Page "King Arthur" Paragraph 23

In addition to these pre-Galfridian Welsh poems and tales, Arthur appears in some other early Latin texts besides the Historia Brittonum and the Annales Cambriae.

In particular, Arthur features in a number of well-known vitae (" Lives ") of post-Roman saints, none of which are now generally considered to be reliable historical sources ( the earliest probably dates from the 11th century ).

According to the Life of Saint Gildas, written in the early 12th century by Caradoc of Llancarfan, Arthur is said to have killed Gildas ' brother Hueil and to have rescued his wife Gwenhwyfar from Glastonbury.

In the Life of Saint Cadoc, written around 1100 or a little before by Lifris of Llancarfan, the saint gives protection to a man who killed three of Arthur's soldiers, and Arthur demands a herd of cattle as wergeld for his men.

Cadoc delivers them as demanded, but when Arthur takes possession of the animals, they turn into bundles of ferns.

Similar incidents are described in the medieval biographies of Carannog, Padarn and Eufflam, probably written around the 12th century.

A less obviously legendary account of Arthur appears in the Legenda Sancti Goeznovii, which is often claimed to date from the early 11th century although the earliest manuscript of this text dates from the 15th century.

Also important are the references to Arthur in William of Malmesbury's De Gestis Regum Anglorum and Herman's De Miraculis Sanctae Mariae Laudensis, which together provide the first certain evidence for a belief that Arthur was not actually dead and would at some point return, a theme that is often revisited in post-Galfridian folklore.