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A review by berlinbibliophile
The History of the Kings of Britain by Geoffrey of Monmouth
4.0
All in all, a good story as well as a historically significant text. The parts about Arthur are, of course, the most in-depth portrayal of a British King in the book, but the other, shorter biographies were interesting as well. I was especially fascinated by this early version of King Lear and by Gwendolen, who defeated her husband in battle and ruled the kingdom in her own right for many years.
But of course most of the kings mentioned by Geoffrey only get very short descriptions, often no more than whether they were a good ruler or not, and those passages can get tedious.
I was wondering about the internal morality of the book, though. Often, when Geoffrey describes a king as hateful to God, it is a sign that something terrible will happen to him. Not so in the case of the gay king, who has a long and successful rule, or in the case of the king who ate human flesh but was not punished. Strange to see Geoffrey change his tune like that.
But of course most of the kings mentioned by Geoffrey only get very short descriptions, often no more than whether they were a good ruler or not, and those passages can get tedious.
I was wondering about the internal morality of the book, though. Often, when Geoffrey describes a king as hateful to God, it is a sign that something terrible will happen to him. Not so in the case of the gay king, who has a long and successful rule, or in the case of the king who ate human flesh but was not punished. Strange to see Geoffrey change his tune like that.