Arthurian Genealogy

Since the earliest versions of the Arthurian legends, genealogies have been created (or kept) that link King Arthur back to ancient rulers, including the House of King David of Israel. Monarchs since Arthur have tried to claim descent from him, most notably the Plantagenets and their descendants who still sit on the British Throne.

King Arthur’s Children explores many of the historical claims and genealogies of both Arthur’s ancestors and his descendants from Scotland’s Clan Campbell to Britain’s Royal Family.

The Children of Arthur Chronicles is a novel series beginning with King Arthur’s Legacy, in which American Adam Morgan travels to Britain where he discovers his remarkable descent from King Arthur and learns the truth about what happened at Camelot. The rest of the novels in the series, still to be written, will tell the stories of Arthur’s descendants throughout the last fifteen centuries including their roles in key historic moments.

If King Arthur were a real person, and doubtless he was based upon some historical personage, then almost everyone alive today could literally be his descendant when you consider how many generations have passed since him and the intermarrying of his descendants.

English Royalty's Proposed Descent from Arthur-Riothamus, a historical contender for being the real King Arthur.

Geoffrey Ashe proposed this possible genealogy in his book The Discovery of King Arthur (1985). Ashe's theory largely rests upon the fact that Cerdic was a Saxon king usually believed to be the son or grandson of Cynric, King of Wessex; however, it is odd that Cerdic is a Celtic, not Anglo-Saxon name, which made Ashe suggest Cerdic had Celtic blood and his mother may have been Saxon while his father Celtic. His mother may have been a relative also to Cynric, thereby making Cerdic a likely heir to the Wessex throne. Cerdic was King of Wessex and is an ancestor to the current English royal family. This theory is discussed in more detail both in Ashe's book and in King Arthur's Children.

The Clan Campbell's Alleged Descent from King Arthur

Several different Scottish manuscripts give the following family trees showing that King Arthur had a son named Smervie, Merevie, or an alternative spelling. The Clan Campbell claims descent from Smervie, and consequently, from King Arthur. While some of the manuscripts are clearly fictional and include unlikely ancestors, the three presented here are relatively close with some slight name differences. The Colin listed here is known to have been a real Scottish chieftain in the twelfth century. While the nine generations that go back to Arthur would make it unlikely that this Arthur could have lived in the sixth century, it is clear that Arthur's father is intended either to be the man commonly called Uther or Ambrosius (Arthur's uncle or grandfather in some stories). The Kilbride manuscript also lists Ambrosius's father as Constantine. The likelihood that a father, grandfather, and son would all follow this pattern, generally attributed to be Arthur's lineage, seems too much of a coincidence for the genealogies to mean anyone but King Arthur. More information about these genealogies can be found in King Arthur's Children. (original source WDH Sellar in Scottish Studies).