Book: The Hunt for Ancient Israel
Chapter: Kings Saul, David, and Arthur: On Writing a History of the 'Dark Age'
Blurb:
One of our problems in writing the early history of ancient Israel is that the period of its beginnings is essentially a “Dark Age.” Yet this is hardly the only period of history known as the “Dark Age”; another well-known one is the period of two centuries or so after the Romans left the British Isles. It is during this period that King Arthur is placed. This essay will attempt to work out principles for writing a history of Israel's Dark Age by looking at the historiographic problems and their proposed solutions arising from the British Dark Age and, especially, the historicity of King Arthur.