Dr. Miles Russell

He's a horrible character in Geoffrey of Monmouth because he's a psychopath. He is very quick to anger. He slaughters people for no apparent reason. He invades countries just because he wants power. But that is, in the post-Roman, indeed pre-Roman period, that is how heroes are remembered. They're not remembered for having a kingdom of peace and prosperity.

They're not remembered for the laws that they pass. They are remembered for being strong individuals who don't take any prisoners. So Arthur... His story is just drenched in blood. He is not a very nice character from our point of view, but from the point of view, I guess, of a post-Roman society, he's exactly the kind of individual you want on your side.

They're not remembered for the laws that they pass. They are remembered for being strong individuals who don't take any prisoners. So Arthur... His story is just drenched in blood. He is not a very nice character from our point of view, but from the point of view, I guess, of a post-Roman society, he's exactly the kind of individual you want on your side.

They're not remembered for the laws that they pass. They are remembered for being strong individuals who don't take any prisoners. So Arthur... His story is just drenched in blood. He is not a very nice character from our point of view, but from the point of view, I guess, of a post-Roman society, he's exactly the kind of individual you want on your side.

You've got these descriptions of him in a battle, almost going into berserker mode and slaughtering hundreds of individuals just with his sword. He is there. He's doing all the killing. And I think in a way that is important to understand because the Arthur that Geoffrey presents us is completely unlike the medieval Arthur that we get.

You've got these descriptions of him in a battle, almost going into berserker mode and slaughtering hundreds of individuals just with his sword. He is there. He's doing all the killing. And I think in a way that is important to understand because the Arthur that Geoffrey presents us is completely unlike the medieval Arthur that we get.

You've got these descriptions of him in a battle, almost going into berserker mode and slaughtering hundreds of individuals just with his sword. He is there. He's doing all the killing. And I think in a way that is important to understand because the Arthur that Geoffrey presents us is completely unlike the medieval Arthur that we get.

All the later romances built around him from the 14th, 15th, 16th centuries. really make him more human. They bring in the romance cycle of Arthur and Lancelot and Guinevere. They bring in the quest for the Holy Grail. They bring in other characters like Bedivere and Percival and Galahad and all these other individuals. So they make Arthur a more human individual.

All the later romances built around him from the 14th, 15th, 16th centuries. really make him more human. They bring in the romance cycle of Arthur and Lancelot and Guinevere. They bring in the quest for the Holy Grail. They bring in other characters like Bedivere and Percival and Galahad and all these other individuals. So they make Arthur a more human individual.

All the later romances built around him from the 14th, 15th, 16th centuries. really make him more human. They bring in the romance cycle of Arthur and Lancelot and Guinevere. They bring in the quest for the Holy Grail. They bring in other characters like Bedivere and Percival and Galahad and all these other individuals. So they make Arthur a more human individual.

They emphasise his humanity, whereas Geoffrey just presents us with the warlord. And it's interesting to see how little of the original story that Geoffrey gives us actually appears in the later accounts. He almost gets edited out completely and other elements come in. And therefore, there's no sword in the stone. There's no lady in the lake. There's no Lancelot Guinevere romance.

They emphasise his humanity, whereas Geoffrey just presents us with the warlord. And it's interesting to see how little of the original story that Geoffrey gives us actually appears in the later accounts. He almost gets edited out completely and other elements come in. And therefore, there's no sword in the stone. There's no lady in the lake. There's no Lancelot Guinevere romance.

They emphasise his humanity, whereas Geoffrey just presents us with the warlord. And it's interesting to see how little of the original story that Geoffrey gives us actually appears in the later accounts. He almost gets edited out completely and other elements come in. And therefore, there's no sword in the stone. There's no lady in the lake. There's no Lancelot Guinevere romance.

There's no Holy Grail. None of those aspects are in Geoffrey's primary account. It's all about conquest and killing and being the strongest man, the last man standing, effectively.

There's no Holy Grail. None of those aspects are in Geoffrey's primary account. It's all about conquest and killing and being the strongest man, the last man standing, effectively.

There's no Holy Grail. None of those aspects are in Geoffrey's primary account. It's all about conquest and killing and being the strongest man, the last man standing, effectively.

It is, it is. I mean, it's still going on today. I mean, you can think, when you look back to all the ancient Greek myths, Really, none of the characters in there are particularly nice. You think of someone like Achilles. I mean, he is a really unpleasant individual.

It is, it is. I mean, it's still going on today. I mean, you can think, when you look back to all the ancient Greek myths, Really, none of the characters in there are particularly nice. You think of someone like Achilles. I mean, he is a really unpleasant individual.

It is, it is. I mean, it's still going on today. I mean, you can think, when you look back to all the ancient Greek myths, Really, none of the characters in there are particularly nice. You think of someone like Achilles. I mean, he is a really unpleasant individual.

And yet when people are trying to dramatise the Trojan Wars today, they downplay the death and killing side and they try to bring in romance and try to make this person likeable because ultimately we want to see an element of our heroes that we empathise with, that we like. Otherwise, what's the point? So you can see a lot of more modern interpretations of Achilles.