Arthur A Short Sketch of His Life and History in English Verse of the First Half of the Fifteenth Century

This recording revives a rare 15th‑century English poem that offers a compact portrait of the legendary British king. Extracted from a manuscript once owned by the Marquis of Bath, the verses sit beside a Latin chronicle, but the scribe abandons Latin for vivid English when Arthur’s tale begins. The language reflects a Southern Middle English dialect, with distinctive spellings that give listeners a direct taste of the period’s speech.

The poem sketches Arthur’s miraculous birth, the founding of the Round Table, and a series of bold campaigns across Scotland, Ireland, Gothland and parts of France, including a clash with a Spanish giant and a duel against the Roman emperor Lucius. Though brief, the verses pulse with a warrior’s vigor and a king’s drive to unite the Britons. Listening to the rhythmic couplets lets the medieval imagination unfold, offering a glimpse of the legend before later courtly additions transformed it.