The Two Shoulders of Arthur: Late Antiquity and the Battle List

An evidence-based examination of Chapter 56 of the Historia Britonum (Arthur's so-called battle list) suggests that it has most in common with the world of late antiquity. The work differs in almost every other respect from Welsh heroic age poetry. Arthur's command of Britain's kings, the images on his 'shoulders,' and the sacral number of battles all argue for a context from the time of Orosius and Gildas.