SOURCE: “Geoffrey of Monmouth and Welsh Historical Tradition,” Nottingham Mediaeval Studies, Vol. 20, 1976, pp. 29-40.

In the following essay, Roberts contends that Geoffrey's historical view was influenced by the teachings of native Welsh historians.

Former generations of readers, who accepted Geoffrey's claim to have translated a “British” book, naturally regarded the Historia Regum Britanniae as an authentic and valuable source for early Welsh or British history. Even after the eclipse of the book as an acceptable account of genuine history, there remained a belief in its value as a source of Welsh legend and tradition. If Geoffrey had in fact concocted a largely imaginary history of Britain, it was assumed that he had drawn on early Welsh legendary lore and that the book, therefore, could be used as evidence of Welsh story. When the reaction to Geoffrey became more pronounced, when the “ancient book” was held to be merely...