Dr. Miles Russell

He's got William of Malmesbury, Henry of Huntingdon, and their stories are very Anglo-Saxon-centric. You know, they're based on the first English migrants setting up kingdoms. He's presenting a story that counters that and said, actually, before they arrived, there is this great heritage going back, all the kings and queens and monarchs.

He's got William of Malmesbury, Henry of Huntingdon, and their stories are very Anglo-Saxon-centric. You know, they're based on the first English migrants setting up kingdoms. He's presenting a story that counters that and said, actually, before they arrived, there is this great heritage going back, all the kings and queens and monarchs.

And he claims they are descended ultimately from Trojans who were escaping the Trojan Wars, who were sort of refugees who landed in Britain and established this sort of series of kingdoms. And effectively, it's a polemic really sort of saying that all these people existed before the Saxons arrived and going through their history and identifying key heroes.

And he claims they are descended ultimately from Trojans who were escaping the Trojan Wars, who were sort of refugees who landed in Britain and established this sort of series of kingdoms. And effectively, it's a polemic really sort of saying that all these people existed before the Saxons arrived and going through their history and identifying key heroes.

And he claims they are descended ultimately from Trojans who were escaping the Trojan Wars, who were sort of refugees who landed in Britain and established this sort of series of kingdoms. And effectively, it's a polemic really sort of saying that all these people existed before the Saxons arrived and going through their history and identifying key heroes.

But the difficulty from our perspective and from a historical point of view is because these names aren't mentioned anywhere else, have they got any kind of historical truth to them? Is he making them up? Is he using some kind of oral tradition that hasn't been written down anywhere else? What is the basis of this?

But the difficulty from our perspective and from a historical point of view is because these names aren't mentioned anywhere else, have they got any kind of historical truth to them? Is he making them up? Is he using some kind of oral tradition that hasn't been written down anywhere else? What is the basis of this?

But the difficulty from our perspective and from a historical point of view is because these names aren't mentioned anywhere else, have they got any kind of historical truth to them? Is he making them up? Is he using some kind of oral tradition that hasn't been written down anywhere else? What is the basis of this?

But it's important for us because Geoffrey of Monmouth is the first person to give us an entire life history of King Arthur, from his conception to his mortal wounding. So all our understanding of Arthur, the man, all the mythology that's built around him, begins with Geoffrey of Monmouth. There are scattered references to an Arthur character before that, but Geoffrey gives us everything.

But it's important for us because Geoffrey of Monmouth is the first person to give us an entire life history of King Arthur, from his conception to his mortal wounding. So all our understanding of Arthur, the man, all the mythology that's built around him, begins with Geoffrey of Monmouth. There are scattered references to an Arthur character before that, but Geoffrey gives us everything.

But it's important for us because Geoffrey of Monmouth is the first person to give us an entire life history of King Arthur, from his conception to his mortal wounding. So all our understanding of Arthur, the man, all the mythology that's built around him, begins with Geoffrey of Monmouth. There are scattered references to an Arthur character before that, but Geoffrey gives us everything.

It's a full download of his entire life history.

It's a full download of his entire life history.

It's a full download of his entire life history.

Absolutely. So remembering sort of heroes from the past. Another good example is the stories that are first being written down or recorded in 19th century Afghanistan about Iskander, you know, Alexander the Great. Here you've got a Macedonian general from the third century B.C. who's being remembered thousands of years later. And the stories have multiplied.

Absolutely. So remembering sort of heroes from the past. Another good example is the stories that are first being written down or recorded in 19th century Afghanistan about Iskander, you know, Alexander the Great. Here you've got a Macedonian general from the third century B.C. who's being remembered thousands of years later. And the stories have multiplied.

Absolutely. So remembering sort of heroes from the past. Another good example is the stories that are first being written down or recorded in 19th century Afghanistan about Iskander, you know, Alexander the Great. Here you've got a Macedonian general from the third century B.C. who's being remembered thousands of years later. And the stories have multiplied.

But at its core, there is a historic or verifiable figure. So we can see that oral tradition has a very long history, that tales do survive. But because they're not being recorded, it is very difficult to see when they mutate and when they change.

But at its core, there is a historic or verifiable figure. So we can see that oral tradition has a very long history, that tales do survive. But because they're not being recorded, it is very difficult to see when they mutate and when they change.

But at its core, there is a historic or verifiable figure. So we can see that oral tradition has a very long history, that tales do survive. But because they're not being recorded, it is very difficult to see when they mutate and when they change.