Our ebook/paper thesis is only about the 12 battles 9 battle sites match with the Saxon Shore sites. However to give some food for thought on the question some people keep raising above our primary evidence here are some possible thoughts on who was Arthur. (Some other ideas we have in past posted on Arthurnet before second half of 2015.)
This is just the "Arthur may be Britain" part of our 'Who is King
Arthur' section of our 12 battles of Arthur thesis/paper. Sorry again
that it is not very good but i wanted/needed to post it to go with the
previous Pa Gur battles blog post and also re the recent
'[URL="http://historum.com/european-history/80562-how-big-discovery-would-finding-out-who-real-king-arthur.html"]How
big of a discovery would finding out who the Real King Arthur is
be?[/URL] forum topic/thread.
1.
"Arthur" seemingly may be a name for Britain/Britons/British/"British bears".
This fits with that it seems that Arthur has pre-Arthurian mythological
links, eg Deoartavo(i)s of Cruithne, Mercury Artaois, etc.
Arthur is found in Welsh, Cornish, "Scottish".
“King Arthur’s grave is not known / an eternal wonder is the grave of Arthur” (Carmarthen).
"Arthurian country/terra Arturi" (Cornish).
"Arthur acted as a defender of the island of Britain" (Padel).
"Arthur pan-Brittonic hero" (Padel)
"by means of Arthur ... they'll call it Britain again" ('Description of England')
Arthur "king of the whole of Britain / most illustrious King of Britain" (Saints Lives)
"Ursi Caledonii/Caledonian bears/British bears".
"King Arthur is not dead" (Cornish motto)?
"no other individual's name had previously been attached to the siege of Badon."
"tales of Arthur from the Vitae, or Lives, of the Saints ... portray
Arthur negatively" [is this because Arthur is British god not
Christian?]
"what was Arthur doing as far north as Scotland?" [Arthur = Britain?]
(The length of time may also indicate not one man?)
"Magnanimous Arthur" ("and all the kings of Britain") may equal Great
Britain? [Great Britain & Little Britain/Brittany ~ Great Bear &
Little Bear? Perhaps compare that Gwenhyfar & Gwenhyfach may be
mawr "great" & bach "little"]
Arthur "... seems to be not a king but a leader of a war-band".
"Arthur and Cei use the imperfect to describe their deeds and those of
their men, narrating these exploits as if they have happened in the
distant past. ... it is equally possible that Arthur is reflecting on
warriors who have long since met their end. ... Arthur states that it
was better when his servants were alive, a term he uses to refer to his
warriors earlier in the poem. These sentiments prompt us to imagine an
Arthur whose career has reached a low point.... ... he is reflecting on
his former glory." - Bowen/Pa Gur.
Arthur &/vs Kay in the Pa Gur (Bowen) may be Romans (Gaius J Caesar)
&/vs Britons, or Kay may be some other group/thing (Gauls? Picts?
Kentish?). [What tribe was Arthur? Maybe each knight represents one of
the tribes or 33 cities of Britain?]
Arthur's name/cross may connect with St Andrews name/cross [and/or Andredes weald/leaga?] and/or Arthuret?
St Andrew('s cross) = K Arthur('s cross) (Guinnon = Dover = Albion = Britons/Britain/British?
Andrew as patron saint of "Scotland" could really be patron saint of
Britain Arthur/Andrew? [Andrew is of Patras, and Arthur seemingly may
have Byzantine/Eastern Church links (eg Padarn).]
Guinevere seems to represent Guinnion/Dover? [Perhaps 3
queens/Guineveres connect with the 2 glass vessels at Burgh and Dover,
and Mary's at Guinnion and Badon? (Though Gogfran the Giant may be the
Long Man?)]
Merlin seems to be connected with St Martin le Grand of Dover (though we have a number of other candidates)?
(After note: we are not certain if "Arthur" is just for Britain (abit
like John Bull or Uncle Sam) or whether he was also/rather a person.
"Arthur" could be one of the leaders between Ambrosius
(included/excluded) and Maelgwn. Until we find a good free website for
the rest of our thesis parts anyone can contact me for any further info
or give feedback here.)
Loyngarth/Llwynarth "grove of the bear" [cp. St Leonard's forest?]
Arthfael ap Einydd
St Arthmael (Brittany)}
"the Celts lost their independence to Ursus" (king Belgium, 776 bc)
Mercury Artaios
{Art(h)us (Scandinavian king list)
Arthari (Diaconus)
Authari/Rothari (Lombard king)
Artus (Modena archivolt)}
Ursa Major (Great Bear)
Arcturus
Ardys (Lydian)
Artook Khan (Turkish)
Artinis (Armenian sun god)
Asshur (Assyria/A(r)thura)?
Arta/Urta/Asha (Iranian god name/title)
Arteois/Artaois (Median king)
Artha/Art-ha (Indian "power (& success)", one of the 3 kama, artha & dharma)
the Bear (Ainu god/cult)
{"Arthur acted as a defender of the island of Britain" (Padel).
"Arthur pan-Brittonic hero" (Padel)
"by means of Arthur ... they'll call it Britain again" ('Description of England')
Arthur "k of the whole of Brit / most illustrious K of Brit" (Sts Lives)
Ursi Caledonii/Caledonian bears/British bears}
3.
i seem to have not included that Arthur's shoulder/s/shield seems to be
connected with downs/heights/cliffs of Dover (&/or Portchester).
Arthur's shield/ship called Pry(d)wen.
"Livy and Fabius Rusticus compare the form of Britain to an oblong
shield or battle-axe; and as, according to Tacitus, it bears that figure
on the side of Caledonia, the comparison was extended to the whole
island...." "says that previous writers had compared the shape of
Britain:
“... to an elongated shoulder-blade or an axe. And this no doubt is its
shape without Caledonia, so that it has become the popular description
of the whole island."
[Britain may also/alternatively have an anthropomorphic shape?]
“…a scapula [&/or thigh] believed to be a relic of St Alban…”
On the other hand there may have been a real person & shoulder/shield at Guinnion/Dover (aka "Badon"/Braddon):
"relics from Dover in the same collection, including a superb circular brooch set
with garnets and pearls in a cruciform design".
"The Latin cross occurs further on a jewelled brooch, replacing the
T-shaped settings sometimes found in Kent ; but the cross may here be
purely ornamental."
