King Arthur: a Solar God?

In our book "King Arthur and the Gods of the Round Table", we argue that Arthur was actually a solar god. Here are a few arguments which will be discussed at length in the book:

• The 'Light of Arthur' is a poetic description of the Winter Solstice (Alban Arthan), upon which the sun is symbolically reborn as the days begin to lengthen again.
• Arthur fought twelve battles, while there are twelve Zodiac signs through which the sun travels throughout the span of a year. Each battle can be associated with a specific Zodiac.
  • Arthur pulls the sword from the stone at three annual feasts: Christmas, Candlemas and Easter, to be crowned at Pentecost. These Christian feast days correspond to pagan Celtic festivals.
• The thirteenth battle is that of Camlann in which Arthur receives a mortal wound, and a thirteenth Zodiac sign is called Ophiuchus or 'Serpent-Bearer'. The serpent is an animal associated with the mythical dragon, and Arthur's epithet is Pendragon.
• Arthur's queen Guinevere is a 'Goddess of Fertility' who is abducted by Meleagant (Melvas - Gwynwas - Gwyn) and set free by Arthur (Gwythr) in order to restore nature's fertility to the land. In Welsh mythology, the abducted maiden is called Creiddylad.
• At the end of his days, Arthur is taken to the Isle of Avalon, an Arthurian 'afterlife' located somewhere in the West, just as the Sun sets in the West every evening.

The book will talk about Arthur's significance in the sky in greater detail, and also offer an indepth discussion on which Zodiac should be connected to which battle of Arthur, which knight of the Round Table, and which of the Thirteen Treasures. It must be noted that the overview here is a very brief and incomplete one, as the book will discuss the complexity of this matter in far greater detail.

In addition to all this, the book illustrates a parallel between Arthur and the Welsh god Gwydion, as well as the Irish god Lugh. These parallels are strengthened further by similar associations between Arthur's relatives and those of Gwydion in Wales and Lugh in Ireland.