Artorius: New Light on an Age Old Legend

The stories of King Arthur are some of the most important in the canon of literature. They have inspired everyone from poets to playwrights, from authors to movie directors. These legends have been the groundwork for such famous pieces like Thomas Mallory’s Morte d’ Arthur , T.H. White’s the Once and Future King, the Broadway musical Camelot, and the action-romance First Knight. These tales are a blueprint for how the Western world views the knight of the medieval era and defines the code of chivalry. Indeed, the legend of king Arthur, his knights, and the quest for the Holy Grail, define the very essence of the time in which they lived.

Until recently, scholars believed that whoever Arthur really was, whether English born, or simply a Roman living in Britannia; his figure could be traced from the oral traditions of pre-Christian Celtdom. It is only recently that new evidence has arisen that leads some scholars to believe, that the basis for these legend comes not from western Europe but from a people who can trace their routes back to the southern steppes of Russia.

In the Journal of American Folklore authors C. Scott Littleton, and Ann C. Thomas have written a piece entitled The Sarmartian Connection: New Light on the Origin of the Arthurian and Holy Grail Legends. In it they produce evidence that Arthur’s heritage is not Celtic, but rather derives itself from a people known as the Sarmartians, who used to have possession of land as far as the Hungarian plain. The descendents of these people, known as the Ossetes, have in their literary traditions, a story almost identical to that of King Arthur and his knights. It consists of a band of men called the Narts, and their leader Batradz. The primary example within this set of stories is that of the death of their leader.

The story goes that Batradz is mortally wounded in battle. He orders his men to carry him to the lake, where he then commands them to throw his magical sword into the waters. Overcome already with the loss of their commander, his men hide the sword and then tell Batradz that his wishes have been obeyed. But he sees right through their lies and begs them to throw the sword in so that he may finally die. At last they do so, and as the swords touches the water it turns to blood. Batradz dies a short time later.