Geoffrey of
Monmouth's History of the Kings of
Britain
1.
The House of Constantine Comes to Power
in Britain (149-55)
Put
into chronological order of reign:
Vortimer Constans Ambrosias Aurelius Arthur
Constantine Vortigern
(ruled twice) Uther Pendragon
1.
_____________
2.
_____________
3.
_____________
4.
_____________
5.
_____________
6.
_____________
7.
_____________
8.
_____________
Guithelinus,
Archbishop of London, goes to Little Britain (Brittany, Armorica) to ask King
Adroenus to help Britain repell the Saxon invasions since the people of Little
Britain are relatives of the people of Great Britain. He
offers______________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________. King Adroenus declines the offer, since
Britain, in its present beseiged condition, isn't worth much to him, but he
sends his brother _______________, with soldiers, to help in his stead.
______________
does not last long in Britain (his brother, Adroenus, it seems, made a good
decision about not going), being killed by a _____ (a native of present-day
Scotland), but not before he has sired three
sons:________________, __________________, and
_________________________________________.
After his assassination, the succession is in
question because the older son, ________________, has been dedicated to a
monastery. An ambitious leader,
______________, visits the elder son in the monastery and persuades him to
break his vows to assume the kingship, intending all along to promote his own
purposes by making the new King endebted to him. _______________ advises the new King to keep some Picts as
laisons. The agreeable King, having
learned nothing from his father's experience, is soon stabbed by them.
At
this point, _________________ and __________________________ are sent to Little
Britain for their own safety.
_____________ assumes the crown.
2.
Saxons Arrive (155-59)
Soon
thereafter, ______________ and ________________ arrive in longships, bragging
about how Woden, Thor, and Freia, their Germanic deities, are namesakes for the
days of the week. Reassuring King
____________ that they have come peaceably because they are merely surplus
population back home, they offer to help defeat the Picts in the North in
return for _________. Considering that
they have come at "a most convenient moment," ____________ welcomes
them and invites them to move into the palace.
The handsome brothers handsomely defeat the Picts in the next uprising
and win lands plus permission to invite ______________________________________________________________. The King refuses to grant them noble
titles, but he does agree to give them as much _________ as can be encircled by
________________.
3.
Vortigern Falls in “Love” (159-64)
When
Hengist's daughter ___________, visits the court, the King (who would fit right
in with Malory's crowd) is smitten with
desire. Unable to resist her saucy
words, "Laverd King, was hail"
(159), her tipsy admirer agrees to turn Kent over to her people in exchange for
___________.
Hengist
soon is granted permission to bring to Britain his sons _________ and
__________ along with their friend ____________, who will, of course, all need
land, but who will keep the peace in the North along Hadrian's Wall.
The
British populace, alarmed at the mixing of pagan Saxons and Christian British
which is resulting from this mass migration give up on King ___________ and
promote __________, his son, to the kingship.
The young King isn't able to fight the barbarians long because he is
poisoned by _______________. Vortigern is reinstated as king after his poor
son's death. Hearing this news Hengist returns to Britain with an enormous war
host. True to his usual crafty form, he covered his hostile intentions with a
flimsy story that he came to Britain thinking Vortimer was still in office.
4.
Treachery at the Peace Conference of
Ambrius (164-65)
Back
in business as king, ____________ falls for another Saxon trick. He agrees to a huge peace conference at the
Cloister of Ambrius. On the signal Nimet oure __________(Let's take out our
swords) the Saxons draw weapons from their boots (proving that they aren't
called "Saxons" for nothing) and slay 460 unarmed British counts and
earls. Miraculously, a certain warrior by the name of ___________manages to survive
the massacre (and wipe out 70 Saxons in the process) by defending himself with
a__________ ___________.
5.
Vortigern's Fortress and the Arrival of
Merlin (166-69)
Next
the Saxons seize London, York, Lincoln and Winchester. ______________flees to
Wales and attempts to build for himself a strong fortress, but the work is
stalled because
_______________________________________________________________. The court magicians advise him to find a
_____________ ______________ and then
use his blood to sprinkle the _________________.
Messengers
sent out to the surrounding towns hear a couple of boys squabbling. Dinabutius
rags ___________ about being such a
lad, so the messengers bring him and his mother to the King. The mother's story concerning her son's conception
is that ___________________________
______________________________________________________________.
The
youth outsmarts the magicians by explaining that the real source of the
construction problem is sink-swell soil caused by _______________________________________________________________. Indeed, when the engineers
______________________________________
they
find________________________________________________________.
Everyone
is impressed (except for the magicians).
6.
The Defeat of Hengest (186-93)
After
that coup, Merlin obliges Vortigern's
request to know what his own fate will be. He announces with great confidence
and authority that Vortigern will be __________ alive while shut up in his
tower. Merlin also predicts the fate of Vortigern's arch-rivals,
______________ _________________
and__________________: death by
______________.
Aurelius Ambrosius fulfills Merlin's prophecy of Vortigern's death, then goes looking for Hengist. As it turns out, ________ is the one who subdues Hengest, grabbing him by his helmet's ____________. Later this same warrior is given permission to execute the troublesome Saxon leader in the Biblical style of Samuel slaying Agag. Thus the revenge he had longed for since the massacre at Ambrius is his.
7.
A Big Job for Merlin (193-98)
Hengest's
son ________ surrenders, and Aurelius Ambrosius, feeling compassion for this
self-styled homeless orphan, gives him (and brother _________) permission to
occupy Scotland. Next, the King proposes, upon visiting the site where the war
dead of Ambrius were buried, that a special _________________ be made.
Tremorinus, Archbishop of the City of Legions, recommends __________ for the
job. When the young engineer is brought before Aurelius Ambrosius, he decides
to take advantage of the youth's special abilities by having him prophecy for
him. The boy replies that "Mysteries of that sort cannot be
__________________." Then they get down to the business of planning the
memorial. __________'s idea is to get the __________ ____________ from Mount Killaraus in ____________. Such a
preposterous suggestion makes Aurelius Ambrosius ___________ at first, but he
is soon convinced and sends the young man and ________________ on the mission.
After fighting and driving away the Irish king Gillomanius, Merlin dismantles
the Ring "more easily than you could ever believe." When the stones
have been transported to Britain, they are arranged in the shape of a
__________ around the __________________________________________________.
8.
The Death of Aurelius Ambrosius (199-204)
Just
when everyone seems to think the whole Vortigern mess has been put to bed, his
son ___________ begins to stir up trouble by allying with the Irish king
______________ and by hiring a Saxon named Eopa to kill Aurelius Ambrosius with
____________. Eopa disguises himself as a ___________ and mixes a ________ for
the unsuspecting king.
Meanwhile
a portent appears, a __________ trailing a fireball in the shape of a
___________. Merlin interprets it to signify ____________ and his ___________,
respectively. This episode is wrapped up quickly when Utherpendragon kills
Gillomanius and Paschent, and Aurelius Ambrosius dies and is buried in
________ ___________.
9.
Uther Falls in “Love” (204-211)
The
next episode opens when Utherpendragon holds a special Easter assembly of
nobles in London. Among the honored guests are the Duke of Cornwall:
___________ and his beautiful bride: ___________. As soon as he lays eyes on
her, Uther makes a complete _______ of himself, passing her the choicest hors d'oeuvres and smiling stupidly at
her. __________ is understandably annoyed and whisks away his wife without a
proper good-by. Uther then pitches a royal ________, swearing that if the
Cornwall couple does not come back immediately, he will ravage Cornwall one way
or another. Sure enough, Uther leads an army in hot pursuit to Dimilioc where
the Duke is garrisoned. After a week of frustration, Uther announces that he
will _______ or at least have a physical breakdown if he cannot spend some time
with _________. A soldier named _________ suggests that they ask none other
than the ever helpful _________ if he has any advice, and the engineer-prophet
turns out to be the best Dear Abbey a king could ever want. His recommendation
is that Uther disguise himself as ________ and present himself at the
stronghold at ___________ where _________ is safely (?) stowed. Ulfin and
Merlin come along for the ride also, transformed as _________ and _________,
respectively. To make a long story short, the trick fools _________ with the
result that_________ is conceived that very night. Also on that night,
_________ is killed--though not at Uther's orders. In fact, Uther
"mourns" when he finds out about the death of his rival,
but he was happy all the
same . . . From that day on they lived together as _________, united by their
great _________ for each other; and they had a son and a daughter: Arthur and
_________.
Wrapping
up, Anna marries ________, Uther's second-in-command; Uther falls ill and has
to direct the fight against Octa (who had escaped with brother Eosa from
prison) in a _________; then he dies of ___________ and is buried at
__________ ____________.
10.
Arthur Takes on the Saxons (212-18)
·
Arthur
is crowned at age _______ with no objection from British nobles.
·
New
Saxon leaders: _________ and brother __________
·
While
brother #1 __________ is beseiged by Arthur at York, brother #2 _________
disguises himself as a __________ to gain admittance inside the walls.
·
___________
brings aid to the Saxon brothers from Germany.
·
Arthur's
nephew ________ brings reinforcements from Brittany for the British cause,
tipping the balance in favor of Arthur.
Arthur
follows the retreating Saxons to _________
_________ where he traps them inside a ring of ____________ until they
surrender, at which time they are permitted to return to Germany as long as
they leave their weapons and treasure. When they change their minds and plunder
Bath instead of returning home, Arthur fights a literal "up-hill battle" against them.
·
Arthur's
helmet has a crest shaped like a _________.
·
His
shield has a picture of _________.
·
Name
of sword: __________ Where was it
forged? ___________
·
Name
of spear: _________
Arthur
goes "berserk" and kills 470 warriors including Colgrin and Baldulf,
but _______ escapes.
11.
Arthur Takes on the Romans with a Detour
by Mont Saint Michel (237-57)-
After
receiving General Lucius' challenge, Arthur leaves _________ and _________ in
charge of Britain while he goes to meet the Romans. On the way he hears that a
__________ has kidnapped the daughter of his nephew (Hoel) and taken her to
Mont Saint Michel. Arthur takes only two of his companions to check out the
situation: __________, his seneschal, and __________ his Cup-bearer.
·
Who
Bedevere meets on the secondary hill: ___________
·
Who
kills the giant? ___________
·
This
giant is the most formidable enemy since Retho, a different giant who collected
the _________ of kings for his fur ___________.
·
The
chapel Hoel builds at Mont Saint Michel for his daughter: __________'s Tomb.
Monmouth's
record of Arthur's engagements with the Romans is very detailed. Gawain and
Hoel distinguish themselves for bravery, and Gawain even displays wit of a
rather gruesome sort ("tell
Quintillianus, when you get to hell, why Britons are so good at boasting and making
threats"). But Arthur is the clear champion, inspiring his men with
motivational speeches, hacking off hundreds of heads with __________, and
"bundling" Romans "off to hell." The victory is ultimately
Britain's, but the losses have been devastating on both sides--General Lucius
killed by an unknown hand, and both the Cup-bearer ____________ and Seneschal
________ receive mortal wounds.
12.
The Treachery of Mordred (257-61)
Before
Arthur can set out to take Rome from Emperor Leo, news arrives from Britain
that ___________ has _______________________________________. Monmouth
withholds comment on the fact that Guinevere
_________________________________________. Back in Britain, Arthur learns that
Mordred has signed a treaty with ___________, a Saxon leader (not to be
confused with Cheldric, who fought with Colgrin and Baldulf—pp.213;218,
and Cherdic, a companion of Octa and Ebissa—p.161). Thus Arthur must
face down insurgent Britons, Saxons, recruited Scots, Picts, and Irish all at
once. Nevertheless, he encourages his men with the fact that they are far more
_________________ than this "miscellaneous collection of barbarians"
and traitors.
·
In
the battle waged while Arthur is landing at Richborough, nephew _____________is
killed.
·
At
some point, Guinevere "gives way to despair" and joins a
____________.
·
The
last great battle is fought at the River ______________.
·
Here
Chelric and ____________ are killed.
·
Arthur
is ____________________ and carried off to ___________ so that his
_________________________________.
·
The
kingship is handed over to _______________.
· Monmouth gives the date 542 for this event.