Yorkshire Philosophical Society

Event Information

Joint lecture with The Historical Association, York branch

English identity and why Arthur is never enough
Henrietta Leyser, University of Oxford

After centuries of fame throughout the Middle Ages, portrayed in literature and legend as the great warrior king defending Britain from its enemies, both human and supernatural, King Arthur was replaced quite suddenly by St George in our national consciousness.  A Greek who became an officer in the Roman army and who really has very weak links with England, St George seems an unlikely choice at a time of intense nationalism.   This lecture will explore why this change came about.

Report

Mrs Leyser’s thesis suggested there was a failure by the English to create a national identity round the king during the Middle Ages. There was regional diversity and separate governance, based on shires and hundreds. The lack of national focus made medieval historians look back fondly to the legendary King Arthur, and also to the Anglo-Saxon kings, such as Alfred and the canonised Edward the Confessor, who had appeared to offer a form of national unity before the regime change and vandalism of the Normans. Post-Conquest kings began to recognise a need for national unity based on the kingship, but accidents (the drowning of Henry I’s heir in the White Ship disaster), civil war (Stephen and Matilda), and murder (Thomas Becket) tended to prevent it.

King Arthur had periods of popularity as a unifying national figure, but localism continued, with focus on local saints, until the cult of St George began to grow. First mentioned by Bede, and celebrated by various kings, including Alfred and Edward III, who made him patron saint of the Order of the Garter, he became more popular than St Edward the Confessor and survived the Reformation to become patron saint of England.

Carole Smith