Current Recommended Order of Reading.
A quick guide to Aurochs, Arthur and the Anvil.
I know it can be a little daunting for a new reader to dive in, and have often been asked ‘is there a particular order I should be reading these in?’ Well I’ve given it some thought and so far this is my recommendation.
First I’d recommending reading this short article, a quick primer on the period and what I generally write about.
The Brythonic Heroic Age
I have lately been using the term “The Brythonic Heroic Age”. This as far as I can tell is my own invention. I thought I would do a short post about why I am using it, and what it is. Others use their own terms for this period, the main being the “Sub-Roman Era” or some variation thereof, however I think this is a poor representation o…
Probably the most important article here. This is the bulk of the conclusions of my work on one of the possible figures behind King Arthur.
The Northern Arthur
*Note from Aurochs* Over the last few months I’ve put out a few more pieces of content here and there that enhance this article quite a bit, so I have decided it was time to go ahead and update it with a little bit of new info and a decent amount of c…
Two hundred years of Coeling history. This will introduce you to the Coeling dynasty,
Kin of Coel: 410-600
*Update* This is a long one, and I have decided to eschew the email size limit in order to try and produce something a little nicer that usual, even though you’ll have to open this in your browser or the substack app to read the entire article I hope you stick around and do so. In the last year I have written much on the
Discussing the detective work involved in determining the Kings of Elmet. A great example of how I approach trying to figure these things out.
Elmet, The Forgotten Kingdom
The Kingdom of Elmet's borders, and even it's sheer existence as a kingdom is unsteady, as it occurs in only a handful of places, with Nennius' Historia Brittonum mentioning that Edwin of Northumbria "occupied Elmet and expelled Certic, king of that country"
Identifying Coel’s descendants within the early 7th century poem Y Gododdin.
The Coeling in Y Gododdin
This is an expanded version of a thread I previously released on twitter. I thought it fitting to expand a little, as I had hit the 25 tweet limit imposed by twitter, and felt like it was long enough to stretch most attention spans there. However with my diligent Substack readers, I trust that more than double the length will be no chore you you all my …
In many ways a follow-up to the article above. Looking at Catraeth from an alternative interpretation.
A look at Catraeth
The famed Battle of Catraeth, the subject of the earliest work of poetry in Old Welsh, Y Gododdin, was a disastrous battle for the titular heroes of the northern kingdom of Gododdin centered on Din Eidyn, modern Edinburgh. There is much division of the dating of the poem however.
The next is my Arthurian Tropes series. Tracking down origins of certain tropes, such as the abduction of Guinevere, the Sword in the Stone, the use of heavy cavalry and others.
I especially recommend taking a look at my friend’s three part piece looking at Rheged, and some potential monuments to Arthwys ap Mar. You can find them at the button below.
A look at Arthur’s 12 battles from Nennius. Looking at potential sites, and then full campaign possibilities, then a final look at Camlann.
The important figures series compiles rough biographies for many of the important figures from the period. It’s a work in progress, and has paused for some time so I could focus on the book as those articles in particular take up a significant amount of time. They will be continued at a later date.
Thank you for checking out my Substack, I hope this guide helps new readers navigate a little bit, although it will probably out of date in a month or two. Gotta keep writing though. Keep an eye out for the release of my upcoming book looking at the Coeling and their role in the 5th and 6th centuries.
Great guide, thanks for doing this. Do you have any recommendations for where to start with the Arthurian legends themselves? I've been reading Tennyson's Idylls of the King, and these are great, but obviously they are much later Interpretations of the stories. Where would you recommend someone start getting into Arthur?
Good, this 👍👍