Layamon the Liar

It angers me sorely to have my name bandied and my reputation sullied by these ridiculous Aenglish versifiers and their barbaric Frankish cousins. 'Tis true, I took my uncle's kingdom from him, allied myself with the Cornish, the Irish, even the Saxons at times, and yes, I took his queen as my consort. Yet what did he expect? While Arthur and my brother Walwain were gallivanting thru' Gaul, risking Roman wrath for the sake of renown - as if they thought to make my uncle a new Caeser! - I had a kingdom to run, a kingdom, mark you, which had lost the best of its strength and wealth to Arthur's Continental campaign. Is it then surprising that I had to resort to desperate measures, to hire mercenaries to protect Britain? Taking the kingdom into mine own hands seemed also the most expedient measure at this time, the best to assure my authority over my new troops. As for the queen, well, Wenhaver was willing - the blame is hardly mine. All this I did for Britain, and these tellers of tales name it treachery. Perhaps one day a romance will be written that does justice to my name, instead of spreading fictions about the arrogant Arthur.