Geoffrey of Monmouth's History of the Kings of Britain:

May 2024 ยท 11 minute read

Geoffrey of Monmouth's History of the Kings of Britain

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<![if !supportLists]>1.      <![endif]>The House of Constantine Comes to Power in Britain (149-55)

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Put into chronological order of reign:

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Vortimer Constans Ambrosias Aurelius Arthur

Constantine Vortigern (ruled twice) Uther Pendragon

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Guithelinus, Archbishop of London, goes to Little Britain (Brittany, Armorica) to ask King Adroenus to help Britain repell the Saxon invasions since the people of Little Britain are relatives of the people of Great Britain. He offers______________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________. King Adroenus declines the offer, since Britain, in its present beseiged condition, isn't worth much to him, but he sends his brother _______________, with soldiers, to help in his stead.

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______________ does not last long in Britain (his brother, Adroenus, it seems, made a good decision about not going), being killed by a _____ (a native of present-day Scotland), but not before he has sired three

sons:________________, __________________, and _________________________________________.

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After his assassination, the succession is in question because the older son, ________________, has been dedicated to a monastery. An ambitious leader, ______________, visits the elder son in the monastery and persuades him to break his vows to assume the kingship, intending all along to promote his own purposes by making the new King endebted to him. _______________ advises the new King to keep some Picts as laisons. The agreeable King, having learned nothing from his father's experience, is soon stabbed by them.

At this point, _________________ and __________________________ are sent to Little Britain for their own safety. _____________ assumes the crown.

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<![if !supportLists]>2.      <![endif]>Saxons Arrive (155-59)

Soon thereafter, ______________ and ________________ arrive in longships, bragging about how Woden, Thor, and Freia, their Germanic deities, are namesakes for the days of the week. Reassuring King ____________ that they have come peaceably because they are merely surplus population back home, they offer to help defeat the Picts in the North in return for _________. Considering that they have come at "a most convenient moment," ____________ welcomes them and invites them to move into the palace. The handsome brothers handsomely defeat the Picts in the next uprising and win lands plus permission to invite ______________________________________________________________. The King refuses to grant them noble titles, but he does agree to give them as much _________ as can be encircled by ________________.

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<![if !supportLists]>3.      <![endif]>Vortigern Falls in Love (159-64)

When Hengist's daughter ___________, visits the court, the King (who would fit right in with Malory's crowd) is smitten with desire. Unable to resist her saucy words, "Laverd King, was hail" (159), her tipsy admirer agrees to turn Kent over to her people in exchange for ___________.

Hengist soon is granted permission to bring to Britain his sons _________ and __________ along with their friend ____________, who will, of course, all need land, but who will keep the peace in the North along Hadrian's Wall.

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The British populace, alarmed at the mixing of pagan Saxons and Christian British which is resulting from this mass migration give up on King ___________ and promote __________, his son, to the kingship. The young King isn't able to fight the barbarians long because he is poisoned by _______________. Vortigern is reinstated as king after his poor son's death. Hearing this news Hengist returns to Britain with an enormous war host. True to his usual crafty form, he covered his hostile intentions with a flimsy story that he came to Britain thinking Vortimer was still in office.

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<![if !supportLists]>4.      <![endif]>Treachery at the Peace Conference of Ambrius (164-65)

Back in business as king, ____________ falls for another Saxon trick. He agrees to a huge peace conference at the Cloister of Ambrius. On the signal Nimet oure __________(Let's take out our swords) the Saxons draw weapons from their boots (proving that they aren't called "Saxons" for nothing) and slay 460 unarmed British counts and earls. Miraculously, a certain warrior by the name of ___________manages to survive the massacre (and wipe out 70 Saxons in the process) by defending himself with a__________ ___________.

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<![if !supportLists]>5.      <![endif]>Vortigern's Fortress and the Arrival of Merlin (166-69)

Next the Saxons seize London, York, Lincoln and Winchester. ______________flees to Wales and attempts to build for himself a strong fortress, but the work is stalled because

_______________________________________________________________. The court magicians advise him to find a _____________ ______________ and then use his blood to sprinkle the _________________.

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Messengers sent out to the surrounding towns hear a couple of boys squabbling. Dinabutius rags ___________ about being such a lad, so the messengers bring him and his mother to the King. The mother's story concerning her son's conception is that ___________________________

______________________________________________________________.

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The youth outsmarts the magicians by explaining that the real source of the construction problem is sink-swell soil caused by _______________________________________________________________. Indeed, when the engineers ______________________________________

they find________________________________________________________.

Everyone is impressed (except for the magicians).

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<![if !supportLists]>6.      <![endif]>The Defeat of Hengest (186-93)

After that coup, Merlin obliges Vortigern's request to know what his own fate will be. He announces with great confidence and authority that Vortigern will be __________ alive while shut up in his tower. Merlin also predicts the fate of Vortigern's arch-rivals, ______________ _________________ and__________________: death by ______________.

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Aurelius Ambrosius fulfills Merlin's prophecy of Vortigern's death, then goes looking for Hengist. As it turns out, ________ is the one who subdues Hengest, grabbing him by his helmet's ____________. Later this same warrior is given permission to execute the troublesome Saxon leader in the Biblical style of Samuel slaying Agag. Thus the revenge he had longed for since the massacre at Ambrius is his.

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<![if !supportLists]>7.      <![endif]>A Big Job for Merlin (193-98)

Hengest's son ________ surrenders, and Aurelius Ambrosius, feeling compassion for this self-styled homeless orphan, gives him (and brother _________) permission to occupy Scotland. Next, the King proposes, upon visiting the site where the war dead of Ambrius were buried, that a special _________________ be made. Tremorinus, Archbishop of the City of Legions, recommends __________ for the job. When the young engineer is brought before Aurelius Ambrosius, he decides to take advantage of the youth's special abilities by having him prophecy for him. The boy replies that "Mysteries of that sort cannot be __________________." Then they get down to the business of planning the memorial. __________'s idea is to get the __________ ____________ from Mount Killaraus in ____________. Such a preposterous suggestion makes Aurelius Ambrosius ___________ at first, but he is soon convinced and sends the young man and ________________ on the mission. After fighting and driving away the Irish king Gillomanius, Merlin dismantles the Ring "more easily than you could ever believe." When the stones have been transported to Britain, they are arranged in the shape of a __________ around the __________________________________________________.

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<![if !supportLists]>8.      <![endif]>The Death of Aurelius Ambrosius (199-204)

Just when everyone seems to think the whole Vortigern mess has been put to bed, his son ___________ begins to stir up trouble by allying with the Irish king ______________ and by hiring a Saxon named Eopa to kill Aurelius Ambrosius with ____________. Eopa disguises himself as a ___________ and mixes a ________ for the unsuspecting king.

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Meanwhile a portent appears, a __________ trailing a fireball in the shape of a ___________. Merlin interprets it to signify ____________ and his ___________, respectively. This episode is wrapped up quickly when Utherpendragon kills Gillomanius and Paschent, and Aurelius Ambrosius dies and is buried in ________ ___________.

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<![if !supportLists]>9.      <![endif]>Uther Falls in Love (204-211)

The next episode opens when Utherpendragon holds a special Easter assembly of nobles in London. Among the honored guests are the Duke of Cornwall: ___________ and his beautiful bride: ___________. As soon as he lays eyes on her, Uther makes a complete _______ of himself, passing her the choicest hors d'oeuvres and smiling stupidly at her. __________ is understandably annoyed and whisks away his wife without a proper good-by. Uther then pitches a royal ________, swearing that if the Cornwall couple does not come back immediately, he will ravage Cornwall one way or another. Sure enough, Uther leads an army in hot pursuit to Dimilioc where the Duke is garrisoned. After a week of frustration, Uther announces that he will _______ or at least have a physical breakdown if he cannot spend some time with _________. A soldier named _________ suggests that they ask none other than the ever helpful _________ if he has any advice, and the engineer-prophet turns out to be the best Dear Abbey a king could ever want. His recommendation is that Uther disguise himself as ________ and present himself at the stronghold at ___________ where _________ is safely (?) stowed. Ulfin and Merlin come along for the ride also, transformed as _________ and _________, respectively. To make a long story short, the trick fools _________ with the result that_________ is conceived that very night. Also on that night, _________ is killed--though not at Uther's orders. In fact, Uther "mourns" when he finds out about the death of his rival,

but he was happy all the same . . . From that day on they lived together as _________, united by their great _________ for each other; and they had a son and a daughter: Arthur and _________.

Wrapping up, Anna marries ________, Uther's second-in-command; Uther falls ill and has to direct the fight against Octa (who had escaped with brother Eosa from prison) in a _________; then he dies of ___________ and is buried at __________ ____________.

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<![if !supportLists]>10.  <![endif]>Arthur Takes on the Saxons (212-18)

<![if !supportLists]>         <![endif]>Arthur is crowned at age _______ with no objection from British nobles.

<![if !supportLists]>         <![endif]>New Saxon leaders: _________ and brother __________

<![if !supportLists]>         <![endif]>While brother #1 __________ is beseiged by Arthur at York, brother #2 _________ disguises himself as a __________ to gain admittance inside the walls.

<![if !supportLists]>         <![endif]>___________ brings aid to the Saxon brothers from Germany.

<![if !supportLists]>         <![endif]>Arthur's nephew ________ brings reinforcements from Brittany for the British cause, tipping the balance in favor of Arthur.

Arthur follows the retreating Saxons to _________ _________ where he traps them inside a ring of ____________ until they surrender, at which time they are permitted to return to Germany as long as they leave their weapons and treasure. When they change their minds and plunder Bath instead of returning home, Arthur fights a literal "up-hill battle" against them.

<![if !supportLists]>         <![endif]>Arthur's helmet has a crest shaped like a _________.

<![if !supportLists]>         <![endif]>His shield has a picture of _________.

<![if !supportLists]>         <![endif]>Name of sword: __________ Where was it forged? ___________

<![if !supportLists]>         <![endif]>Name of spear: _________

Arthur goes "berserk" and kills 470 warriors including Colgrin and Baldulf, but _______ escapes.

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<![if !supportLists]>11.  <![endif]>Arthur Takes on the Romans with a Detour by Mont Saint Michel (237-57)-

After receiving General Lucius' challenge, Arthur leaves _________ and _________ in charge of Britain while he goes to meet the Romans. On the way he hears that a __________ has kidnapped the daughter of his nephew (Hoel) and taken her to Mont Saint Michel. Arthur takes only two of his companions to check out the situation: __________, his seneschal, and __________ his Cup-bearer.

<![if !supportLists]>         <![endif]>Who Bedevere meets on the secondary hill: ___________

<![if !supportLists]>         <![endif]>Who kills the giant? ___________

<![if !supportLists]>         <![endif]>This giant is the most formidable enemy since Retho, a different giant who collected the _________ of kings for his fur ___________.

<![if !supportLists]>         <![endif]>The chapel Hoel builds at Mont Saint Michel for his daughter: __________'s Tomb.

Monmouth's record of Arthur's engagements with the Romans is very detailed. Gawain and Hoel distinguish themselves for bravery, and Gawain even displays wit of a rather gruesome sort ("tell Quintillianus, when you get to hell, why Britons are so good at boasting and making threats"). But Arthur is the clear champion, inspiring his men with motivational speeches, hacking off hundreds of heads with __________, and "bundling" Romans "off to hell." The victory is ultimately Britain's, but the losses have been devastating on both sides--General Lucius killed by an unknown hand, and both the Cup-bearer ____________ and Seneschal ________ receive mortal wounds.

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<![if !supportLists]>12.  <![endif]>The Treachery of Mordred (257-61)

Before Arthur can set out to take Rome from Emperor Leo, news arrives from Britain that ___________ has _______________________________________. Monmouth withholds comment on the fact that Guinevere _________________________________________. Back in Britain, Arthur learns that Mordred has signed a treaty with ___________, a Saxon leader (not to be confused with Cheldric, who fought with Colgrin and Baldulfpp.213;218, and Cherdic, a companion of Octa and Ebissap.161). Thus Arthur must face down insurgent Britons, Saxons, recruited Scots, Picts, and Irish all at once. Nevertheless, he encourages his men with the fact that they are far more _________________ than this "miscellaneous collection of barbarians" and traitors.

<![if !supportLists]>         <![endif]>In the battle waged while Arthur is landing at Richborough, nephew _____________is killed.

<![if !supportLists]>         <![endif]>At some point, Guinevere "gives way to despair" and joins a ____________.

<![if !supportLists]>         <![endif]>The last great battle is fought at the River ______________.

<![if !supportLists]>         <![endif]>Here Chelric and ____________ are killed.

<![if !supportLists]>         <![endif]>Arthur is ____________________ and carried off to ___________ so that his _________________________________.

<![if !supportLists]>         <![endif]>The kingship is handed over to _______________.

<![if !supportLists]>        <![endif]>Monmouth gives the date 542 for this event.

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