At last we can know who 'king' Arthur was, when he lived and what he did. This is the first work on the legendary hero started without any axe to grind. Here it is demonstrated that Arthur was a Coeling - a prince directly descended from Old King Cole - selected as a very young age by the kings of the 'Hen Ogled' (The Old north, which had been a magor subdivision of Roman Britannia) to be 'Pendragon' (Army Commander in Chief) of the alliance of forces tasked to put an end to raids into their lands by Picts and Scots once and for all. The sites of the 12 famous battles are identified, Arthur's pedigree is specified and the circumstances of his death examined. Such well know elements of Arthurian legend as 'Excalibur', Camelot, Karduel and the 'Isle of Avalon' are all identified, explained and put in context. This book then goes on to suggest where the boundary between history and legend lies, identifying the relationship between the two and showing how the legend developed in the first place. Finally Arthur's legacy is assessed.

At last we can know who 'king' Arthur was, when he lived and what he did. This is the first work on the legendary hero started without any axe to grind. Here it is demonstrated that Arthur was a Coeling - a prince directly descended from Old King Cole - selected as a very young age by the kings of the 'Hen Ogled' (The Old north, which had been a magor subdivision of Roman Britannia) to be 'Pendragon' (Army Commander in Chief) of the alliance of forces tasked to put an end to raids into their lands by Picts and Scots once and for all. The sites of the 12 famous battles are identified, Arthur's pedigree is specified and the circumstances of his death examined. Such well know elements of Arthurian legend as 'Excalibur', Camelot, Karduel and the 'Isle of Avalon' are all identified, explained and put in context. This book then goes on to suggest where the boundary between history and legend lies, identifying the relationship between the two and showing how the legend developed in the first place. Finally Arthur's legacy is assessed.

By bringing evidence from heraldry, DNA and place names to bear and by insisting on feasible time lines this two volume work (with accompanying CD) exposes many of the myths which still mask the origin stories of so many Scottish Clans - and offers far more interesting, exciting and accurate replacements. The specific political situations which made the creation of these myths necessary or desirable are explained. In order to achieve all this a fresh understanding of the "clan" has been required - and is provided - and radical theories have been developed regarding Pictish place names and the origins of heraldry, while the Norse Sagas have been placed in a new and viable timeframe, with many contradictions and errors resolved. Shakespeare's "MacDuff" is identified, as is the Orkneyinga Saga's "Karl Hundisson". To aid understanding the accompanying CD includes a family tree showing the inter-relationships of the participants and a library of Google Earth placemarks allowing the reader to find all the key locations - many of them quite obscure - effortlessly. Full colour illustrations of Heraldic arms add to the richness of the experience while the Bibliography benefits from being "searchable". The work focuses on the period of the "House of Canmore" dynasty (and does not extend beyond 1316), but ancestral lines are traced back, in some cases nearly 1000 years further. The ancestors of the Siol Alpin clans are discussed in detail back to the year 810. Names considered in this Volume: Abernethy Bisset Calder Campbell Chattan Davidson Farquharson Fraser of Lovat Lamont MacArthur MacBain MacDonald MacDougall MacDowall MacDuff MacGillivray Macintyre Mackay Mackenzie Mackintosh MacLaren Maclean of Dochgarroc MacPhail MacQueen Macpherson MacMillan MacSween McThomas Munro Oliphant Shaw Stewart Wemyss Also examined and explained in a very new way: Pictish Placenames The Origins of the Clan System The Origins of Heraldry The early life of St Patrick The History of Norway, Orkney and Normandy (700-1030) Scottish Politics (800-1057) Manuscript 1467

By bringing evidence from heraldry, DNA and place names to bear and by insisting on feasible time lines this two volume work (with accompanying CD) exposes many of the myths which still mask the origin stories of so many Scottish Clans - and offers far more interesting, exciting and accurate replacements. The specific political situations which made the creation of these myths necessary or desirable are explained. In order to achieve all this a fresh understanding of the "clan" has been required - and is provided - and radical theories have been developed regarding Pictish place names and the origins of heraldry, while the Norse Sagas have been placed in a new and viable timeframe, with many contradictions and errors resolved. Shakespeare's "MacDuff" is identified, as is the Orkneyinga Saga's "Karl Hundisson". To aid understanding the accompanying CD includes a family tree showing the inter-relationships of the participants and a library of Google Earth placemarks allowing the reader to find all the key locations - many of them quite obscure - effortlessly. Full colour illustrations of Heraldic arms add to the richness of the experience while the Bibliography benefits from being "searchable". The work focuses on the period of the "House of Canmore" dynasty (and does not extend beyond 1316), but ancestral lines are traced back, in some cases nearly 1000 years further. The ancestors of the Siol Alpin clans are discussed in detail back to the year 810. Names considered in this Volume: Colquhoun Comyn Crawford Dunbar Grant Johnston Kirkpatrick Livingston(e) MacGregor MacNab MacAulay Mack Mackinnon MacFie MacQuarrie Maguire, Duffy (in Ireland) MacAlpine Maxton Maxwell Mitchell (in Scotland) Moffat Montalt/Mohaut (in England) Mowat Ruthven