Editing Geoffrey of Monmouth (section)

==Life and career ==
Geoffrey was born between about 1090 and 1100,<ref>Crick 2004: "it seems likely that he was born within ten years of 1100".</ref><ref>Foster 1959: "Geoffrey was b. between 1090 and 1100".</ref><ref>''Arthurian Figures of history and legend: A biographical dictionary'': "Geoffrey of Monmouth (floruit 1112–1139/ lifespan circa 1095–1155)".</ref><ref>''A Concise History of Wales'': "The key historical text was Historia Regum Brittanae (c. 1139) by Geoffrey of Monmouth (c. 1090–1155)".</ref> in [[Wales]] or the [[Welsh Marches]]. He had reached the [[age of majority]] by 1129 when he is recorded as witnessing a charter.

Geoffrey refers to himself in his {{lang|la|Historia}} as {{lang|la|Galfridus Monemutensis}} (Geoffrey of Monmouth), which indicates a significant connection to [[Monmouth]], Wales, and may refer to his birthplace.<ref name="Roberts98"/> His works attest to some acquaintance with the place-names of the region.<ref name="Roberts98"/> Geoffrey was known to his contemporaries as {{lang|la|Galfridus Arturus}} or variants thereof.<ref name="Roberts98"/><ref name="DNB">{{Cite ODNB|id=10530|doi=10.1093/ref:odnb/10530|url=https://www.oxforddnb.com/view/10.1093/ref:odnb/9780198614128.001.0001/odnb-9780198614128-e-10530|title=Monmouth, Geoffrey of [Galfridus Arturus] (d. 1154/5), bishop of St Asaph and historian}}</ref> The "Arthur" in these versions of his name may indicate the name of his father or a nickname based on his scholarly interests.<ref name="DNB"/>

Earlier scholars assumed that Geoffrey was [[Welsh people|Welsh]] or at least spoke [[Welsh language|Welsh]].<ref name="DNB"/> His knowledge of this language appears to have been slight, however,<ref name="DNB"/> and there is no evidence that he was of either Welsh or [[Cambro-Norman]] descent.<ref name="Roberts98">Roberts, "Geoffrey of Monmouth, ''Historia Regum Britanniae'' and ''Brut y Brenhinedd''", p. 98.</ref> He may have come from the same French-speaking elite of the Welsh border country as [[Gerald of Wales]], [[Walter Map]], and [[Robert, 1st Earl of Gloucester|Robert, Earl of Gloucester]], to whom Geoffrey dedicated versions of his ''History''.<ref name="DNB"/> [[Frank Stenton|Sir Frank Stenton]] and others have suggested that Geoffrey's parents may have been among the many [[Bretons]] who took part in [[William the Conqueror]]'s conquest and settled in the southeast of Wales.<ref name="Roberts98"/> Monmouth had been in the hands of Breton lords since 1075<ref name="Roberts98"/> or 1086,<ref name="DNB"/> and the names {{lang|la|Galfridus}} and Arthur were more common among the Bretons than the Welsh.<ref name="Roberts98"/>

His ethnicity has been heavily debated by scholars. Some of the possibilities include Welsh, Breton, Norman, or even Cornish descent.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Gillingham |first=John |author-link=John Gillingham |title=The English in the Twelfth Century: Imperialism, National Identity and Political Values |publisher=[[Boydell & Brewer]] |year=2000 |isbn=978-0-85115-732-0 |location=Woodbridge |pages=20 |language=en |quote=Geoffrey was a Welshman whose object was to secure cultural respectability for his own nation.}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Lloyd |first=John Edward |author-link=John Edward Lloyd |date=1942 |title=Geoffrey of Monmouth |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/554371 |journal=The English Historical Review |volume=57 |issue=228 |pages=466–468 |issn=0013-8266 |quote=In 1911, the present writer ventured to suggest that he came, not of Welsh, but of Breton stock. |jstor=554371}}</ref><ref name="DNB" /><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Padel |first=Oliver |author-link=Oliver Padel |date=1984 |title=Geoffrey of Monmouth and Cornwall |journal=[[Cambrian Medieval Celtic Studies]] |issue=8 |pages=1–28}}</ref>

He may have served for a while in the Benedictine [[Monmouth Priory]],<ref name="dunn">{{cite book |author=Dunn, Charles W. |title=Bibliographical Note to ''History of the Kings of Britain'' |publisher=E.P Dutton & Co. |year=1958 }}</ref> but most of his adult life appears to have been spent outside Wales. Between 1129 and 1151, his name appears on six charters in the [[Oxford]] area, sometimes styled {{lang|la|magister}} (teacher).<ref name="DNB"/> He was probably a secular canon of [[Oxford Castle#Construction|St. George's college]]. All the charters signed by Geoffrey are also signed by [[Walter of Oxford|Walter, Archdeacon of Oxford]], a canon at that church. Another frequent co-signatory is Ralph of Monmouth, a canon of [[Lincoln, Lincolnshire|Lincoln]].<ref name="DNB"/>

Archbishop [[Theobald of Bec]] consecrated Geoffrey as [[Bishop of St Asaph]] at [[Lambeth]] on 24 February 1152,<ref>{{cite CE1913 |wstitle= Geoffrey of Monmouth |volume=6 |last=Burton |first=  Edwin Hubert |short=1}}</ref> having ordained him a priest at Westminster 10 days before. According to [[Lewis Thorpe]], "There is no evidence that he ever visited his see, and indeed the wars of [[Owain Gwynedd]] make this most unlikely."<ref>From the introduction to his translation of ''The History of the Kings of Britain'' (London: Penguin Books, 1966), p. 12.</ref> He appears to have died between 25 December 1154 and 24 December 1155 according to Welsh chronicles, when his successor took office.<ref name="DNB"/>