King Arthur: inauguration as a team leader

Before Arthur was crowned High King at the age of 25, he had been a warlord in the service of the King for 7 years. In his youth, he already had a solid training in the arts of fighting. At the same time, he had immersed himself in the philosophy of various Roman writers. When he learned the hardships of the reality of being a soldier, Arthur quickly developed new important competences. Competences such as: strategic thinking, decision making, being an example for his team, courageously fighting in the forefront, encouraging, inspiring and comforting his men and women (indeed, the Celtic women were often also part of the fighting force). So, before he was crowned High King, he had already become quite a leader.

When Uther Pendragon died, his succession had not been arranged. Arthur was his son, yet nobody knew that (except, of course, for Arthur’s closest supporters, like Merlin and Lucius the Bishop of Glastonbury). The secret of the ‘baby Arthur’ had also been so well kept in order to protect the young Arthur from the other competing Celtic kings. And indeed, Arthur had been kept a secret. Now it turned into a little problem though. Nobody was just going to take Merlin and Lucius’s word for it, no matter how important and influential their voice was.

King Arthur: baby, boy, man

Arthur was born as the son of King Uther Pendragon and Lady Igraine. He was the grandson of Constantine II, one of the last Roman Brits, who had also been a man of unity. Constantine II, just like Arthur later on, had spent his life protecting the Brits from the murderous hordes of the Saxons, for the Saxons wanted nothing more than to submit the whole of England to their barbaric and ruthless iron fist.

Immediately after Arthur’s birth, Merlin, a druid, wise prophet and counsellor of King Uther, took him under his protective wing. He made sure that Arthur got an excellent education, far away from the allurements, intrigues and dangers of the life at court. Ector, a simple but just and noble knight, took Arthur in. Ector was a true Celt, and his forefathers had ruled over parts of England since far before Christ. He was married to Livinia, a wise woman with Roman heritage. They lived near Bath, far away from Londinium, in a beautiful rural setting.