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Where was Camelot? Tales of King Arthur

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Fantastic Camelot, capital of Arthur's realm

At Camelot, it is said, Arthur established a brilliant court with the Knights of the Round Table, the greatest and most chivalrous warriors in Europe..

Camelot, the starting point of the Quest for the Holy Grail, is at the very centre of the Arthurian legend.

But where was Camelot?

In the twenty first century we aren't looking under stones for missing medieval castles and lost kingdoms. We understand that life in the early sixth century was not like that portrayed on the silver screen, that the turreted keeps and delicate towers of poetic imagination are fairytale and Arthur himself is no majestic monarch- in- residence.

Still, we have been looking a long time for Camelot.

Winchester

The historic city of Winchester in modern Hampshire lies at the centre of the Anglo-Saxon heartland of Southern England and is mentioned by Geoffrey of Monmouth as the home of the High King Ambrosius Aurelianus. Geoffrey makes no mention of Camelot, and calls Winchester by its old name in Welsh, Kaer Guenit.

But Winchester is the choice of Sir Thomas Malory. In his Le Morte D'Arthur (written in 1469), he placed the Castle of Camelot in Winchester, ..and within five days' journey they came to Camelot, that is called in English, Winchester.

Winchester is home to the Great Round Table, built about 1270, at the beginning of the reign of Edward I, much later than the time of Arthur. Although its place in the Great Hall of Winchester Castle certainly pre-dates Malory, it's not King Arthur's Round Table.

Caerleon Castle

The ancient history of Caerleon in Wales has given rise to many legends. Geoffrey of Monmouth states Caerleon Castle is Camelot in his History of the Kings of Britain .

Caerleon, on the River Usk, was once a legionary fortress and the headquarters for Legio II Augusta (known for its disgrace during the uprising of Boudicca).

The name Caerleon is commonly thought to be from the Welsh for 'fortress of the legion' although the Romans called it Isca Silurum, Usk of the Silures, after the Celtic tribe, Silures, who lived in the area.

Perhaps the still-visible Roman amphitheatre is the source of the Round Table.

Castle of Dinerth

Dinerth is another medieval castle, originally built by an Anglo-Norman mercenary, possibly Richard de la Mare, and raised on top of a previous defensive position.

Those who believe Dinerth to be Camelot use etymology as their base.

I don't pretend to understand their argument at all, this is discussion for scholars, but Dinerth translates as Fort of the Bear ~ and we all know that Arthur is the Bear.

Tintagel

The castle on Tintagel Head, a jutting peninsula located on the north Cornish coast, was built by Reginald, Earl of Cornwall, where the ancient Kings of Cornwall held their court.

Both Geoffrey of Monmouth and Tennyson say Camelot is Tintagel.

Whether it is the actual legendary home of Arthur or not, Tintagel headland was the site of a high status Celtic monastery, a princely fortress or and/or a trading settlement of the 5th and 6th centuries, in the period immediately following the withdrawal of the Romans from Britain.

Cadbury

Cadbury Castle, the best known and most interesting of the reputed sites of Camelot, is a Neolithic earthwork fort in Somerset. It overlooks the Vale of Avalon to Glastonbury, the River Cam, and the old village of Queen Camel, once known as Camel.

A Celtic ceremonial shield dating back to 1200 BCE was unearthed in 1998, indicating that a wealthy clan, king or military lord once lived there. Why was it left behind?

Iron age hill forts date from pre-Roman times and mostly were still in use at the time of the Roman conquest of Britain. Most were abandoned when the Romans came, but can still be recognised today by the series of ditches and banks dug as defenses. There are hundreds all over Britain, but Cadbury Castle is deserving of a closer look.

Excavations reveal that, most unusually, the fort was re-occupied after the Romans left in 410 . (The ramparts were strengthened using masonry from derelict Roman buildings). Since Arthur is thought to have existed in the 5th or 6th Century, this would seem to be promising evidence.

It's been a busy place over the centuries. Saxons fortified it once again for protection from Vikings and there was an Anglo-Saxon church on the hilltop.

It is said that on Midsummer's Day the hill turns to glass and the King can still be seen inside the hollow hill, where he sleeps, waiting for the day when he will return to protect his people in their hour of greatest need.

Glastonbury, Somerset

Fairy Tale Camelot

The Camelot as imagined. The turreted keeps and delicate towers of poetic imagination are fairytale.

Colchester

The name Camelot may be derived from Camulodunum, nowadays the modern Colchester, 90 km northeast of London.

Camulodunum was an Iron Age settlement, a busy place and home to the powerful Trinovantes. It's the oldest recorded town in Britain and served as the first Roman capital until it was destroyed during Boudicca's rebellion in 61.

It's been suggested that, as the descendants of the Romanised Britons looked back to a golden age of peace and prosperity under Rome, the name "Camelot" of Arthurian legend was probably a reference to Camulodunum in Roman times.

Viroconium

Modern Wroxeter

Now known as Wroxeter, Viroconium was the fourth largest Roman settlement in Britain with, at its height, a population of more than 6,000.

It was a busy, thriving place, over 70 hectares, with a forum, public baths and all the trappings of a civilised Roman town.

The last legions went home in 410 and, at this point, the fortunes of Viroconium changed.

However, in the early 5th Century, the basilica was tidied up, and a substantial new hall together with a number of barns and other buildings constructed within the old Roman city. We don't know who instigated this work, but given the time period and the close proximity of the site to Wales, it has been suggested that Arthur used it as his main base during his campaigns.

Whether Viroconium really was the Camelot of legend or whether some other local prince or king carved a domain for himself amid the remnants of the old capital of the civitas will perhaps never be known.

Viroconium seems to have been simply abandoned sometime in the late 6th Century.

Does it really matter?

Camelot is an Ideal

It doesn't really matter where Camelot may be, for in these modern times, it has come to mean not just a place, but a reflection of a glorious and lost ideal.

There are still many stunning castles to be seen in England. When Camelot is mentioned, what first springs to mind is the images of these architectural mult-purpose buildings (for that's what castles are, part home, part fort, part factory and very good jobs they did of it too).

But for Arthur, castles were almost 500 years in the future.

A Postcard from Tintagel

Lensmaster WhichCraft sent me this gorgeous postcard all the way across the seas from Cornwall.

This card took 6 days to reach Australia, it took my g-g-grandparents 6 months!

The Arthurian Collection

Searching for Missing Camelot is part of the All About Arthur Collection where you will find many more pages on the legendary King Arthur of Britain.

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AnthonyAltorenna Sep 24, 2011 @ 10:05 pm | delete

The legend of King Arthur and the location of Camelot has intrigued generations of historians. I like to think that there is a lot of truth to the legends; the world needed a King Arthur then, and we need to think that chivalry and righteousness prevails. Very interesting lens!

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Props-n-Frocks-Fancy-Dress Jun 25, 2011 @ 4:30 am | delete

An intriguing lens, thank you for getting me thinking this morning. I hope it is based in Colchester as I am not that far from that site and some of the magic may rub off!

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celestialelff Jun 3, 2011 @ 4:54 am | delete

Great Lens thank you :D
Thought you might like my King Arthur's Summer Solstice at Stonehenge machinima film http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-wuNE5M01ME Bright Blessings, elf ~

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crucialmusic May 20, 2011 @ 2:06 am | delete

Here in Cumbria in N W England you will find places associated with Arthur including a "roundtable" just outside Penrith and a place even called Arthuret just outside Carlisle - one more place to add to the list of possibilities.

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MissMerFaery Mar 28, 2011 @ 4:58 am | delete

Given that Glastonbury is most associated with the whereabouts of Avalon, the most likely site of Camelot would be near to there. However, having visited Tintagel, the spirit of Camelot is most definitely there in spades! Gorgeous lens, favorited and lensrolled to Finding Avalon.
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