Very little is known of Geoffrey of Monmouth. He seems to have lived for a time in Oxford and in 1151 he became Bishop Elect of St Asaph, North Wales. He was ordained at Westminster in 1152. According to the Welsh Chronicles he died in 1155.
Lewis Thorpe was Professor of French at Nottingham University from 1958 to 1977. He has published many books and articles on Arthur, both on the French and English traditions. He died in 1977.
Introduction
1. Geoffrey's Purpose
2. Who was Geoffrey of Monmouth?
3. Geoffrey's Sources
4. The Work Itself
5. Geoffrey the Artist
6. Geoffrey of Monmouth down the Centuries
7. Editions of the Historia
8. Earlier Translations
9. This Translation
10. Acknowledgments
Notes to the Introduction
Short Bibliography of Works Used in the Introduction and in the Notes
Map of Britain
Dedication
Part One: Brutus Occupies the Island of Albion
Part Two: Before the Romans Came
Part Three: The Coming of the Romans
Part Four: The House of Constantine
Part Five: The Prophecies of Merlin
Part Six: The House of Constantine (Continued)
Part Seven: Arthur of Britain
Part Eight: The Saxon Domination
Time Chart
Index