The legendary King Arthur—Britain’s great king who fought dragons and fairy queens alongside the magician Merlin—is so clouded in myth and fantasy that it’s hard to imagine that there is any real, historical fact in any of it.

But there is a little truth hidden in the myth. There was a real person who, it’s believed, sparked the legend of Arthur. Long before all the magic and myth was draped onto the simple truth of his life, there was a real man who inspired it all.

He lived in Britain shortly after the fall of Rome—and he was absolutely nothing like the stories you’ve heard.

[Read the full article at Listverse.]