Arthur and his knights sitting astatine the Round Table. Credit: Public domain

According to legend, King Arthur was a almighty king ruling successful Britain successful the epoch conscionable aft the Romans near the island. One obscure communicative speaks astir the clip erstwhile King Arthur conquered Greece. Is determination immoderate humanities ground for this legend, and, if so, what is it?

King Arthur and the conquest of Greece

According to the medieval legends, Arthur was a king who ruled a almighty kingdom successful Britain successful the sixth period CE aft the extremity of the Roman era. He led an confederation of kings and had galore radical successful his service.

One fable related to his reign comes from a communicative known arsenic Culhwch and Olwen. In this tale, 1 of King Arthur’s men speaks with him and refers to the galore adventures that they person had together. He mentions that helium has been with Arthur successful Europe, Africa, and the islands of Corsica (suggesting that Arthur engaged successful conquests successful those areas).

Then, determination is simply a fascinating enactment successful which helium says that helium was with Arthur erstwhile helium “conquered Greece arsenic acold arsenic the East.” Hence, according to this fable from medieval Britain, King Arthur conquered Greece. Is this conscionable a implicit fiction, oregon is determination immoderate humanities ground for this tale?

Magnus Maximus and the conquest of Europe

Firstly, it should beryllium noted that galore scholars judge that King Arthur was a composite figure. That is, the legends of Arthur really travel from much than conscionable 1 person. One of these indispensable person been a warfare person successful sixth period Britain, since that is the halfway portion of Arthur’s quality successful the legends.

However, it is perfectly imaginable that the fable of King Arthur conquering Greece comes from idiosyncratic other entirely. Regarding different mentation of the fable that Arthur conquered parts of Europe, recovered successful Geoffrey of Monmouth’s Historia Regum Britanniae, British historiographer David Dumville observed that this seems to beryllium taken from the humanities activities of Magnus Maximus.

Magnus Maximus was a Roman fig successful the 4th period CE. It is imaginable that helium was the politician of Britain. In 383, his troops proclaimed him emperor. Maximus past invaded Gaul and conquered the Western Roman Empire.

Since astatine slightest 1 mentation of the fable of King Arthur’s European conquests evidently comes from tales of Magnus Maximus, it stands to crushed that the akin communicative successful Culhwch and Olwen has the aforesaid origin.

King Arthur and the King of Greece

In enactment of this, the medieval British records uncover a legendary transportation betwixt Magnus Maximus and Greece. According to genealogical documents, specified arsenic the Harleian MS 3859, Maximus had a lad named Anthun. This lad appears successful assorted different records arsenic the caput of an important dynasty successful South Wales.

In these records, Anthun is referred to arsenic the “king of Greece.” This is highly significant. Notice that the names Anthun and Arthur are highly similar. Furthermore, Anthun and Arthur look to beryllium the lone legendary kings of Britain successful medieval British records who are also recorded arsenic ruling implicit Greece.

It is improbable that this tin beryllium enactment down to coincidence. More likely, the contented of being king of Greece was taken from 1 and accidentally applied to the other, owed to the similarity betwixt their names. The lone question is, was it taken from Arthur and applied to Anthun, the lad of Maximus, oregon was it the different mode around?

The conquests of Andragathius

Ancient Roman agora of Thessaloniki. Credit: Marco Verch / Flickr CC BY 2.0

Arthur was supposedly a king who ruled successful Britain successful the sixth century. There is perfectly nary grounds that anyone from Britain conquered anyplace adjacent Greece successful that era. On the different hand, we cognize that Maximus engaged successful immense conquests connected the continent.

Therefore, the logical decision is that the contented of his lad Anthun ruling Greece is archetypal to him. This was past evidently misattributed to King Arthur, alternatively than the different mode around.

However, Magnus Maximus did not really conquer arsenic acold arsenic Greece. Yet, his cavalry commander, Andragathius, did conquer successful that direction. He led Maximus’ armies arsenic acold arsenic Siscia successful Croatia successful 388. At that time, astir each of the Balkan peninsula was successful the administrative territory called the Prefecture of Illyricum.

The superior of this prefecture was Thessaloniki successful Greece. Therefore, Andragathius did conquer astatine slightest portion of the territory whose superior was Greece. With these facts successful mind, it is precise apt that this is the root of the contented of Magnus Maximus’ lad conquering Greece.

How Andragathius became King Arthur

The sanction of Magnus Maximus’ legendary son, Anthun, is precise astir apt a corruption of the archetypal portion of ‘Andragathius,’ the sanction of Maximus’ cavalry commandant and the person of Maximus’ armies. There are galore examples successful medieval British records of individuals being recorded by conscionable the archetypal portion of their name.

The corruption of the sanction ‘Arddun’ to ‘Arthur’ is attested successful the medieval records, and the projected corruption of ‘Andr’ to ‘Anthun’ is nary greater. This, therefore, appears to beryllium the reply to the enigma of King Arthur conquering Greece.

It seems that this fable originates with the humanities conquest of Magnus Maximus invading Europe. His cavalry commander, Andragathius, conquered arsenic acold arsenic the Prefecture  of Illyricum, which was ruled from Greece. This evidently led to him being remembered arsenic having conquered Greece.

In the medieval British records, his sanction came to beryllium corrupted into ‘Anthun,’ highly adjacent to the sanction ‘Arthur.’ Under that name, helium was recorded arsenic the king of Greece. Finally, the contented of his conquering Greece was past misattributed to King Arthur.