We have all heard of King Arthur and his knights of the Round Table but who was he actually? Was he a real live historic individual or was he always just a figure of fiction?
On this issue, historians disagree profoundly. This talk takes us into the so-called ‘Dark Ages’, the period after the Romans had left Britain when Arthur is supposed to have lived. It is a world where a post-Roman British society was trying desperately to defend itself against the incursions of the Anglo-Saxons from across the North Sea. It was a society in need of heroes.
Was there really a king who fought back against the incomers or did a beleaguered society create its own myth? Come along and find out more about a mysterious period in our history.
Jill Stern is an historian. Aged twenty she graduated with first class honours in History from King’s College London. Much of her working life was spent as a teacher at Wycombe Abbey School and as chairman of a Health Authority in West London and vice-chairman of North Thames Regional Health Authority. Returning to academic study she gained an MA (Distinction) and a doctorate in seventeenth century Dutch history at University College London.
As a doctoral student she was awarded the prestigious Pollard Prize for History. She has a book and many published articles to her credit. She has lectured in Britain, the Netherlands and New York. History is her lifelong passion and she is keen to share that passion.