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, 2011 by Elayne Pair Gibbons.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be copied without prior written permission from the publisher.
ISBN 978-1442161450
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
Photos
Map
Section One - Ancient History
Chapter 1 ... King Arthur’s People
Chapter 2 ... In The Beginning
From the Garden of Eden, 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, Levites, Two Priesthoods, Fiery Serpents, The Promised Land, Jordan River, Tribe of Benjamin, Women in Ancient Israel, Education in the Ancient World, Augury, 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
Section Two - Lost Tribes
Chapter 5 ... The City of Troy
Israelite Colonies in the Aegean, The Lebor Gabala Erenn, Other Written Records, Geoffrey of Monmouth, Labyrinth and Maze, The Trojan Horse, Phoenicia, Zeus
Chapter 6 ... Lehites
Lehi and Nephi, Egyptian Writing, People of Zarahemla, King Benjamin, People of Limhi, Alma the Younger, Ammon, Captain Moroni, Stripling Warriors, Samuel the Lamanite, Darkness, Mormon, Moroni, The Jaredites, Art
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 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
Section Three - Early Christianity
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 ... Constantine the Great
Leadership, Diocletian, Constantius, Helena of the Cross, Church Councils, Pelagian Heresy
Section Four - Arthur's World
Chapter 13 ... The Sword in the Stone
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
Section Five - The Foundation of Modern History
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
Photos
Tintagel
Island Front Cover
Looking north up the Dardanelles
The Lion Gate
The hilltop city of Mycenae
Walls and ruins of the City of Troy
A ramp in the City of Troy
Treasury of Atreus & Barclodian-Y-Gawres
King Minos' palace at Knossos
Five long rooms for food storage
Remaining pillars of the temple of Zeus
Opposing snakes
Winged serpent
Danebury Hill Fort
Defensive ridges of Danebury Hill Fort
Avebury & Stonehenge
Pentre Ifan & Bryn Celli Ddu
Inside Bryn Celli Ddu
Ty Mawr hut
Maiden Castle
Glastonbury Abby
Peel Castle
Church at Peel Castle
Ruined cemetery at Hierapolis
Hadrian's Wall
The ancient walls of York
Streets of Ephesus
The library in Ephesus
St. David's Church
Monument to 20,000 Saints on Bardsey Island
A small cave on Bardsey Island
St. Ninian's Cave
Cadbury Castle
A steep path up to Tintagel Castle
Dozmary Pool
Site of King Arthur's tomb
Site of St. Ninian's Church
Battle Abbey
Hastings Castle
St. Nectan's Glen Back
Cover
Map
Faith, a poem
King Arthur poem in full