Re: Origin of name: "Arthur"
in reply to a message by Mike
The Onomasticon Anglo-Saxonicum lists an Artur, Arthur, Arnthur and Arthor, which the editor assumes are variants of Earthur/Earnthur (Ear/Earn "eagle/erne" + Thur "Thor"). This seems to be a peculiarly British combination. This makes the Arthurian romances pure fantasy (only to be expected, they are romances after all), but for some reason people want some historical basis which requires Arthur to be British, not Saxon (The irony being we now recognize that the "Anglo-Saxons" were largely British themselves).