King Arthur's Name

I don't think this is Bernard's best writing, but he does cram a lot of information about the real Arthur (and the denial of the real Arthur) into a small space. Again, he is coming from an historical linguist's perspective, which has often been shorted in the historical discussion. Even though he hedges with his "perhaps's" and "possibly's," the rather sudden emergence of boys named Arthur right after the most probable real Arthur of history suggests that people then did not regard him as legendary, but a real leader worthy of emulation and remembrance. The Origin of King Arthur's Name.