Finding Arthur: The True Origins of the Once and Future King

There is an entire subculture devoted to proving that King Arthur existed and Ardrey (Finding Merlin) adds to the speculation in a selective look at the literature%E2%80%94and some faulty etymology%E2%80%94that leads him to believe that Arthur was not a Christian Romanized Briton but a pagan Scot. Conveniently, Ardrey is a Scot with Scots-Irish roots. He hints that his last name might be from the Scottish Ard Righ or High King, thus linking him to Arthur. Combing through translations of early chronicles and poetry, along with medieval authors such as Geoffrey of Monmouth, Chr%C3%A9tien de Troyes, and Malory, he chooses passages that fit his theory. Name changes and Romanization of characters are simply a plot by The Church to stamp out the old religion; writers as late as Malory were "not brave enough to put story-telling first and so he bowed to the power of the Church." Ardrey delves into every linguistic cranny to set each of the battles of Arthur north of Hadrian's Wall. He also concludes that the early writer Gildas suppressed Arthur's story "because Arthur killed Gildas's brother Hueil." Ardrey's theory is firmly in the tradition of Arthurian fiction; as with similar work, refuting it point by point would require several volumes. (Nov.)