Ancient Legends Retold: The Legend of Vortigern

The tragedy of King Arthur is one segment of a vast cycle, the 'Matter of Britain', stretching across generations of early British kings. Vortigern is central to this cycle. King two generations before Arthur, he opens Britain to the Saxons, ancestors of the modern English. Rising from humble roots, he takes centre stage at court in a crisis moment, plays and loses a vicious game of Dark Age power-politics, and is driven into exile in mountain wilderness, there to encounter dragons, demons, prophecy... and a child who turns out to be Merlin. He meets a hauntingly violent end at the hands of Arthur's future father and uncle. Like the stories of British heroes such as King Lear, Vortigern's is a tale of courage, cowardice, glory and crime, tragedy and treason. But he is virtually forgotten by modern readers - until now.

Auteur

Simon Heywood lectures in folklore, storytelling and creative writing at Derby University. He completed a PhD on contemorary storytelling at Sheffield University's National Centre for English Cultural Tradition in 2001 and has published research internationallly on contemporary storytelling. He has appeared on TV discussing the Robin Hood legends. he has also worked to international acclaim as a storyteller and workshop leader. He has conceived, developed and toured a series of Arts Council-supported national storytelling tours, and has worked as a solo performer in numerous locations across the country. He is also a musician and composer.

Résumé
'My name is Vortigern ... ' Generations before Arthur's birth, a British warlord looks back on his life: his rise from humble roots to shake the thrones of a dying empire; his stand against chaos amid the aftermath of Rome; his struggle with the greedy, embittered princes of church and kingdom; his loves and his losses, and his last encounter with his own mysterious destiny, on a mountain where the world we know is beginning to take shape before his eyes. Vortigern's voice speaks from the heart of a forgotten darkness, telling a story of courage and cowardice, glory and crime, tragedy and treason.