Canterbury Roll The Arthurian Revolution

To begin to understand this extract from the Handbook to the Maude Roll, we first must answer some basic questions. This extract appears part of the original text of the roll and not a later addition. Second, we must understand the context of the time. The Canterbury Roll appears to be written between 1429 and 1433. A major revolt, the Glyndŵr rising, had taken place in Wales, led by Owain Glyndŵr, not a decade previously between 1400 and 1415. The Glyndŵr revolt lasted for fifteen years, and it caused major economic disruption in the areas surrounding Wales with areas of the Duchy of Lancaster suffering from economic stagnation. Shirota posits, for contemporaries of the roll maker, the Glyndŵr revolt was a major event that happened within

This prophecy comes from Geoffrey of Monmouth’s De Gestis Britonum. The prophecy talks about a red and white dragon. The red dragon represents the Welsh, and the white dragon the Saxons. In this prophecy, at least in Monmouth, the red dragon defeats the white dragon. This relates to the extract because Edward defeated an Arthurian style figure who was able to unite many Welshman against the English. This uprising of the Welsh to defeat the Saxons is problematic for the English because a charismatic person could use this prophecy as a means of a rallying cry. This prophecy of the Welsh beating back the Saxons is one of the reasons why Wales features so prominently in the Canterbury roll. One difference between the legend in Monmouth and on the Roll, is that the role of Arthur is downplayed. While in the past, claiming descent from Arthur was a popular way of legitimising power, it was no-longer a necessity by the reign of Henry V. Doing so was even problematic because this would be comparing yourself to a returned Briton who would overthrow the King of England, which, when you are trying to maintain legitimacy, is an

This is an important reason for the prominence as it could be showing to the reader that the Welsh have been trouble many times in the past, but the King of England will always defeat them. It does this by showing that the Welsh have been subservient to the English since the time of William the Conqueror.

The compiler used several sources to get information for the roll. One of the main sources for the Canterbury Roll is Ranulf Higden’s Polychronicon. This excerpt from the Handbook to the Maude Roll is almost lifted exactly from volume eight of the Polychronicon. As far as omissions are concerned, this extract is a word for word lifting from the Polychronicon. The other major source used for the Roll is Geoffrey of Monmouth, mainly for the prophesy of Merlin. The main source for information of the post 1066 Kings is the