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Lament Of King Ferdchinged: A Hypothetical Myth of Vercingetorix
An attempt at an Ossianic version of the story of Gallic king Vercingetorix’s defeat by Rome.
Historical figures feature prominently in European mythology. From Theodoric The Great fighting dwarves, to the conflation of Hereward with Robin Hood, to the long standing debate on whether King Arthur is a historical figure or not, mythological versions of the key players in Roman and post Roman Europe are very popular.
These stories tend to fall into two categories: romanticised versions of historical events and conflation of a historical figure with a mythological one.
The legend that the Gallic warlord Carausius was a Scottish prince who betrayed his nephew is a garbled account of the true story of his time as a pretender to the Roman throne.
On the other hand, the story of the mythical King Coel being Emperor Constantine’s father-in-law comes from confusing the Greek Orthodox Saint Helena with a local Welsh folk saint with a similar name or religious function.
There are questions about how many of these stories are now lost. Many figures of historical significance have no legendary material attached to them. No sagas involving, the last Gallic king Vercingetorix, Vandal…
