A re-imagining of Wart (Arthur Pendragon) from Walt Disney’s The Sword in the Stone, in a more historically plausible costume.
Despite certain historian’s views to the contrary, a historical figure named Arthur almost certainly existed. He lived around the turn of the 6th century AD (c. 500 AD) and was a successful military figure who managed to successfully stem the influx of Germanic invaders for the duration of his lifetime, decisively halting their advance at the Battle of Badon Hill, c. 516 AD. Beyond that, little is known for certain.
The real Arthur was likely one of numerous petty warlords who staked out territories for themselves in the wake of the fall of Rome, then became commander-in-chief of the united coalition army of the culturally Roman Celts to oppose the invasion of Anglo-Saxons in Britain. As such, he would have been dressed and armed as a well-off late-Roman cavalry officer, which is how I have dressed Wart here.
I tried to preserve the colors that Disney used for Arthur’s tunic, trousers/hose, and boots. His winter sweater/tunic became his cape.
King Arthur in legend was armed with a sword, spear, and knife, all of which have names (I only know his sword, Excalibur). Excalibur is portrayed as a typical Migration-era sword, a development of the Roman spatha, with a pattern-welded blade.
Arthur wears a cuirass of scale armor and a late Roman-style helmet.
The Welsh chronicler Nennius, whom I personally consider a trustworthy source for Arthur, asserts that Arthur had an icon of the Virgin Mary painted on his shield at the Battle of Badon Hill. I have preserved this historical detail in my depiction.
