ARTHUR

Of Celtic origin. King Arthur was a British king of the 5th or 6th century, about whom virtually no historical facts are known. He ruled in Britain after the collapse of the Roman Empire and before the coming of the Germanic tribes, and a vast body of legends grew up around him in the literatures of medieval Western Europe. His name is first found in the Latinized form Artorius; it is of obscure etymology. The spelling with -th- was popular among the gentry families of West Yorkshire in the late 1400s, even before Henry VII, who may have hoped to capitalize on the legend, gave the name to his son. It remained in regular use in some areas and its popularity exploded in the early 19th century, largely as a result of the fame of Arthur Wellesley (1769–1852), Duke of Wellington, the victor at the Battle of Waterloo and subsequently prime minister. Further influences were Tennyson's Idylls of the King (1859–85), and the widespread Victorian interest, especially among the Pre-Raphaelites, in things medieval in general and in Arthurian legend in particular.