Lucius Artorius Castus

Lucius Artorius Castus (fl. 2nd century) was a military commander of ancient Rome, suggested by some as the historical basis for King Arthur.

Life according to sources

What is known of Artorius comes from inscriptions on fragments of a sarcophagus, and a memorial plaque, both found in Podstrana on the Dalmatian coast. Although undated, the likely time period of the sarcophagus (before 200), combined with the inscription's mention of Artorius being a "dux", suggests that he was the unnamed commander of a 185 expedition to Armorica mentioned by Herodian.

As a member of the "gens Artoria" he was likely a native of Campania, a region of Southern Italy. According to the inscription, Artorius was a centurion of the Legio III "Gallica", then moved to VI "Ferrata", then to V "Macedonica", where he was promoted to "primus pilus". He was then made "praepositus" of the "classis Misenensis" (the Bay of Naples fleet), followed by a position as "praefectus" of the VI "Victrix".

The VI "Victrix" was based in Britain from c. 122. Artorius likely participated in the guarding of Hadrian's Wall. It has been suggested that this was possibly from Bremetennacum with a contingent of Sarmatians, but there is no clear evidence for this. When VI "Victrix" mutinied, Artorius seems to have remained loyal, since Pertinax soon after promoted him to "dux" and sent him to Armorica with several cohorts of cavalry, where he was successful in suppressing an uprising.

Artorius then retired from the army and became "procurator centenaris" (governor) of Liburnia, a part of Dalmatia. Nothing further is known certainly of him, although the father of Cassius Dio was governor of Dalmatia while Artorius was in Liburnia, and some of the material in Dio's history may have come from Artorius directly.

Identification with King Arthur

The possibility of Artorius as Arthur was first suggested by Kemp Malone in 1924. Although Artorius was not contemporaneous with the Saxon invasions of Britain in the 5th century, it is possible that he was remembered in local tales and legends that grew in the retelling.

Artorius is identified with King Arthur in the 2004 movie "King Arthur" (which moved him forwards 300 years to become a contemporary of the Saxons) and the 2005 PC game "".

Additional notes

The first Latin chronicle to mention the name "Arthur" is the Historia Britonum, believed to have been compiled about 800 AD by a Welshman named Nennius.

This work was written in Latin, but many scholars feel that Nennius based his details about the Twelve Battles of Arthur upon native Welsh sources. Artorius is a Roman gens name, though it might also be Celtic in origin, coming from "*artos viros", meaning "bear man".

Historically, "Arthur" was perhaps a "dux bellorum", chieftain or general of the Sub-Roman period (5th/6th century AD), though he is not mentioned by any contemporary historianFact|date=February 2007.

One argument says that he is to be identified with the Celtic king Riothamus, but it would seem to suggest that the Arthur of legend is, rather, a composite figure, combining the attributes and achievements of more than one person.

However, the first complete, coherent narrative of the life of King Arthur appears in the fanciful eleventh-century Historia Regum Britanniae, written by Geoffrey of Monmouth. This work combined the works of Nennius and Welsh folklore to give, with additional input from the Medieval cycle, the Matter of Britain, the Arthurian legends known today, along with many of the major characters and events.

References

*A Companion to Arthurian & Celtic Myths & Legends by Mike Dixon-Kennedy, Sutton Publishing Limited, 2004
*The Romance of Arthur - an anthology of medieval texts in translation, Garland Publishing, Inc. New York & London 1994 by James J. Wilhelm (ed.)
*The Northon Anthology - English Literature - 7th. ed. W.W.Northon Company, 2001

External links

* Linda A. Malcor's 1999 article about Lucius Artorius Castus in "The Heroic Age", [http://www.mun.ca/mst/heroicage/issues/1/halac.htm part 1] and [http://www.mun.ca/mst/heroicage/issues/2/ha2lac.htm 2]
* [http://www.slobodnadalmacija.com/20070220/split01.asp News article] from "Slobodna Dalmacija" daily, Croatia, 2007-02-20
* [http://www.petrus.sk/core/gallery/places/croatia2007/dsc_8652.jpg.html Photograph] of the memorial plaque in Podstrana