King Arthur, World History,
and The Church
Mysteries of Earth Unfolded
Prose and poetry by
With love and thanks to my beloved husband,
George,
and our eight precious sons,
without whose patience this work would not have been possible.
© 2009, Elayne Pair Gibbons. All rights reserved.
Preface
It began in my childhood, with an interest in King Arthur, David and Goliath, and the Trojan Horse. By the time I was in college, I was very interested in history. I began with family history, tracing my family tree for generations and recording the terrific stories. Lots of kids and lots of moves, meant not much time for my personal interests, but I studied when I could. A trip to the library with the kids often meant I could check out another historical book. My interest began to zero in on King Arthur. The years passed quickly. Then one Sunday, during a quiet moment in church, the Spirit spoke three words in my mind, “Write the book.” I knew instantly what the book was supposed to be about. I had never even considered writing a book, and certainly not about ancient history. I had a husband, 6 of my 8 children still at home, my genealogy research, a huge website to keep up, volunteer work, and a job! My reaction was quick and impulsive, “No, no, no, no! I don’t have time to do that. I don’t know how to do that. I don’t want to do that. I’m not going to do that.” The Spirit persisted, and after a week I submitted, with full faith and dependence on Nephi’s declaration that, “the Lord giveth no commandments unto the children of men, save he shall prepare a way for them that they may accomplish the thing which he commandeth them” (1 Nephi 3:7). The blessings began immediately, especially the one I needed most, enthusiasm for my family and myself. I am the most humble of authors, a homemaker from Texas, but I do know history and human nature. I don’t believe that anyone, or any community, or any nation has ever lived in isolation. They are all inter-connected.
The legends of King Arthur have fascinated mankind for centuries. The earliest surviving references to him date from the eighth century. Whether they quoted earlier written records or oral traditions, the results are much the same - tiny errors creep in with every copy, every misspelling, every translation, every exaggeration, until many scholars of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries gave up in frustration. “Not true,” they said. “No such person”. “The stories are too fantastic to be believable!”
Then a new breed of scholars came along, those who loved the stories and could not, would not, believe that so much firestorm did not have solid embers burning at its heart. These men and women spent years researching for every little shred of evidence that Arthur existed, that he was a king, that his political situation was as described in legend, and that specific legends were based on fact. I present here that if these modern scholars lack anything, it is a solid foundation of religion on which to connect the puzzle pieces. My goal is to bring together many of these ideas which have been worked out by numerous scholars and show how they fit together with scriptures, histories, genealogies, and archaeology, and to set them forth in an understandable way.
Some parts of the King Arthur stories are essential, and must be based on truth if the legends are to be accepted as history. Was there really a Druid counselor named Merlin, a sword in a stone, a Holy Grail, and a Lady of the Lake? Yes! King Arthur’s legends are indeed based on facts, as are most of our legends and myths. This is the story of how it all fits together in our history....
Table of Contents
Preface
Chapter 1 ... King Arthur’s People
Chapter 2 ... In the Beginning
In the Beginning, The Nations of the Earth, The City of Melchizedek, The First Israelites, Joseph and Asenath, The Israelites in Egypt, Moses
Chapter 3 ... The Hyksos
Manetho, Egyptian History, Are the Israelites the Hyksos, New Information
Chapter 4 ... The Israelites
The Religion of Israel, The Tabernacle, The Levites, Two Priesthoods, Fiery Serpents, The Promised Land, Jordan River, The Tribe of Benjamin, Women in Ancient Israel, Education in the Ancient World, Augury, The Three Kings of Israel, David and Goliath, The Temple, Divided and Conquered, Elijah, Lost Tribes, Destruction of Jerusalem, Rule of the Maccabees, Arthur’s World
Chapter 5 ... The City of Troy
Israelite Colonies in the Aegean, The Lebor Gabala Erren, Other Written Records, Geoffrey of Monmouth, Labyrinth and Maze, The Trojan Horse, Phoenicia, Zeus
Chapter 6 ... Lehites
Chapter 7 ... The Ten Lost Tribes
The Scattering, Ancient Historians Speak, Recognizing Individual Tribes, Isles of the Sea, Jesus Speaks of Other Sheep, The Gathering of Israel
Chapter 8 ... Celts & Druids
Celtic Languages-Sound Shift, Irish History, The Early Records, Celtic History, Julius Caesar, Roads, Celtic Art, Storage Pits, Megaliths, Foster Children, Celtic Women, The Druids, Medicine, Law, Celtic Religion, Apostasy, Education and Literature
Chapter 9 ... The Coming of Christ
Herod Family; John the Baptist; Mary and Joseph; Birth of Jesus Christ; Star of Bethlehem; Childhood of Jesus; Peter, James, and John; Teachings of Christ; Last Supper; Atonement and Crucifixion; Resurrection
Chapter 10 ... Joseph of Arimathea
The Royal Family, Glastonbury, Faithful Disciples, Arviragus, Caradoc, Trial of Caradoc, Claudia, Fire, Persecutions, Holy Grail, Fate of the Disciples
Chapter 11 ... The Lady of the Lake
The Real Lady, Identity Revealed, Mary At Glastonbury, Historians Speak, John or Joseph, Legacy of Mary
Chapter 12 ... The Sword in the Stone
Chapter 13 ... Constantine the Great
Leadership, Diocletian, Constantius, Helena of the Cross, Church Councils, Pelagian Heresy
Chapter 14 ... Saint Patrick
Grail Castle, Celtic Books, Serpents, Glastonbury, Maximian
Chapter 15 ... Merlin, Pagan or Prophet
Geoffrey’s History, Uther Pendragon, Dubricius, Merlin the Christian, Merlin’s Prophecies, Merlin the Teacher, The Treasures of Britain
Chapter 16 ... King Arthur
Arthur’s Youth, Saxon Battles, The Round Table, Queen Guinevere, Lancelot, Cult of the Virgin Mary, The Grail Quest, The Collapse of Arthur’s World
Chapter 17 ... Apostasy and the Dark Ages
The Great Apostasy, The Anglo-Saxons, Augustine’s Mission, Islam, Venice, Holy Roman Empire, The Vikings, Slavery, The Normans
Chapter 18 ... The Crusades
First Crusade, Second Crusade, Third Crusade, Fourth Crusade, Genealogy, The Cathars, Black Death, Jews, Knights Templar, Children’s Crusade, The End of Crusades
Chapter 19 ... The Reformation
Inquisition, The Conquistadors, Spanish Chronicles, Rabbi Menasseh Ben Israel, Joan of Arc, Finances, Relics, Indulgences, Vulgate Bible, Printing Press, John Wycliffe, Ulrich Zwingli, Anabaptists, Martin Luther, John Calvin, Henry VIII, Protestant Women, Council of Trent, Importance of the Reformation
Chapter 20 ... The Restoration
A Prophet is Called, The Book of Mormon, Priesthood Authority, Keys of the Kingdom, Articles of Faith, Women in the Church, Recognizing Truth
Faith, a poem