Ardey claims Sword in Stone is real

I have been reading Ardey's book on Merlin it is remarkable in its ability to ignore all historical standards. His new book is coming out soon and he has been coverage in The Times. Now he is claiming the Sword in the Stone is real! So how exactly did the French Romancers here about this?

King Arthur 'was warlord from Argyll' - Times Online

From The Sunday Times

May 24, 2009

However, a new book claims Arthur’s roots are further north than originally believed — across the border in Argyll.

Adam Ardrey, an author and amateur historian, claims his research proves that the legend of Kind Arthur is based on the life of Arthur Mac Aedan, who was born in 559AD.

Mac Aedan was the son of Aedan, a king of Scots who ruled from 574-608 and became a powerful warlord.

Ardrey claims the myth of Arthur pulling Excalibur from a stone is based on a ritual performed by Scottish kings and their chosen successors at the hill fort of Dunadd.

During his ceremony the kings and their successors placed their feet in a footprint carved in the stone. In 574, Mac Aedan literally followed in his father’s footsteps, then lifted a sword that had been resting on the stone, brandishing it to the four points of the compass. Ardrey says the story became more elaborate as it was passed from generation to generation until the sword was “pulled” from the stone.

Ardrey, an advocate and former SNP candidate, said that he discovered the link between Mac Aedan and the mythical King Arthur while researching his own family name at the National Library of Scotland in Edinburgh. He claims Mac Aedan’s true identity was suppressed by Christian writers because he was a pagan.