As unlikely as it may sound, given the continuous global love-affair with this most popular king, something very important and significant about the King Arthur legend has been staring us all in the face for the last thousand years, without us acknowledging it. Most serious Arthurian scholars haven't dealt with it yet. The crop of new Arthur interpretations this century – from computer games to films - hasn't dealt with it yet. It's this.
In the very earliest accounts of his exploits, King Arthur spends over half his warrior life in France, and specifically in the area of France which is now known as Burgundy. He ends up in a place called Avalon. In Burgundy, there is an ancient town called Avallon. Nobody has investigated the possible links with the region – least of all the French – until now. "King Arthur's French Odyssey – Avallon in Burgundy" takes a detailed look at Arthur's French connections.
The earliest account ever of King Arthur was from the pen of a medieval cleric called Geoffrey of Monmouth, in 'The History of the Kings of Britain', written in 1136. Before then there is no known written story in existence. It contains some of the well-known stories, but there is no Round Table, Holy Grail or Sword in the Stone – those were all added later by other writers. But there's still plenty to get your teeth into. Geoffrey's Arthur, as warrior King of Britain, defeats the Saxons and uses a fantastical sword, 'Caliburn' to do it. Caliburn was made in the forges of Avalon. The real Bishop of Auxerre, Germanus, figures in the story. Arthur's last battle on French soil was against the Romans at Autun. Arthur is married to a faithless Guinevere, and meets his ambiguous end at the hand of Mordred, and goes to Avalon to have his wounds seen to.
In Geoffrey's later book, 'Vita Merlini' (The Life of Merlin, about 1152) he tells us more about Avalon and King Arthur's demise. When he gets to Avalon, Arthur meets his kinswoman, Morgen, who takes him to her sanctuary where she uses her healing powers on his broken and bruised body. She is assisted in her sanctuary by a Sisterhood. That is where we leave him, in the sanctuary, in Avalon, in this first account. In Geoffrey's story, over half of King Arthur's warrior years are spent in France.
Running parallel to this fiction is the theory that King Arthur was based on a real-life 5th century British king called Riothamus. It is a very respectable thesis put forward by Geoffrey Ashe in his book, "The Discovery of King Arthur" (Sutton Publishing edition 2005). Ashe is widely regarded as the leading Arthurian authority in the world. Riothamus and his army was invited to Gaul to help the Romans defeat the Visigoths. There was a violent battle in the town of Bourges in 470. Riothamus was betrayed by a Roman, Morvandus, and was forced to flee with what was left of his battered troops , eastwards to the 'burgundians'. Due east of Bourges is Avallon. Fiction and fact place Avallon and Burgundy at the heart of the undiscovered King Arthur territory. This has to be much more than a coincidence ...
Read the book and be prepared to be challenged about the accepted origins of the myths behind the most famous king of them all. Avallon is the end of the myth, but the beginning of the real mystery.
With a Foreword by Geoffrey Ashe, "King Arthur's French Odyssey – Avallon in Burgundy" is available from Amazon.com UK and France, and from website www.pegasuspublishers.com . The book was commissioned by www.burgundytoday.com where the initial research was first published.
