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    The History of the Kings of Britain
    The History of the Kings of Britain
    The History of the Kings of Britain
    Ebook384 pages5 hours

    The History of the Kings of Britain

    By Geoffrey of Monmouth

    3.5/5

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    Little is definitively known of the life and schooling of Geoffrey of Monmouth, but his extraordinary literary works have survived centuries as a testament to his legacy. Around the time of Geoffrey’s life, the written Arthurian legends were mostly fragmentary and often incoherent. He therefore took on the task of creating the first full biographies of King Arthur and Merlin, which from that point on remained the quintessential source for all Arthurian tales. His finest work, “The History of the Kings of Britain”, traces the reign of nearly a hundred British kings, beginning with the nation’s mythical founder, Brutus. It is an imaginative and meticulously written masterpiece. Modeled after “The Aeneid”, one half of the work is devoted towards the first ten centuries of British history. The second half, comprising about two centuries, focuses primarily around King Arthur, the rise and fall of the Round Table, and the declining fortunes of Arthur’s heirs.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherDigireads.com Publishing
    Release dateNov 11, 2019
    ISBN9781420964264
    The History of the Kings of Britain

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    Reviews for The History of the Kings of Britain

    3.5/5

    272 ratings10 reviews

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    • 3/5
      An example of the murky boundary between history and romance in Plantagenet times. This is good entertainment, a racy history that would please the Plantagenet court. Modern research has disproved almost everything in it, but it remains an artefact of the period. it definitely provided the basis of other author's work. there's another book that has crossed my shelves a good deal like this in tone, and sadly, veracity, Dudo of Saint Quentin's "History of the Normans." If you like this one give Dudo a try.
    • 2/5
      Geoffrey’s history is too much chronology and too little history. He’s left the story out of the history—ironically because so many stories were generated by his chronicle of stick figures squabbling. Geoffrey’s account is about as interesting and listening to someone else reciting their genealogy for hours on end.
    • 5/5
      This book should be read as a work of literature and not as an actual history. Geoffrey of Monmouth did write the history of the kings, but he also invented a great deal of it. In some cases, it is hard to tell what is fact and what is fiction. That aside, The History of the Kings of Britain is absolutely wonderful! This is especially so in the chapters about King Arthur. Until now, I had only heard the typical Arthur pulls the sword from the stone and becomes king, marries Guinevere, and is betrayed by Guinevere and Lancelot. This is a whold different take on the traditional King Arthur.
    • 5/5
      A really fascinating look at pre-historical, Roman, and Dark Age Britain. The stories are generally little-known, but contribute a great deal to modern literature. Recommended for lit geeks. ;)
    • 4/5
      A version of the history of Britain that everybody needs to read at one point or another. At times it can be a bit boring, but for the most part it is very interesting and moves briskly. Trying to match events in account with current records can be challenging, and well that is part of the fun of the work to be honest.
    • 4/5
      Assigned in College, very interesting if not a little difficult to get through.
    • 3/5
      Have you ever heard of the Reduced Shakespeare Company? They were a comedy troupe who specialized in abbreviated versions of Shakespeare's plays. Supposedly, they hold the record for the quickest performance of Hamlet, clocking in at 43 seconds. Impressive, huh? No less impressive is Geoffrey of Monmouth. In The History of the Kings of Britain, he blazes through about 2000 years in less than 300 pages (actually closer to 200 when you take out the introduction.)Centuries fly by like seconds, and before you know it, it's 524 AD, and King Arthur has just kicked the bucket. Hey, wait a minute, it wasn't that many pages ago when Julius Caesar was invading Britain!You know who else I thought of while reading this? My grandpa. When I was a little kid, I would sit in rapt attention as he told fascinating, exciting stories from his youth. And I believed every word. I would go home and relate them to my mom, and she would just shake her head. He was a great story teller, but most of it was pure fantasy. Much like ol’ Geoffrey. When it was written (1136) and up until about the 17th century, it was taken as a bona fide work of history. In fact, most of it is just made up, with a smattering of historical figures thrown in to give it some weight. You would think the story about the two hollow stones at the bottom of a pool which contained two dragons might have tipped them off.He also claims that his book was actually the translation he did of a very ancient book, I suppose to add even more credulity to it. But nope, another whopper. You know, the more I think about it, the more Geoffrey reminds me of a cousin of mine about whom someone once asked, “How do you know when Steve is telling a lie? His lips are moving.”But anyways, aside from suffering from Attention Deficit Disorder, and being a compulsive liar Geoffrey could spin a good yarn. Lots of good old bloody battle scenes: heads being lopped off, bodies cut clean in half, … Plus, lots of sex. Well, okay, maybe not lots of it. But what there is, is pretty racy. In this version of King Arthur, Guinevere is getting it on with Mordred while Arthur is off doing battle somewhere. And as you know, Mordred was Arthur's nephew (in this version just his nephew, in Malory's his son/nephew/whatever). Still pretty kinky. So, when all is said and done, a very entertaining read. Just don't expect it to help you pass that English history test.
    • 4/5
      I have interesting in Britain`s history. So I read this book. Britain` history is brilliant. but this history have many pains and many pepole` sacrifice. And Britain start democratic government. This is geart thing. becouse Britain extended democratic.
    • 5/5
      Very subtle and clever political attacks on his theologial historian contemporaries.
    • 3/5
      There are too many things to review here. Geoffrey's history is refreshingly well written for a medieval latin work, and the translation is very well done. It's not, of course, 'history' in any sense, and it can be pretty hard work slogging through the parts that don't deal with dramatic or fabulous stories. Parts of this felt like the bible's begats, and nobody needs more of that. The good stories, on the other hand, were genuinely interesting- Arthur of course, but also Locrinus' love for Estrildis, the story of King Leir, and the various narratives of battle trickeration.

      The other thing to review is this edition. Good translation, but awful apparatus. I really needed something to tell me what, if anything, was historically accurate and what was pure fantasy. As it is, I kind of sort of remembered some names from Bede or recent histories of dark ages Britain (Penda, for instance). I would have loved some footnotes giving me a bit more information; it also would have made the text itself more interesting.

      In any case, well worth reading. I'm ready to move on to some later Arthuriana.

      1 person found this helpful

    Book preview

    The History of the Kings of Britain - Geoffrey of Monmouth

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