Is it a good thing or a bad thing to portray black people in Arthurian England?

[Sam]

There's a new series on the BBC about King Arthur, which has a number of black people. Historically it's inaccurate, but in terms of culture, maybe what King Arthur, Robin Hood and all the English legends is really about is building a sense of national unity in the present, so maybe it's a good thing to include black people in the history of England, even though it's inaccurate.

The part of me that likes historical accuracy is insulted by the BBC trying to manipulate our history to fit their left-wing political agenda that says that England doesn't belong to the English. But the pragmatic part of me that wants a unified, peaceful and uni-cultural society where everyone fits in and everyone feels like they belong thinks that it's a good thing and no different to any other national myth or legend.

What do you think?
Remy...interesting idea. The roman empire itself didn't cover any of "black" africa but I guess nubia and egypt were very closely connected, and maybe people would have entered the Roman parts of Africa from further south.

I still think it's probably overplayed a little, but I guess it's definitely possible. I wonder if any african skulls have been discovered in Britain from that era..?

[jplatt39]

Yes African skulls HAVE been discovered from that era. Rome had mercenaries, from both north and sub-saharan Africa and if Arthur lived he did so in the first generation after the Roman Armies pulled out. So calling it a historical inaccuracy is a slight stretch.

In fact there are tropes from Early Irish manuscript art -- also from that era -- which could only have come from Egyptian manuscripts so there is some evidence of trade between Africa and the British Isles even as the Dark Ages were beginning.

[stevmg]

Is not historically accurate and should not be done, just as portraying "happy slaves" in pre-civil war US is not accurate and should not be done.

[lazyslacker013]

There should be one black person. there is one moorish knight in king arthur's court. I forget his name but he's a pretty stand-up guy. Not the best not the worst good enough to be a knight of the round table. The slaves thing is pure BS. While the romans did hold britain when they left they would have taken their property with them. Though to be more realistic the wealthy didn't end up stationed in the distant frontiers so the idea of a wealthy roman bringing a servant who happened to be black is a farther stretch than winning the lottery. A population of them is beyond ridiculous. On the other hand if you have Merlin throwing around magic spells and Morgan Le Fey doing the same than why not? It's like people complaining about the physics in star wars.

[Jay]

Completely ridiculous, as european culture & folklore become more popular everyone is bending over backwards in the entertainment industry to try and be politically correct.The Roman Empire didn't care anything about being politically correct, they enslaved everyone on a equal basis,Rome imported women & men of every race & nation,along with plants,exotic goods and animals from around the known world.Of course it might be possible to see a few exceptions of any race in any region though it would not be in large groups.Simply because mass transit was not possible then as it is now.Rome had more caucasian slaves than they did blacks when you consider their frequent forays into northern europe.Though not impossible,a black slave in northern europe would have been impractical in those primitive times considering the climatic conditions, they would not thrive there, being adapted to warmer climes, that is why they were commonly imported to tropical like climes around the world much later in history.In reality most escaped slaves would likely attempt to flee back to their original homeland, as back then even another african tribe would likely enslave them when caught, much less any teutonic tribes they might encounter.If you created a movie about ancient Ethiopians battling Egypt, something that happened all the time during the ancient era, it would be just as ridiculous to include caucasians in the cast.Egyptians and the Portugese were in fact the first cultures to make slaves of blacks.The King Arthur era (though mythical) supposedly takes place way before the english era of exploration and international slavery.Let us suppose that a movie was done purely in a fantasy vein and was located in a region resembling north europe,it still would be ludicrous as humans are physically adapted to the geography and climate whence they came.The idea in fantasy and entertainment is to create things that seem realistic and fool the viewer or reader, when they include all these political and racial allegories, (which you see more and more of in cheap productions) it doesnt suspend disbelief and it reminds people more of modern times instead of placing the mind in an ancient exotic past.

[Remy]

I don't think it's as inaccurate as you might think. Granted, they wouldn't have made up a significant portion of the population, but Arthurian England is a post-Roman-occupation era. The Roman conquerors would likely have brought slaves and servants with them from the other parts of their Empire, which included portions of Africa.

[SAWDUST]

FYI and to all the doubters out there, YES, there were Blacks in England during the years at Arthur's Court. The English were of the very first group to steal Africans from their homeland and ship them off, spreading them as far west and south as the many nations that NOW have darkened skin natives (ie: England, Puerto Rico, Brazil, Cuba, Dominican Republic, India, Russia, Australia, etc.). For a more accurate and decisive opinion on the subject, you should visit these sites: (#1) AFRICANS STUDIED ASTRONOMY in Medieval Times by Christine Eke at destee.com/index.php?threads/africans-studied-astronomy...She speaks on the findings by a renowned astronomer, Thebe Medupe, Univ. of Cape Town, S.Africa Astronomical Observatory who's planning a book release at some future date. (#2) A discussion started by Aqil dated 02/07/06 on 'Black History Culture' continues the subject at http://www.blackbritain.co.uk/news/details.aspx?i=1989&c=africa&h= Africans+studied+astronomy+in+medieval+times. HAPPY HUNTING!

[Gorf Fandini]

I think it's a horrible idea as well. If you were going to do a movie about an African tribe, would you have white people as members of the tribe?