Product Description

An evocative recreation of a vanished world, this is the first genuine narrative history for 5th Century Britain. Whereas past efforts have used unreliable legendary material to prove that some obscure sixth century ruler was the real Arthur, the present work is based on the latest scholarly research into Roman time-keeping. A dispassionate analysis of the earliest sources for fifth century Britain shows that all of their chronologies were originally quite consistent, but were modified by later writers to resolve apparent discrepancies in their data. The elimination of these later misconceptions provides a very accurate chronology for this most crucial and - until now - obscure century.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #103541 in Books
• Published on: 2008-10-01
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 358 pages

Customer Reviews

Genius or deluded?
When someone claims to have discovered something which has eluded the attentions of thousands of scholars over a period of centuries, one might possibly react by thinking that this guy is either an unparalelled genius or else sadly deluded.

Who is Edwin Pace? The book offers no indication of any academic credentials. The author's website offers no further clue. The back cover carries a quote from Christopher Gidlow, "Edwin Pace makes a thought provoking contribution to the Arthurian debate", which sounds slightly lukewarm. We can probably conclude that Pace is something of an "enthusiast". Yet this isn't the work of a mere amateur in the loose sense; the notes and bibliography testify to the depth of the research, equal to any academic.

Yet when I read very early on the erroneous statement that Gildas only mentions British leaders Vortigern and Ambrosius Aurelianus by name (actually in the famous "reges habet Britannia, sed tyrannos" section of De Excidio Britonum we find "...inmundae leaenae Damnoniae tyrannicus catulus Constantius...", "...catule leonine, Aureli Canine...", "...Demetarum tyranne Vortipori...", "...Cuneglase, Romana lingua lanio fulve...", "...Maglocune..."), I thought that I was probably going to groan frequently throughout reading this book, and I wasn't wrong.

Actually it's hard to pick too many holes in the facts per se, it's just what is made out of them by combination with supposition, assumption and speculation; there is also too much credulous acceptance of the literature - for example, are we really to believe that Riothamus took 12,000 troops to Gaul? Pace thinks so without question. He constructs an extremely fanciful scenario equating the superbus tyrannus, Vortigern, with Arthur, Riothamus, and Cattegirn.

It's proably worth a read if you're already reasonably immersed in the history of sub-Roman Britain; however if you're relatively new in this area I would say it's best avoided so as you don't end up taking too much store by what's herein before reading about it first in more rigorous works.

Genius or deluded? You decide...

The Essential Arthur
This book gives the first convincing explanation for Arthur that I have ever read, in particular because it doesn't really set out to "prove" whether Arthur existed or not. Instead the author shows how all these old sources fit together, so that the idea that some powerful warlord ruled Britain at this time is almost inescapable. Arther, it turns out, is someone that most historians believe really existed, and the book makes a very good case that the Pround Tyrant - usually a villain in 5th century British history - is the only possible candidate for Arthur. The book also tells a very dramatic story. The end of each chapter left me wanting to read the next. The finale is truly rivetting, verifying the case that Arthur's fall and the Saxon Revolt were one and the same event. Finally, I feel that this a rewarding read, not just for the historian but also for the general reader.

Arthur and the Fall of Roman Britain
This is one of the best books I have read about this period of history.
It is extremely well researched and for the ardent student there are plenty of links to follow up on if you want to delve more deeply into the author's research.
Well worth reading and also one to keep on the shelf for reference.