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Logris
Logris, England.
I am banished out of the country of Logris for ever; that is to say, out of the country of England.—Sir T, Malory: History of Prince Arthur, iii. 19 (1470).
"The description of Arthurian England, the "Logris" of the chroniclers, comports with the suggestions of romance, but ill accords with the facts.
It is interesting and somewhat amusing to note the lament of
Charles Waterton, author of Wanderings in South America, who
thought England as a field for knightly adventure had
degenerated. " England has long ceased to be the land of
adventures," said he. " Indeed, when good King Arthur reappears
to claim his crown he will find things strangely altered here.
... It is certain that when he reigned here all was harmony and
joy. The browsing herds passed from vale to vale, the swains sang
from the bluebell-teeming groves, and nymphs, with eglantine and
roses in their neatly braided hair, went hand in hand to the
flowery meads to weave garlands for their lambkins. If by chance
some rude uncivil fellow dared to molest them, or attempted to
throw thorns in their path, there was sure to be a knight-errant
not far off ready to rush forward in their defence. But alas, in
these degenerate days it is not so. Shall a harmless cottage-maid
wander out of the highway to pluck a primrose or two in the
neighbouring field, the haughty owner sternly bids her retire;
and if a pitying swain hasten to escort her back, he is perhaps
seized by the gaunt house-dog ere he reach her.""
The
Lost Land Of King Arthur By J. Cuming Walters
"We may, however, possibly find a confirmation of Strabo's
view in the word Logris applied to Southern Britain by the Celtic
bards of the Arturian cycle. The word is said to be akin to Liger
(Loire), and tradition traced the origin of the Loegrians to the
southern banks of that river, which were undoubtedly held by
Iberian (Basque) peoples at least to the date when Pytheas
visited those parts. The name, indeed, seems to be connected with
that of the Ligurians, a kindred non-Aryan community, surviving,
in historical times, only amongst the Maritime Alps."
Early Britain--Roman Britain, by Edward Conybeare
