The figure of Arthur can be traced in Welsh literature perhaps even as far back as the late sixth century. He is referred to by the Cynfeirdd poet Aneirin in his poem Y Gododdin, and makes appearances in further early texts such as the Historia Brittonum and Annales Cambriae, the Welsh Annals.
Later texts also make fleeting references to the mythical king but is the work of Geoffrey of Monmouth that has forged the romanticised image of Arthur, and Merlin, that remains so popular in folklore today.
