Geoffrey of Monmouth

The English pseudohistorian Geoffrey of Monmouth (ca. 1100-1155) is known for his "History of the Kings of Britain," through which he contributed greatly to the dissemination of the Arthurian legend throughout Europe.

Geoffrey was born in or near Monmouth, Wales. By 1129 he was residing in Oxford, probably as a member of a nonmonastic ecclesiastical community. He stayed at Oxford at least until 1151 and during this period wrote his two extant works, Historia regum Britanniae (1136-1138; History of the Kings of Britain) and Vita Merlini (ca. 1148; The Life of Merlin). Geoffrey was a keen observer of contemporary trends in historical writing and combined his observations with a fertile imagination and a consistent, if not profound, philosophical outlook about history to produce his brilliant pseudohistory of the Britons, the Celtic people which inhabited the island of Britain before being conquered by the Anglo-Saxons.

Historia regum Britanniae purports to be a Latin translation of a "very old book" recounting the story of the rise and fall of the Britons. In composing his legendary history, Geoffrey utilized material from British legend and folklore. He also borrowed from earlier Latin accounts of the Britons but treated all his sources with great imaginative freedom. The Historia begins with the story of Brutus, grandson of Aeneas and founder of Britain; there follow accounts of many mythical monarchs (including King Lear). The climax of the work is Geoffrey's invention of a glorious reign of King Arthur and his description of Arthur's tremendous victories over the invading Saxons and the hostile Roman Empire. Here Geoffrey was influenced by contemporaneous historians' accounts of the Anglo-Norman kings and by the English civil war which raged as he wrote. The main themes of the Historia are that history is cyclic, that civil strife brings national disaster, and that the goals of the individual and those of society often clash.

In the Vita Merlini, a 1,500-line Latin poem, Geoffrey tells the story of Merlin, a legendary Welsh prophet and prince, whose prophecies formed one part of the Historia. Merlin goes mad as he watches a ferocious battle and flees to the forest, thwarting all attempts to make him return to the court, whose follies he bitterly reveals. This work carries further Geoffrey's concern with the hero who finds antagonism between his own desires and the values of society.

In 1151 Geoffrey was designated bishop of St. Asaph on the border of England and Wales. In the years following his death, his Historia became widely, though not unanimously, accepted as factual and influenced serious historians of the Britons and the English for centuries.

Further Reading

The most thorough, though controversial, study of Geoffrey's art is J. S. P. Tatlock, The Legendary History of Britain (1950). Also useful is the chapter on Geoffrey in Roger S. Loomis, ed., Arthurian Literature in the Middle Ages (1959). For a recent analysis of the themes and intellectual context of the Historia regum Britanniae see Robert W. Hanning, Vision of History in Early Britain from Gildas to Geoffrey of Monmouth (1966). □

Geoffrey of Monmouth. Welsh bishop (c.1090–1155) and pseudo-historian, author of the Latin Historia Regum Britanniae [History of the Kings of Britain] (1136), which euhemerizes Arthurian legends as well as many Welsh-language narratives. Little is known of Geoffrey's life; he was born near the town of Monmouth and on evidence of his writings he knew south-east Wales well and must have visited Brittany. An Augustinian at Oxford University, he became bishop of St Asaph, a see he may never have visited. His Historia purports to give an account of British history from the conception of Christ and culminating in the reign of Arthur. While drawing on recognized sources such as Bede (early 8th cent.) and Historia Brittonum (9th cent.) and lost Welsh sources, Geoffrey claimed to have relied mainly on a ‘most ancient’ book given him by Walter Calenius, which is not cited by any other contemporary chronicler. The Historia creates Arthur as a romantic hero, despite Geoffrey's lack of interest in courtly love and fear of women. Merlin also becomes a fuller dramatic character in Geoffrey's hands.

Bibliography

See Lewis Thorpe (trans.), History of the Kings of Britain (Harmondsworth, 1966);
J. J. Parry and and R. A. Caldwell , ‘Geoffrey of Monmouth’, in R. S. Loomis (ed.), Arthurian Literature in the Middle Ages (Oxford, 1959), 72–93.

Geoffrey of Monmouth ( Gaufridus Monemutensis) (d. 1155), probably a Benedictine monk of Monmouth, studied and worked at Oxford and was attached to Robert, earl of Gloucester. He is said to have been archdeacon of Llandaff, and he was appointed bishop of St Asaph in 1152. In his Historia Regum Britanniae (c.1136) he purports to give an account of the kings who dwelt in Britain since before the Incarnation of Christ, extending from Brutus (see Brut), to Cadwallader (ad 689), ‘and especially of Arthur and the many others who succeeded him’. For this purpose he states that he drew upon a ‘most ancient book in the British tongue’ handed to him by Walter, archdeacon of Oxford (also known as Calenius); but this book is unknown to any chronicler of the time. It is possible that this alleged work is an invention. He drew on Bede and Nennius, on British traditions, perhaps on Welsh documents now lost, and probably for the rest on a romantic imagination. The life and clarity of his writing contributed substantially to the popularity of the Arthurian legends.

Geoffrey of Monmouth , c.1100–1154, English author. He was probably born at Monmouth and was of either Breton or Welsh descent. In 1152 he was named bishop of St. Asaph in Wales. His Historia regum Britanniae (written c.1135), supposedly a chronicle of the kings of Britain, is one of the chief sources of the Arthurian legend . Geoffrey was the first to write a coherent account of Arthur, establishing the great warrior as a national hero, the conqueror of Western Europe. He drew information from the writings of Bede , Gildas , Nennius , the Welsh chronicles, and folklore, and imaginatively wove the whole into a fictional narrative in the form of a history. His work had great influence on Wace , Layamon , and many chroniclers of the Middle Ages. Another work attributed to him, the Vita Merlini (1148), also influenced later stories of Arthur and Merlin .

Bibliography: See his History of the Kings of Britain, tr. by L. Thorpe (1966); study by J. S. P. Tatlock (1950).

Geoffrey of Monmouth (c.1100–55). Probably of Breton origin, Geoffrey was raised in Wales. As a young man, he went to Oxford and is thought to have been a canon of St George's church. His consecration as bishop of St Asaph, c.1152, may have been no more than a titular appointment. His principal work, earning him fame, was the History of the Kings of Britain (c.1136). Written in chronicle form, it proved very popular, particularly in Wales, for the portrayal of a long and glorious Welsh past, and for centuries was widely believed. Ultimately recognized as a work of fiction based on old legends, it was nevertheless a great literary work of its time. It also launched the romantic Arthurian legend in European literature. A separate Life of Merlin, based on Welsh traditions of the magician, appeared c.1148–50.

Audrey MacDonald

Geoffrey of Monmouth (c.1100–55). Geoffrey was raised in Wales. As a young man, he went to Oxford and is thought to have been a canon of St George's church. His principal work, earning him fame, was the History of the Kings of Britain (c1136). Written in chronicle form, it proved very popular, particularly in Wales, for the portrayal of a long and glorious Welsh past. It launched the romantic Arthurian legend in European literature.

Geoffrey of Monmouth (c.1100–54) Welsh priest and chronicler, best known for his History of the Kings of Britain (c.1136). Though accepted as reliable until the 17th century, Geoffrey essentially told folk tales. His book was the chief source for the legend of King Arthur and his knights, and it was Shakespeare's source for King Lear and Cymbeline.

Geoffrey of Monmouth (c.1100–55) Bishop of St Asaph in Wales and the author of a chronicle, the Historia Regum Britanniae (‘The History of the Kings of Britain’) (c.1136). In this work King ARTHUR was projected as a national hero defending Britain from the Saxon raiders after the departure of the Roman armies.

Geoffrey of Monmouth (c.1100–c.1154), Welsh chronicler. His Historia Regum Britanniae (c.1139; first printed in 1508), an account of the kings of Britain, was a major source for English literature but is now thought to contain little historical fact.