"Arthur, King" is a novel about the man behind the legends who leads a kingdom besieged by enemies and filled with ambitious warlords plotting to become the next High King of Britain.
Who is King Arthur? That question has delighted, inspired, and confounded people for centuries. Is he a mighty warrior who united the kingdoms of Britain to fight off the Saxons and their allies after the Roman Legions withdrew? Is he the champion of chivalry who becomes involved in a love triangle that ends up destroying all that he built? Is he a larger-than-life warrior surrounded by magical weapons and beings? Or is he just a man trying to defend his homeland from invaders? Arthur, King is a novel about the man behind the legends who leads a kingdom besieged by enemies and filled with ambitious warlords plotting to become the next High King of Britain.
In 464 AD, fifty-three years after Rome withdrew her Legions from Britain, the island was ruled by petty kings who jealously protected their small kingdoms. Uther, the King of Gododdin (southeast Scotland), and his wife Ygerna, have a new son whom they name Arthur. When Uther dies in battle six years later, and Ygerna dies from her grief, Arthur is raised by Merlin, his father’s chief noble, and General Galerius, commander of the kingdom’s armies.
Arthur grows into a fearless warrior and brilliant strategist, leading his armies and the armies of his allies against invaders. In 482 AD, he leads his armies south to join the other kingdoms in a desperate battle against the invading Saxons and Anglians at Mount Badon. Ambrosius, the High King of Britain, falls in that battle, and Arthur, who rallies the British and defeats the invaders, finds himself the new High King.
Arthur is besieged on all sides by invaders and disloyal kings who want to be High King. He must fight battle after battle against the Saxons, Anglians, Picts, and Irish invaders, while keeping the petty kings united against their common foes. Arthur soon realizes that Britain cannot survive as a splintered group of little kingdoms; Britain must be united into a single kingdom under a single king if it is stand against the invaders and if its people are to thrive. He begins the work of uniting the kingdoms without using his armies to force the petty kings to submit. Many of the kings agree, but several don’t, and they begin plotting against Arthur in earnest.
Arthur meets Gwenhwyfar, the daughter of one of his Welsh allies, and marries her. With her help, he creates the united Kingdom of Britain and stays one step ahead of the disloyal nobles who are jealous and want to see Arthur fail.
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