Historical Arthur sources

[RyanW]

I've got GURPS Camelot, and some edition of Pendragon is around here somewhere (not that it's all that historical*), but are there any other gaming sources worth checking out for the place and time that would one day become the basis of the Arthur legend?

* I believe someone once told me that certain editions or supplements of Pendragon tried to tie themselves more to history of the sixth century rather than the mythology that came much later.

[The Colonel]

It's not gaming, but have you read Bernard Cornwell's Warlord trilogy? It's a plausible take on the Arthur legend, solidly rooted in post Roman Britain and narrated by a former follower of Arthur's... Cornwell does a good job in reconciling the old Welsh legends with the later Norman stuff and excels in his portrayal of the "magic" inherent to the tales. Should provide plenty of colour if you are thinking of gaming the era.

[Polydamas]

Originally Posted by RyanW

I've got GURPS Camelot, and some edition of Pendragon is around here somewhere (not that it's all that historical*), but are there any other gaming sources worth checking out for the place and time that would one day become the basis of the Arthur legend?

Do you want interpretations of post-imperial Britain that can inspire stories set there, or games set in early medieval England? Here are four of the former:

R. Fleming's Britain After Rome [2011]
J. Gerrard's The Ruin of Roman Britain: An Archaeological Perspective [2013]
Guy Halsall, Worlds of Arthur (2013)
Stuart Laycock, Warlords: The Struggle for Power in Post-Roman Britain (2011)

You can pick up most early Germanic literature wherever students are selling their textbooks these days.

[RyanW]

Originally Posted by The Colonel

It's not gaming, but have you read Bernard Cornwell's Warlord trilogy?

It's added to my Kindle list. Thank you.

Originally Posted by Polydamas

Do you want interpretations of post-imperial Britain that can inspire stories set there, or games set in early medieval England?

I'll take a look at those, as well. The idea I have is Arthur as war leader of the resistance of the Britons against the Saxon invasion.

[Polydamas]

There is Jack Whyte's Dream of Eagles series of novels https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/45309.Jack_Whyte Stuart Laycock's "failed state" hypothesis is probably the most gamable of the serious archaeology books I listed, although Halsall's intrigues and outgrouping and shifting alliances have potential if he would just speculate a little bit more than he does.

[ak_aramis]

Originally Posted by RyanW

[...]some edition of Pendragon is around here somewhere (not that it's all that historical*),[...]
* I believe someone once told me that certain editions or supplements of Pendragon tried to tie themselves more to history of the sixth century rather than the mythology that came much later.

Not really true. All 4 editions are grounded directly in Mallory, informed by the Vulgate, and Chretien de Troyes, with bits of the Mabinogion and TH White...

The Saxons! supplement is more historically grounded, but it's 5th C, not 6th. Likewise, Land of Giants is based in Beowulf, and is a touch more historical, but it's still pretty much myth trumping realism in the way the core did.

And Paladin isn't Arthurian, but Charlemagne.

That said - note that The Boy King includes a rough map to the tech by phase...

[Polydamas]

Pyramid #3-33 has an article on Late Roman technology in GURPS, although its focused on the urban civilization which fell apart in Britain in the 4th/5th/6th centuries. GURPS 3e Middle Ages had some things on early medieval England but more Viking Age.