Joao wrote
> Today I take a very quick look in a boosktore at the book "from
Scythia to Camelot", by Scott Littleton and other author. The authors
state that Arturian legend came from Scythia, through the Alanic and
Sarmatian mercenaries in France. It's a interesting and different
point of view.
There was a regiment of Sarmatian cataphracts stationed in Britain in
the 3rd century AD. Some have suggested that the story of Excalibur
ultimately derives from a Sarmatian source. They seem to have
revered a sword carved on a stone - and the sword in the stone myth
is an early part of the developing Arthurian lore.
Of course there were many elements involved here. A Lucius Artorius
was stationed in Briatin and "Arth" is seen as linked to the word for
Bear in a number of IE tongues. Gildas refers to one of the
magistrates that he condemns as having been "charioteer to the Bear",
peraps an early reference to an actual leader of the Britains after
Aurelius Ambrosius. In any case Arthur seems to have been a magnet
for many mythic elements which have been woven together.
Regards
John