a book and thesis by Dr. Linda Malcor and co-author Scott Littleton
The thesis proposes that
elements of the Arthurian stories, in particular those having to do with
Arthur's swords, derive from the myths and epics of the Scythians via two
Scythian tribes who lived in Western Europe under the Romans: the Alans,
particularly in Brittany, and a group of Sarmatians commanded by
Lucius
Artorius Castus (LAC) in Britain around 180CE. LAC would have been
memorialized as the hero of the traditional epics, and these epics would
later have been reflected in the account of "Nennius" and in
various sources of the legend. The hypothesis is not accepted by everyone,
but it does provide an interesting possible explanation of Arthur's name
and the sword in the stone legend.
This "Sarmatian
hypothesis" does, like many other theories, attempt to explain details that
can also be explained in other ways, some say with perhaps equally coherent and
plausible means. We have arguments about various cultures casting swords
into bodies of water, various possible reasons Arthur has the Virgin Mary
on his shield/shoulder, and the source and meaning of Arthur's name and those
of other characters.
Discussing and discovering
just how much the Alans and Sarmatians contributed to the legends, if at
all, requires a vast knowledge of the cultures and politics of greater
Europe from pre-Christian times to the present. Like many other of the
theories, this one will be with us for a long time.
, C. Scott Littleton, Dr Linda Malcor (Paperback - May 2000) other Editions:
