This text relies heavily on the concept of fate and prophecy. In the beginning, Merlin offers a prophetic glimpse into Britain’s political future. Towards the end, King Hoel reminds us that the prophecies declare that the Roman Empire shall be held by “three persons, natives of Britain.” What does this emphasis on prophecy tell us about Geoffrey of Monmouth’s possible motivations for writing this piece? Why is it so important that Arthur is a king who has been anticipated by prophecies, or that the British conquests have been told by an oracle?
King Arthur & His World
ENGL 361 | Spring 2019 | Dr. Myra Seaman
Professor Shopkow notes in her introduction of this excerpt of “Arthur” how Geoffrey of Monmouth’s story was “not historically factual,” which, of course, becomes clear to modern readers with the lengthy description of Merlin’s prophecy about the white and red dragons in chapter 3. Shopkow’s note on this section is particularly interesting—she informs us that several writers have noticed the apparent similarities between this tale of the Saxons and Britons which Monmouth invented and actual English history. Shopkow believes, though, that such a focus reveals how readily people of “former times” believed in things like prophecy and fate. Given this historical context, I think Geoffrey of Monmouth was writing in a period where it was not considered so “absurd” to believe in the weight of such stories. He knew his contemporary audiences understood prophecy in this way, so creating Arthur as the subject anticipated by prophecies gave him more weight as a figure, painting him as the individual, predestined savior. Also, through his narration of the prophecies Monmouth offers a history of the Britons and their relationships with other peoples, all leading up to the birth of Arthur. He thus illustrates how Arthur’s success and virtue are destined: he is the culmination of all these events Monmouth has previously described, so his great abilities make sense.
After reading Monmouth’s account, King Arthur seems like more of a mystical character than ever, and less like an actual historical figure, and this view of him is encouraged by Monmouth’s inclusion of him in several рroрhecies. According to Monmouth, Arthur is the indirect result of his father Uther’s illusion and trickery; he is not conceived under honest or straightforward terms, and so from the beginning of his existence he is hard to define. When Arthur is chosen to succeed his father as king, he is only fifteen, yet is described as рossessing many amazing qualities, having “unрaralleled courage and generosity, joined with the sweetness of temрer and innate goodness, as gained him universal love” [15]. Out of all the characters in the account, Arthur is clearly the most caрable, generous, brave, etc.; he is idealized to a рoint of near рerfection. On toр of that, his actions are рredicted by these рroрhecies, which are themselves mystical and inexрlicable. I believe Monmouth, by idealizing Arthur and also including him in these рroрhecies, is creating a kind of character who can be looked uр to, maybe not on the same level as a religious figure, but as someone who reрresents true and рure goodness and chivalry in a world that seems strife and full of conflict and unsavory characters.
Geoffrey of Monmouth is described as a Welsh man who spent most of his life in Oxford — he was, undoubtedly, British, and most likely proud of it, too, for writing this text. However, Geoffrey’s text is mentioned as either a translation from an ancient British text, a documentation of traditionally oral stories, or completely fabricated. In all cases, Geoffrey was given free reign to interpret Britain’s history in whatever way he wanted (based on the information about him) and, because he was British, he wanted himself, and others, to be proud of British history. Since the original text was written in Latin, a language associated with education and high class, Britain’s history (as told in the text) would be accessible to other nations and scholars who read Latin. To show others of Britain’s might, Geoffrey emphasized on prophecy and fate, claiming that Britain was always bound to become a powerful nation. Based on the text, it seems that a high point in Britain’s history was during King Arthur’s reign, as Britain’s kingdom spread further north and east, easily conquering nations — it was, at the time, the height of their power. By labelling Arthur as a prophesied king, it shows that whatever divine power controls fate favors Britain and its people, as opposed to the rest of the world. It’s Geoffrey telling the world that Britain’s power cannot be stopped, as it is foretold that nothing will stop them, especially under the reign of Arthur, who had other kings bow down in fear.
Geoffrey of Monmouth’s emphasis on prophecy acts as a justification for the defense of natives, the victory/eventual reign of natives, and the hatred of foreigners. Throughout the text we find that foreigners are seen as poisonous, deadly, and evil. The opening of Merlin’s prophecy points to the fact that foreigners will destroy the land and bring evil/chaos. “Therefore shall its mountains be leveled as the valleys, and the rivers of the valleys shall run with blood. The exercise of religion shall be destroyed, and Churches be laid open open to ruin” (5). With this type of prophecy, it seems as though Geoffrey of Monmouth’s wanted to justify the victory of natives by presenting a good and evil type scenario. By doing this, Arthur comes in as a savior, a prophetic chosen one who will bring righteousness back to Britain. By making the native future king the subject of a prophecy, Geoffrey of Monmouth makes it seem as though Arthur has been appointed by mystical forces to destroy evil forces. Arthur is presented as a force of good, despite the actions of his family, which makes everyone opposed to him evil.
or exaggerate the historical events of Britain, and secondly, to feed into cetlish’s nationalism. In chapter three, Merlin’s prophecy to Vortigen is, by Professor Shopkow’s account, no more than a “long hallucinatory rant”. Yet, it is filled with rich symbolism “Red denotes the British nation oppressed by the white [saxons]”. Merlin’s description gives an epic-like quality to the opposition we know the Celts does really face. His tone also suggests intense emotions; “he bursting into tears delivered what his prophetical spirit suggested to him…”. Geofferey appeals to his audience’s sense of pathos using his tone and diction. Incorporating the prophecies into the historical account adds a emotional appeal that most benefits the Celtish people. In chapter IV, Geoffrey describes Arthur preparing for battle against the saxons, their oppressor. He puts on his battle gear: the golden helmet with the dragon figure engraved, the shield with Mary, mother of God depicted on, and his infamous sword from Avalon. The cultural appropriation makes him more identifiable with the Celts. The way Arthur is described makes him seemingly perfect, moreso an ideal idea, than a person. Merlin even prophecies Ambriosis’ death as a falling star, something so far away that it instilled “general fear and amazement in the people”.As the Celts are on historical accounts being tested as a nation. Geoffrey shows using prophecy how important story and folklore can be to the identity and strength within national conception.
Sorry I left out the 1 part of that sentence:
There are two purposes that the prophecy serves in Geoffrey’s account: to hyperbolize
The number three can be found over and over again throughout the entirety of this text and for this reason, I do not believe that its value should be overlooked. It appears in Geoffrey of Monmouth’s descriptions of the wars, it appears in the prophetic statements of Merlin, it appears in the descriptions of Gods and Kings of Britain. What I find to be most exceptional about Geoffrey of Monmouth’s use of the number three is that it seems to hold multiple meanings. I would like to humbly offer to you my interpretation of these meanings and if you disagree please let me know why; you should consider this proposal of mine to be a bit of a “modesty topos”. The number three has great significance in Roman, Christain, and Celtic cultures. Geoffrey makes use of this number to talk about the collision of cultures and this idea can be best explained by Merlin’s prophecy of the comet in Chapter XV. “The star” that is Aurelius represents Rome and Christianity. The “fiery dragon under it” is Uther, a general that wishes to control the present by holding on to the barbaric traditions of the past. Merlin in this theory of mine is a pagan priest of the Celts that has mystical gifts of perception and he is representative of ancient wisdom. When these three unite together they produce Arthur which is combining force of all their power, knowledge, and majesty.
Prophecies come from without- they’re, by nature, an external revelation of future events. A telling of future events that does not come from without is simply a prediction. Prophecies are promises from a higher power.
By positioning King Arthur’s rises as prophetic, Geoffry of Monmouth is making the case that said rise was destiny- that Arthur’s life and choices were guided by a higher power.
His motivation for doing so becomes clearer when one factors in the references to events contemporary to him- the way Merlin’s long prophecies subtlety (and in some cases, not so subtly) match the events of recent English history. If Arthur’s rise was prophecy, and prophecy is given by greater powers, then these other prophecies must be given by higher powers as well; great powers that, it seems, watch over the fate of Britain and guide its history. This the powers do, because Britain (or at least England; notice how the Picts and the Irish are enemies of Arthur) is special, and has a special destiny to match.
Geoffrey of Monmouth is reflecting his belief, to appear again and again in English literature, that England is divine and God chosen.