Geoffrey of Monmouth

Geoffrey of Monmouth
Wooden statue of a man holding a book
Statue of Geoffrey at the Old Station Tintern in Monmouthshire
Born
Galfridus Arturus

c. 1095
Possibly Monmouth, Wales
Diedc. 1155 (aged 59–60)
Other names
  • Galfridus Monemutensis
  • Galfridus Arturus
  • Galfridus Artur
  • Gruffudd ap Arthur
  • Sieffre o Fynwy
OccupationCatholic cleric
Known forHistoria Regum Britanniae
Prophetiae Merlini
Vita Merlini

Geoffrey of Monmouth (Latin: Galfridus Monemutensis, Galfridus Arturus; Welsh: Gruffudd ap Arthur, Sieffre o Fynwy; c. 1095 – c. 1155) was a Catholic cleric from Monmouth, Wales, and one of the major figures in the development of British historiography and the popularity of tales of King Arthur. He is best known for his chronicle The History of the Kings of Britain (Latin: De gestis Britonum or Historia Regum Britanniae)[1] which was widely popular in its day, being translated into other languages from its original Latin. It was given historical credence well into the 16th century,[2] but is now considered historically unreliable.

  1. ^ Geoffrey of Monmouth. The history of the kings of Britain: an edition and translation of De gestis Britonum (Historia regum Britanniae). Arthurian studies. Vol. 69. Michael D. Reeve (ed.), Neil Wright (trans.). Woodbridge, Suffolk: Boydell Press. 2007. p. lix. ISBN 978-1-84383-206-5.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
  2. ^ Polydore Vergil's sceptical reading of Geoffrey of Monmouth provoked a reaction of denial in England, "yet the seeds of doubt once sown" eventually replaced Geoffrey's romances with a new Renaissance historical approach, according to Hans Baron, "Fifteenth-century civilisation and the Renaissance", in The New Cambridge Modern history, vol. 1 1957:56.