S26 ART 
ARTHRODY'NIA,y'. [fi-oma^or, a joint, and oJvpwj 
pain.] The chronic rheumatifm. 
ARTh]ROPYO'SIS,y. [from agSgov, a joint, and irvov^ 
pus.] An inflammation or abfcefs of a joint. 
ARTHRG'SIS, J. [from to articulate.} An 
articulation, when the round head of one bone is received 
into the round hollow of another. 
ARTHUR, [i.e. ftrongman.] The celebrated hero 
of the Britons, is faid to have been the fon of Uther Pen- 
dragon, king of Britain, and to have been born in 501. 
His life is a continued fee he of heroic exploits. It is faid 
that he killed four hundred and feventy Saxons with his 
own hand in one day ; and, after having tubdued many 
nations, and inftituted the order of the Knights of the 
Round Table, died, A.D. 542, of wounds which he re¬ 
ceived in battle. The molt particular detail of his ftory 
and his exploits, is that given by Geoffrey of Monmouth: 
but the probable is there fo blended with the marvellous 
and the extravagant, that not only the truth of the whole, 
but even the reality of Arthur’s exigence, has been called 
in queftion. In this controverfy, Mr. Whittaker has ta¬ 
ken much pains to vindicate the exiftence, and diferimi- 
nate between the real and the fabulous tranfadtions, of the 
Briti'h worthy. “ Many of the actions (he obferves) at¬ 
tributed to Arthur by the Welfh chronicles of Britain, are 
as abfurd in theinfelves as they are fpurious in their au- 
thprity. Written, as thofe narratives were, many centu¬ 
ries after the facts, and being merely the authentic accounts 
offArthur, embeltifhed with the fictions and diftorted by 
the perverlions of folly ; they are inconfiltent equally with 
the (late of the times and the hiftory of the continent and 
the ifland. And the ignorance of the forgers, and the 
credulity of their abettors, can be equalled only by the 
injudicioulnefs and incredulity of the opponents to both. 
If home accounts of Arthur and Cunobeiine in thefe hifto- 
ries be certainly fpurious, others are as certainly genuine. 
And the relations of Suetonius, Dio, and Nennius, are not 
to be" rejected, becaufe of the falfehoods which impofture 
has engrafted upon them. 
“ The exidence of Arthur is evinced by that of the fa¬ 
bles, which have at once annihilated his actions and his 
name with the misjudging critic. And the reafoner’s own 
arguments really turn againft himfelf, aivddeir.onftrate tire 
point which they were intended to difprove. The annals 
of V\ r ales have long laboured in Arthur’s commendation. 
The Highlanders have long had a poetical hiftory of his 
exploits in their own language. The whole iftand is in 
traditionary pofleflion of his character ; and fix or feven 
hundred places within it are (fill diftinguiflied by his name. 
His exploits are mentioned by his own hiftorians, with a 
modelty and concifenefs that is no bad argument of the' 
truth, and with a particularity of time and place that is a 
good evidence of the fails. They are noticed by men, 
whom the deatli of the hero had exempted from all temp¬ 
tation to flattery : they are recited by perfons, whom a 
proximity to the times had precluded from all polTibility 
of miftake : and they are attefted by the beft hiftorical au¬ 
thority, writers who lived cotemporary with him, authors 
who converfed with his warriors, and hiftorians that w rote 
within a few years after him. He is fpoken of as the ho¬ 
nourable father of the Britifti heroes by the aged Llo- 
march, a writer actually cotemporary with him, and Come 
time refident at his court. 
“ Arthur’s principal exploits were againft the northern 
Saxons, whilft he was only prince of the Silure-s, and Am- 
brofius was the dictator or pendragon of the Britons. In a 
ieries probably of five campaigns, and in a fucceffion cer¬ 
tainly of eleven victories, this great commander had re¬ 
pelled the Saxons from the north of Flavin, diflodged them 
from all Maxima, and difpoffeffed them of all Valentia. 
And thefe were fucceftes fo unchequered with misfortunes, 
fo great in themfelves, and fo beneficial to the public, that 
the name of Arthur claims the firft rank in the lift of mi¬ 
litary and of patriot heroes. The twelfth battle of Ar¬ 
thur was fought on Bandon-lhll, fuppofed to be Banfdown, 
ART 
near Bath; in which the Saxons received fuch a terrible 
overthrow, that for many years they gave the Britons no 
further moleftation.” 
In times of peace, Arthur faw that an appointment was 
wanted, which fhould at once be a more regular and more 
honourable fignature of merit; by the certainty of the ho¬ 
nour and the greatnefs of the dignity, call out all the worth 
of all the worthy in the nation ; and collect it round the 
throne of the pendragon. Accordingly he eftablifhed a 
military order, which he called the “ Knights of the Round 
Table;” becaufe, whenever they were entertained by the 
^og, they fat with him at a round table, to prevent all 
polTibility of jealoufy or contention for the upper places. 
This table is ftill preferred, and is placed over the court 
of nifi prius, above the judges feat, in the great hall of 
the cattle of Wincheftei-j where the affixes arc held. This 
curious remain of antiquity is faid to be of near 1250 years 
(landing; though fome authors have doubted whether it 
could have endured fo long. Yet Paulus Jovius, who 
wrote almoft three centuries ago, fays it was then fo very- 
ancient, that 'evenil of the characters were nearly oblite¬ 
rated ; the names of the knights wepe therefore written 
afrefti, and the table, wdth its ornaments, was then com¬ 
pletely repaired. It was again repaired, and the charac¬ 
ters new ly written, in the year 1789, by order of the ma¬ 
gnates of the county of Hants, and under the direction 
of Dr. Jofepli Wharton, matter of Winchefter college. 
1 ilts and tournaments are fuppofed to have been eftablhh- 
ed at Winchefter by king Arthur, who it is faid built the 
original caftle of that ancient city, and made it his prin¬ 
cipal refidence. Hither the emperor Charles V. came, on 
purpole to infpeCt this curious table; and it is recorded 
that he readily deciphered the names of the twenty-four 
knights that are infenbed round it. d he annexed Plate 
afloids an exaCt teprefentation of the Table in its prefent 
ftate, with the Portrait of king Arthur, and the names of 
his knights, as written thereon, which are as follow ; 
Sir Galahallt 
Sir Lancelot Dulake 
Sir Gauey 
Sir Pribale 
Sir Lyonell 
Sir Triftram Delyens 
Sir Garetbe 
Sir Bedwere 
Sir B. Bilbrys 
Sir Lamternal Tayle 
Sir Bicane 
Sir Plomyds 
In the middle of the table: 
Sir Lamorak 
Sir Borfde Ganys 
Sir Safer 
Sir Pellens 
Sir Kay 
Sir ECtor de Marys 
Sir Pegonet 
Sir Degore 
Sir Brumer 
Sir Lubyns Dilcony 
Sir Allynore 
Sir Mordrod 
“ This is the Round Table- 
of King Arthur and twenty-four of his Knights.” The 
table is eighteen feet in diameter. 
The above w'as the firft order of knighthood eftabliflied 
in England ; and it has been imitated by all the nations on 
the continent. By means of this, Arthur raifed among 
the provincials a general glow of ingenuous heroifm, tire 
firft fpirit of chivalry that ever appeared in Europe; that 
manly and honourable gallantry of foul, which has made 
him and his worthies the iubjeCt of romantic hiftories over 
all the weftern world. By this, and this alone, could he 
have been what hiftory reprefents him, the Father of the 
Britiftr Heroes in general, even to the conclufion of the 
fixth century, and nearly the middle of the feventh. ’ The 
order naturally furvived its iounder ; and the members 
of it were denominated the Warriors of Arthur, though the 
perfons were born half a century after his death. Un¬ 
der the prudent management of Arthur for twenty years 
together, a fair prolped dawned upon the Britons, and 
long teenes ot future glories opened to their view'. But 
the gay vi/ion was deftroyed at once by the commencement 
of a civil war. Many towms ftill remained in ruins, the 
memorial of former wars,, and the difgrace of the prefent- 
I he diftufed Ipirit ot chivalry was turned upon the nation, 
and heroifm became the tool oi diffenfion. The dreadful 
combination ot civil evils was begun and eonfummated, at 
once. 
