which he palms on the world with the sacred name of true history;" and
this view is substantiated by the fact that the earlier writers speak of
Arthur as a prince and a warrior, of no colossal fame--"well known, but
not idolized.... That he was a courageous warrior is unquestionable; but
that he was the miraculous Mars of the British history, from whom kings
and nations shrunk in panic, is completely disproved by the temperate
encomiums of his contemporary bards."[14]

It is of great historical importance to observe the firm hold taken by
this fabulous character upon the English people, as evinced by the fact
that he has been a popular hero of the English epic ever since. Spenser
adopted him as the presiding genius of his "Fairy Queen," and Milton
projected a great epic on his times, before he decided to write the
Paradise Lost.



OTHER PRINCIPAL LATIN CHRONICLERS OF THE EARLY NORMAN PERIOD.


Ingulphus, Abbot of Croyland, 1075-1109: History of Croyland. Authenticity
disputed.

William of Poictiers, 1070: Deeds of William the Conqueror, (Gesta
Gullielmi Ducis Normannorum et Regis Anglorum.)

Ordericus Vitalis, born about 1075: general ecclesiastical history.

William of Jumièges: History of the Dukes of Normandy.