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The Here and Elsewhere King
Aug. 14th, 2008 08:57 pmAn article about South Ossetia (and other "breakaway nations") in yesterday's Guardian tosses in the scrap of information that Ossetians believe that King Arthur was Ossetian. I've come across a number of theories about King Arthur in my time, but this one was new to me, so I've had a quick look round - and sure enough, there's a book about it: From Scythia to Camelot: Radical Reassessment of the Legends of King Arthur, the Knights of the Round Table and the Holy Grail by C. Scott Littleton and Linda A. Malcor. Here's a very favourable review.
As if this conflict weren't dreadful enough, then, we English must have sympathies both with the Ossetians with whom we share our national hero, and the Georgians with whom we share our patron saint.
For the avoidance of ambiguity: I am deeply sceptical of - though entertained by - the idea that Arthur has Scythian origins, and the more parallels its proponents present (Lancelot, indeed!) the more sceptical I become.
As if this conflict weren't dreadful enough, then, we English must have sympathies both with the Ossetians with whom we share our national hero, and the Georgians with whom we share our patron saint.
For the avoidance of ambiguity: I am deeply sceptical of - though entertained by - the idea that Arthur has Scythian origins, and the more parallels its proponents present (Lancelot, indeed!) the more sceptical I become.
