King Lucius of Britain

by David J. Knight

While everyone knows the story of King Arthur, few have heard of King Lucius, a figure who has been consigned to myth and largely forgotten in the annals of British history. Examining the primary sources as well as the archaeological evidence for this second century king, David Knight convincingly refutes the generally accepted view expounded at the beginning of the 20th century that identifies Lucius as King Abgarus of Edessa. He reconstructs the story of this fascinating figure who applied to the Pope for formal baptism in AD 177, making him the first Christian King in Britain, and traces the history of the story of Lucius, separating the myth from reality and attempting to restore this king to his rightful place in British history.

Genres: History

192 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 2008

Reviews

[Ruth Paszkiewicz · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very thorough, if dry, examination of the available sources which refer to a Christian King in Britain in 179AD, far earlier than Christianity is generally recognised as existing in England.
Knight seems to examine every scrap of "proof" from every angle and by the end offers some plausible theories about King Lucius, while acknowledging that very little (if anything) can really be known.

I think most people will struggle with the dense and methodical nature of this text, and it will certainly be difficult to follow for anyone without a reasonable knowledge of European history.

[Linda Malcor · Rating 4 out of 5]

So by page 134 the author finally got around to the Lucius I was expecting him to mention--and then he didn't do anything with it.

Other than that, there were some good bits, such as conscripts in the Roman Army being able to take their families with them to their new posting and numeri covering multiple forts and towers.