King Arthur - Preface
First Chapter
This photo depicts a statue of King Arthur at the Hofkirche in Innsbruck, Austria. It was designed by Albrecht Dürer, and cast by Peter Vischer the Elder, in the 1520s. Photo by Daderot, online courtesy Wikimedia Commons.
Arthur began to increase
his personal entourage
by inviting very distinguished men
from far-distant kingdoms to join it.Geoffrey of Monmouth
Quoted in The Discovery of King Arthur
When Rome left its province of Britannia for good in 410 A.D., after more than three centuries of rule, the native population had little protection against intruders.
Thirty years later (or so), looking for help outside their own boundaries, native Britons—a Celtic people who inhabited the country known today as England)—had little choice. Scholars believe Britons living in Ceint (today’s Kent) hired German-Danes from Angulus (the Angles) and Germans from Saxony (the Saxons) to work as mercenaries.
Their pay? Briton land.
Had those early Britons envisioned what could happen when mercenaries (invited or not) reached their shores, perhaps they would have looked elsewhere (or nowhere) for help. One thing is certain: Requests for Anglo-Saxon help ultimately led to unwelcome invasions which forever changed Britannia and her people.
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