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How Magnus Maximus’ Forgotten Son Contributed to the Arthurian Legends
It has been convincingly argued by several scholars that the usurpation of Magnus Maximus in the 4th century was the origin of the legend of King Arthur conquering Europe. However, Maximus himself does not appear to be the “Arthur figure” who serves as the protagonist of this legend. Rather, it appears that it was Andragathius, a cavalry commander in his army. But aside from the Arthurian legend itself, is there any trace of him being remembered within Welsh tradition?
Who Was Andragathius?
Map of the Western Roman Empire, most of which was conquered for Magnus Maximus through Andragathius’ campaigns. Source: Wikimedia Commons
Andragathius was the cavalry commander of Magnus Maximus’ army. Roman sources inform us that Maximus gave him “the general direction of the war.” A number of his actions appear to be identifiable as the actions of Arthur in the legend of King Arthur’s European conquests. One example is that Andragathius was the one who pursued and personally killed Gratian, the Roman ruler of Gaul. This is precisely what Arthur does in the legend, only the Roman ruler has a different name.
Coin depicting Magnus Maximus, minted in London, 4th century. Source: Gwalter
Andragathius lived in the second half of the 4th century, long before the traditional Arthurian era. He led Maximus’s army in 383 when Maximus began his usurpation. Later, he continued to lead the army in 387 when Maximus decided to attack Italy. In 388, he allegedly committed suicide after his army was defeated at the battle of Siscia. This appears to correspond to the bloody battle of Siesia in which Arthur’s army was “routed” according to Welsh tradition.
Traces in Welsh Tradition
Illustration from the Llanbeblig Book of Hours, possibly depicting Magnus Maximus, 14th century. Source: National Library of Wales
If Andragathius and his conquests in Europe really did come to be remembered in Welsh tradition, we would expect to see evidence of this. It is well known that Magnus Maximus was fondly remembered by the Welsh, and various medieval sources refer to his usurpation. Without a doubt, it was an event that left an indelible mark on the memory of the Britons.
Regarding Andragathius himself, he does not appear to be mentioned anywhere in Welsh tradition by that name. However, this does not necessarily mean that he does not appear anywhere. Medieval Welsh records sometimes recorded historical figures with names that were actually epithets. For instance, one of the early Anglian kings of Bernicia is recorded in a Welsh poem with an epithet meaning “flame-bringer.” Another figure (from the same line of kings) appears in a Welsh poem as “Ulf.” It is thought that this is a shortening of King “Freothulf,” showing how figures were sometimes remembered by short forms of their names.
Magnus Maximus’ Legendary Son
Harleian MS 3895, folio 193r, showing ‘Anthun map Maxim’ near the bottom right corner. Source: The British Library, London
Is there any figure associated with Maximus in medieval Welsh records who might be identifiable as the historical Andragathius? As it happens, one particular figure in an early genealogy is conspicuous. In the Harleian MS 3859, which preserves what appears to be a 10th-century genealogical list, Maximus is presented as having a son named “Anthun.”
The medieval Welsh records provide Maximus with several different sons, but this Anthun has by far the most similar name to “Andragathius.” There is evidence that “th” could sometimes be mistaken for a “d.” We see this, for instance, in the case of a female figure named Ardun, whose name is misspelled as Arthur in at least one record. This same example also shows that there was sometimes confusion between the letter “r” and the letter “n.” With these facts in mind, we can see that the name “Anthun” appears to be composed of the first part of the name “Andragathius.” This would be similar to the Welsh tradition that preserved only the final part of Freothulf’s name.
Anthun, King of Greece
Jesus College MS 20, folio 33r, showing “annwn du vrenhin groec” [“Anthun the Black, king of Greece”] on the 5th and 6th lines. Source: Bodleian Library, Oxford
Of course, this is not necessarily to say that Andragathius actually was the son of Magnus Maximus. The Harleian MS 3859 is a record from centuries after the fact. The contemporary Roman records make no mention of Andragathius being his son, although admittedly this is not proof that he was not. Perhaps he was Maximus’ son by a non-Roman wife. In any case, the fact that he was closely associated with Maximus makes sense of the fact that he was recorded as his son in Welsh records.
As well as the plausible connection between the name “Anthun” and the start of “Andragathius” and both figures’ close association with Magnus Maximus, what other basis is there for equating the two? In a variety of other records, such as the Jesus College MS 20, Anthun appears at the head of several genealogical records. In these records, he is referred to as “king of Greece.” This is a fascinating record which helps us to come to some important conclusions.
Walls of Thessalonica, the administrative center of the Prefecture of Illyricum in the 380s. Source: Wikimedia Commons
Now, to be clear, there is no tradition whatsoever of Maximus himself coming from Greece or marrying a princess from Greece. Thus, the most logical explanation for Anthun being described as the king of Greece is that he was held to have conquered that land. This provides further reason to connect him to Andragathius.
It is true that Andragathius never did conquer quite as far as Greece. However, he did conquer a large portion of the Prefecture of Illyricum, whose administrative center was in Greece, even reaching as far as the Balkans. It is surely straining credibility to attribute Maximus’ son’s association with Greece to anything other than the historical usurpation of Maximus. And within that usurpation, Andragathius’ final stand at Siscia in Croatia is the furthest Maximus’ army ever got to Greece.
Based on this information, what can we conclude? It seems very likely that the figure recorded as Anthun son of Maximus, king of Greece, is a distorted and exaggerated memory of the historical Andragathius.
King Arthur’s Conquest of Greece
Jesus College MS 20, folio 33v, showing the mistaken “Arthur” on the fourth line. Source: The Bodleian Library, Oxford
As we have already seen, it is very likely that the legend of King Arthur conquering a large portion of Europe comes from Andragathius’ conquests as preserved through Welsh tradition. The fact that Andragathius appears to have been remembered as “Anthun” apparently provides the explanation for how the account of this conquest was misapplied to Arthur. Recall the fact that Ardun, a female figure, was mistakenly recorded as “Arthur” in at least one record. If this could happen to her, then it could certainly have happened to Anthun, whose name is at least equally similar to “Arthur,” if not more so.
Further evidence that Andragathius—through the Welsh tradition as Anthun king of Greece—contributed to the legend of Arthur is seen from Culhwch and Olwen. This is a tale from around 1100, part of the Mabinogi collection. It is widely agreed to be independent of Geoffrey of Monmouth, who wrote the first Latin account of Arthur’s European conquests. This tale contains a very interesting statement.
An illustration from The Mabinogion, by Charlotte Guest, 1877. Source: Wikimedia Commons
Apparently describing the same European conquest that Geoffrey of Monmouth wrote about, the text of Culhwch and Olwen mentions in passing that Arthur had, at one time, conquered Greece. This is a very rare claim. The only other apparent reference to it is in the later Mabinogi tale, The Dream of Rhonabwy, where some men from Greece come to give Arthur tribute. Although obscure, this shows that a tradition existed in which Arthur conquered Greece.
Aside from Arthur, Anthun the son of Magnus Maximus is apparently the only figure in medieval Welsh records credited with a conquest of that region. This is surely significant.
Culhwch and Olwen explicitly associate this conquest with Arthur’s European campaign. As we have already seen, there is good reason to identify Maximus’ usurpation of the Western Roman Empire as the origin of this story. Therefore, Arthur’s legendary conquest of Greece would logically have something to do with this historical event too. This strongly supports the conclusion that the conquest of Greece, along with the European campaign as a whole, was taken directly from records about Anthun — that is, Andragathius.
How Andragathius Contributed to the Arthurian Legend
Illustration of King Arthur from Royal MS 20 A II, 14th century. Source: The British Library, London
In summary, we can see that King Arthur’s legendary European campaign is believed to have come from the historical events involving Magnus Maximus. His cavalry commander, Andragathius, appears to be the specific “Arthur figure” identifiable in those events. Very likely, he can be identified as the figure recorded as Anthun son of Magnus Maximus in medieval Welsh tradition.
The name “Anthun” presumably comes from the beginning of Andragathius’ name, a corruption that is comparable to others which we see in medieval Welsh records. Anthun was recorded as the king of Greece in a number of documents. The reason for that is probably attributable to Andragathius’ conquests deep into the Prefecture of Illyricum, whose administrative center was in Greece.
Certain Welsh tales preserve, along with the European campaign in general, the fact that Arthur was believed to have conquered Greece. This otherwise inexplicable tradition must come from the more historically logical reference to Anthun son of Maximus as the king of Greece.
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