From the INTRODUCTION WHETHER King Arthur ever really lived we cannot say. There were legends of him in Strathclyde, in South Wales, and in the South West of England how he defeated the victorious Saxons, the Romans, the heathen Picts from beyond the wall all the enemies known to the Britons; how he became a great conqueror, and ruled a vast territory; how at last after a hard-fought battle he passed mysteriously, but should come again and lead his Britons to victory once more. But other nations too have sought consolation for defeat and disaster in the thought of past glories, and have looked with a pathetic trust for the return of some dead hero. History at least tells us nothing certain. In the sixth century an old monk, Gildas, mentions the defeat of the Saxons at Mount Badon (said to be Badbury, in Dorsetshire); but he does not speak of Arthur. By the ninth century the one battle had become twelve, that of Mount Badon being the last; and in all these the British king, Arthur, was victorious. But it is not certain whether the war was in the North or in the South of England. There are similar stories in Brittany also, and it is doubtful whether the legend originated there or in Britain. At last in 1126 Geoffrey of Monmouth, a Welsh Bishop, began to put the legends into shape. He wrote in Latin a History of the British Kings, which he said was founded on a Breton history that had come into his hands, and he told the story of Arthur, among other kings; but there is no Round Table in his book, and Lancelot does not yet appear. The tale went on growing, and when Wace, a native of Jersey, turned Geoffrey's history into French verse he made additions here and there, and introduced the Round Table, which by that time formed a part of several legends.