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From Scythia to Camelot (Arthurian Characters and Themes) 2nd Edition

by C. Scott Littleton (Author), Linda A. Malcor (Author)
4.2 4.2 out of 5 stars 27 ratings
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This volume boldly proposes that the core of the Arthurian and Holy Grail traditions derived not from Celtic mythology, but rather from the folklore of the peoples of ancient Scythia (what are now the South Russian and Ukrainian steppes). Also includes 19 maps.
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  1. ISBN-10
    0815335660
  2. ISBN-13
    978-0815335665
  3. Edition
    2nd
  4. Publication date
    July 1, 1994
  5. Part of series
    Arthurian Characters and Themes
  6. Language
    English
  7. Dimensions
    5.43 x 0.96 x 8.5 inches
  8. Print length
    424 pages
  9. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

About the Author

C. Scott Littleton is professor of Anthropology and Chair of the Department of Anthropology at occidental College in Los Angeles, California. He is the author of numerous books and articles on comparative Indo-European mythology, including the The New Comparative Anthology:An Anthropological Assesment of the Theories of GeorgesDumezil (3rg Edition, 1982). He has also published extensively on Japanese Mythology and Folklore.
Linda A. Malcor is a California-based free-lance writer and researcher. She holds a Ph.D. in Folklore and Mythology from UCLA and occassionally teaches and lectures on the Arthurian legends. In addition to scholarly publications, she writes fantasy fiction and screenplays.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Routledge; 2nd edition (July 1, 1994)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 424 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0815335660
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0815335665
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.05 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.43 x 0.96 x 8.5 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.2 4.2 out of 5 stars 27 ratings

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  1. Linda A. Malcor

    Linda A. Malcor

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    Linda A. Malcor has a Ph.D. in Folklore and Mythology from UCLA. Her specialties include Narrative, Celtic Studies, Medieval Studies, and Indo-European Comparative Mythology. Her nonfiction currently focuses on the late second-century Roman Empire. She also teaches English as a Foreign Language.

    Dr. Malcor's novels and short stories use fantasy to discuss issues in the modern world. Her Dragonlords of Dumnonia series tells of endless war in a desert, clashes of cultures and languages, allies with different worldviews trying to join forces against a common threat, attempts to blend different economies, and various ways each culture treats beings who are different from themselves.

    In her copious free time, Dr. Malcor loves to engage in sci-fi/fantasy fandom, and she is the co-President of the Mercedes Lackey fanclub, Queen's Own.

    Her blog, Malcor's Tavern Tales, is on Substack. She also has several Facebook pages under her name, including From Scythia to Camelot and Dragonlords of Dumnonia.

    See more on the author's page
  2. C.Scott Littleton

    C.Scott Littleton

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    Discover more of the author’s books, see similar authors, read book recommendations and more.

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Top reviews from the United States

  • S. Cranow
    5.0 out of 5 stars Iranian Origins of King Arthur
    Reviewed in the United States on April 11, 2022
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    Everyone is familiar with King Arthur and the Knights if the Round Table. Intrigued as we are when we look for the inspiration for these tales we really do not find an adequate source. Searching the Norse and Celtic mythos we fail to find any meaningful parallels. Looking back in History and further to the East, we find that the Romans conscripted several tribes to fight for them and settled them in different parts of Europe. The tribes were all inter related. Scythian, Sarmatians, Iazagese ,Ossetians and Alans.

    Not much remains of these tribes. The Ossetians who live in Georgia are descended from the Alans. With them came the Nart Sagas. The Nart Sagas focus around Batraz, who avenges his father to claim kingship. He is aided by a sword and there is a grail like object that he is questing for. Once Batraz dies he commands a warrior underneath him to cast the sword into the lake. This is very similar to the King Arthur mythology. There is the pulling of sword from a stone and retuning it to the source.

    The parallels are with near eastern mythology from northern Iran. The Scythians were horseback warrior who hailed from the Iranians steps south of Siberia. They are the ones who spread burial mounds through out Europe . They were called the Lizard People due to the scales on their armor. After they settled in motifs started showing scaly warriors. The Sarmatians flew a dragon banner when doing into battle. Hence we can see the source of Pendragon or son of the dragon. The burial mound would have stones with swords driven into them with only the rightful heir being able to pull them out.

    These parallels are not found in Celtic or any neighboring mythology. Arthur was modeled off of Batraz.Batraz lost his father as did Arthur and he had to claim the sword and avenge his father in Order to get his kingdom. Lancelet as well is a reflection of Batraz as well. The lady of the lake correspond to Lady of the Lake. Seems that many motifs come from Ancient Persia.
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  • Amazon Customer
    5.0 out of 5 stars important work acknowledging the role of Iranian peoples in Europe
    Reviewed in the United States on March 6, 2022
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    The authors provide a real service in acknowledging the role of the Scythians and Alans in European history and culture.
    The main weakness is an apparent lack of depth of knowledge about Iranian mythology as there are other references that are not mentioned, such as the shape shifting of the “daughter of the king of fairies” into a white serpent in Iranian fairy tales among others.
    Also important to mention is Dick Davis’ work which makes a convincing argument that suggests that the source for Tristan & Isolde is likely the Parthian romance of Vis and Ramin.
    3 people found this helpful
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  • Nastaran Akhavan
    5.0 out of 5 stars The book
    Reviewed in the United States on October 15, 2023
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    I enjoyed reading it
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  • Octavius
    1.0 out of 5 stars From Etymology to Conjecture: Laughable Research of Arthurian Lore
    Reviewed in the United States on April 21, 2005
    Linda Malcor's book on King Arthur seeks to not only break the mythological perceptions of the romanticized Arthur but also seeks to part with the main schools of thought on this subject by presenting a revolutionary theory that Arthur was a Scythian warrior serving as a Roman auxiliary cavalry leader in Britain at the end of the Western Roman Empire. Don't be fooled by the propositions in this book as the scientific methods presented are based almost entirely on etymology allowing for no more than conjecture as to the conclusions they claim to support.

    Most historians agree that Arthur was a Celt-Roman leader in Britain who lived during the collapse of the Western Roman Empire c.450-475 A.D. and, that he led a military/political movement to fight off the increasing migrations of Angles, Saxons, and Jutes, that were coming to Britain from modern-day Denmark and northern Germany. Contrary to the book's claims Lucius Artorius is not a possible candidate, as evidence strongly indicates that he was alive under the reigns of Marcus Aurelius and Commodus c. 180 A.D.: that's 270 years before the accepted time frame for King Arthur. Primarily through flawed etymology and conjecture, the book claims that the Holy Grail, The Lady of the Lake, etc. are undoubtedly the product of Sarmatian culture and evidence of such culture in Britain. These premises are entirely the product of conjecture and refer to no physical evidence to support the conclusions that are made. The Holy Grail is a Christian symbol that had been around for 450 years in the Roman Empire and such symbols were introduced to Britain and Ireland by evangelists such as St. Patrick. Dragons, The Green Knight, Merlin, The Lady of the Lake, and Excalibur, are all stronger evidence of known Celtic/Druidic symbolism and rites than anything else. The book therefore fails to conclusively show how the Sarmatian culture was a necessary precondition for such symbolism in England during the Dark Ages or that Arthurian myths have anything to do with Sarmatian culture specifically. Another point the authors fail to properly explain is, if members of Arthur's entourage were Sarmatian, why do they all have Celtic/Roman/Germanic names such as Artorius, Ulfius, Galahad, Tristan, Gawayne, Uther, Vortigern, Morgana, Mordred, etc., etc., etc.? All of the characters in Arthurian myth have Celtic, Roman, or Germanic names: not Sarmatian ones. Also, whereas there is good indication of Sarmatian influence in Poland, Russia, and Eastern Europe, in the adoption of their unique cavalry tactics and armor (Sarmatians wore wings as part of their cavalry armor) by the indigenous populations, it interesting to note that no evidence of such armor or weapons has been found in England. Finally, most of the Arthurian myths come from Wales and southern England, not Scotland or Northern England where the book claims Arthur was the most active: presumably there's a reason for that. It is also important to note that most of the Celtic revival and geopolitical expansion at that time was focused in southern Britain and Brittany in northern France as evidenced by multiple Celtic settlements and forts: not Northern England.

    This book is on shakey grounds and based primarily on conjecture no different than if one were to conclude that the words 'dog' and 'dogma' are very similar and therefore many Old English words have Hindi origins so that the English must have been of Indian origin or vis versa. Robert Graves had similar problems in his book "The Greek Myths" in which he tried to support his theory of pre-Mycenean Amazonian civilizations whose matriarchal goddesses such as Hera, Hecate, etc. simply incorporated into the patriarchal triad of Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades, by later Mycenean and Doric invaders. Graves wanted to show how words and names in the myths such as with Kronos or Theseus and the Minotaur reveal the practice of males being sacrificed and castrated by these matriarchies in their religious festivals. Although Malcor and Littleton actually have a contrasting culture to reference as opposed to Graves' mythical Amazons, the means to connect them is still limited to inconclusive etymology that is simply insufficient to scientifically support their theories. The inconclusive etymology presented in the book is a stronger indication of the lack of grounds than the strength of it. In addition to a strong absence of written sources, the book also suffers on the archeological level in that there are simply no artifacts or monuments to suggest Sarmatians had any significant presence or role in England during that time. This work is primarily academic sophistry and bears little scientific weight.
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  • jeff mcculloch
    5.0 out of 5 stars A Scythian King Arthur
    Reviewed in the United States on August 4, 2013
    Verified Purchase
    A reexamination of the sources of this legend and tracing it to the Narts of the Caucasus. I heard a lecture sometime in the 1970's along these lines but could never find the documentation for it. This fills that gap.
    10 people found this helpful
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  • Damia
    5.0 out of 5 stars Great book
    Reviewed in the United States on July 26, 2013
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    It has confirmed a lot of the suspicions that I had that the most ancient peoples of the Caucasus (Adyge, Abkhaz, and Alanian) had a significant impact on early history and culture in Europe.
    4 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

  • Robbie Singh
    5.0 out of 5 stars Hidden history revealed.
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 24, 2014
    Verified Purchase
    Fantastic book, which reveals the hidden history of Arthur and his knights. It all makes wonderful sense, but will no doubt upset those who believe in Arthur being Celtic in origin. The footnotes provide wonderful detail for those who are interested. The subject is worthy of wider review by others.
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