Who Is Merlin?

 Merlin: A Wizard of Mythic Proportions

One of the most important characters within Arthurian legend is Merlin.  However, the Merlin we know today is much changed compared to how he first began.

Merlin first appears in Armes Prydein, an early 10th century Welsh prophetic poem from the Book of Taliesin.  His name is not that which we now use.  Here he is instead called Myrdin or Myrddin.

Myrdin foretells these will meet

In Aber Peruddon, the stewards of kings:

And though there be no right of slaughter they complain.

His role gradually evolves from here into that of a magician, prophet, and adviser of the kings.  He was apparently called Emrys (or Ambrosius) at his birth in Caer-Fryrddin (Carmarthen).  It is only later that his name is changed to Merlin, a Latinized version of the Welsh word, Myrddin.  It is thought that Geoffrey of Monmouth invented this form of his name to avoid the character being associated with the French word 'merde'.

 Merlin Vindicator

Merlin was the illegitimate son of a Royal Princess of Dyfed and his father is said to have been an angel that visited the Royal nun, leaving her with child.  According to Geoffrey, when introduced into the presence of Vortigern to be questioned about Merlin's father, his mother told him:

My sovereign lord... I know nobody that begot him of me.  Only this I know, that as I was once with my companions in our chambers, there appeared to me a person in the shape of a most beautiful young man, who often embraced me eagerly in his arms, and kissed me; and when he had stayed a little time, he suddenly vanished out of my sight.  But many times after this he would talk to me when I sat alone, without making any visible appearance.  When he had a long time haunted me in this manner, he at last lay with me several times in the shape of a man, and left me with child.  And I do affirm to you, my sovereign lord, that excepting that young man, I know no body begot him of me.

Vortigern and Merlin by Alan Lee

It is through the help of the king's advisers that many then come to the conclusion that Merlin's father was an incubus.

For, as Apuleius informs us in his book concerning the Demon of Socrates between the moon and the earth inhabit those spirits which we will call incubuses.  These are of the nature of partly of men and partly of angels, and whenever they please assume human shapes, and lie with women.  Perhaps one of them appeared to this woman, and begot the young man of her.

Merlin was, however, baptised early in his lifetime; an event which is said to have taken the evil from his nature, leaving his powers intact.  Some believe that this story was invented to save Merlin's mother from the scandal which would have arisen had her liaison with Morfyn Frych (the Freckled), a minor prince from the House of Coel, become public knowledge.

Merlin is first requested by Vortigern when he had tried to build a fortress which, every night, would collapse.  Vortigern's magicians told him that the only way to solve this problem was to sacrifice a child that had no father.  However, before the sacrifice took place, Merlin told Vortigern that a subterranean pool lay beneath the foundations, in which lived two dragons, one red and one white.

A painting depicting a battle in which a red dragon and white dragon fight.

According to Merlin, the red dragon represented Britain, while the white dragon represented the Saxons.  The two dragons fought with the white dragon first having the upper-hand, only to be driven back by the red dragon.  To Merlin, the meaning was clear.  He then prophesised that Vortigern would be killed and followed on the throne first by Ambrosius, then by Uther, and finally by Arthur to whom would fall the responsibility of pushing back the Saxons.  The prophecy was fulfilled and Merlin's role as adviser, prophet, and magician followed.

"I will now unfold to you the meaning of this mystery. The pool is the emblem of this world, and the tent that of your kingdom: the two serpents are two dragons; the red serpent is your dragon, but the white serpent is the dragon of the people who occupy several provinces and districts of Britain, even almost from sea to sea: at length, however, our people shall rise and drive away ;the Saxon race from beyond the sea, whence they originally came; but do you depart from this place, where you are not permitted to erect a citadel; I, to whom fate has allotted this mansion, shall remain here; whilst to you it is incumbent to seek other provinces, where you may build a fortress."

                                                                      Frrom Historia Brittonum by Nennius

The Dragons of Dinas Emris by ColletteJEllis

When 460 British nobles were slain at a peace conference due to Saxon treachery, Ambrosius, who at this time was king, consulted with Merlin about a suitable memorial to mark the men's passing and, as a result, Merlin, along with Uther, procured the stones of the Chorea Gigantum, the Giant's Ring and re-erected them around the mass grave.  We now call this place Stonehenge.

It was through Merlin that Uther lay with Igraine to conceive Arthur by way of turning Uther into the likeness of Igraine's husband, Gorlois.

 "Merlin and Arthur" by Scott Gustafson

After Arthur was born, Merlin became his tutor while he grew up with his foster-father, Sir Ector.  Merlin is the one that is said to have arranged for the Sword in the Stone contest, by which Arthur becomes king.  He was also the first to meet with the Lady of the Lake, convincing her to provide a magical sword, Excalibur, for Arthur.  In the romances, Merlin is the one to create the Round Table and is also responsible for aiding and directing the events of the king and of Camelot.

According to Geoffrey, at the end of Arthur's life, Merlin accompanies Arthur to the Isle of Avalon for the healing of Arthur's wounds.

Vivien and Merlin by the nineteenth-century French artist Gustave Doré.  

Sir Thomas Malory tells of how Merlin falls deeply in love with the Lady of the Lake, also known as Vivienne or Nimue, to whom he teaches all of his mystical powers.

And so, soon after, the lady and Merlin departed, and by the way Merlin showed her many wonders, and came into Cornwall.  And always Merlin lay about the lady to have her maidenhood...

 The Beguiling of Merlin by KarlaFrazetty

The Lady of the Lake becomes so powerful that her magical skills outshine even those of Merlin.  Believing that Merlin will enslave her, the Lady of the Lake imprisons Merlin sometimes in a cave, sometimes in a tree and, due to this, Merlin is absent from the Battle of Camlann.

Vivien Encloses Merlin in the Tree

...she was ever passing weary of him, and fain would have been delivered of him, for she was afeared of him because he was a devil's son, and she could not beskift him by no mean.  And so on a time it happened that Merlin showed to her in a rock whereas was a great wonder, and wrought by enchantment, that went under a great stone.  So by her subtle working she made Merlin to go under that stone to let her wit of the marvels there; but she wrought so there for him that he came never out for all the craft he could do.  And so she deported and left Merlin.

So, Merlin begins his journey as little more than a prophet.  He is later transformed by Geoffrey of Monmouth into a character of importance - a prophet, magician and adviser of kings.  In some literature, Merlin is responsible for the creation of the Sword in the Stone and the Round Table.  In some tales he falls in love with the Lady of the Lake and, in doing so, becomes trapped, leading to his absence at the Battle of Camlann.  This absence leads to the fatal wounding of King Arthur.  The centuries have seen Merlin go from minor character to major, with some considering Merlin to be one of the most important characters found within Arthurian literature.

That's all for today.  Next time we will learn about the myth of Flight 19.

Useful Resources

Historia Brittonum by Nennius
Historia Regum Britanniae by Geoffrey of Monmouth
Le Morte d'Arthur by Sir Thomas Mallory
Armes Prydein Vawr or The Prophecy of Prydein the Great, Book of Taliesin VI 

King Arthur, Mordred and the Battle of Camlann

King Arthur's final battle was the Battle of Camlann, where he is fatally wounded by Mordred.  But who was Mordred and what events brought him to fatally wound King Arthur in the Battle of Camlann?

King Arthur, Battle of Camlann, 13th century

Mordred, as we know him, has evolved over the centuries, much like the other characters of Arthurian legend.  The question of who Mordred is varies from text to text.  In some texts he is King Arthur's nephew, while in others King Arthur is not just Mordred's uncle.  He is also Mordred's father.  Certainly, Mordred is probably best known to be the illegitimate and incestuous child of Arthur and one of his half-sisters, Morgause or Morgan Le Fay.  However, the story in which Morgan le Fay enticed Arthur into an incestuous affair, from which Mordred is conceived, is a misconception derived from the desire of modern writers to merge Morgan with her sister Morgause together as one.

The first mention of Mordred and the Battle of Camlann can be found in the Annales Cambriae, a 9th century collection of obscure Welsh material.  However, here he is known as Medraut rather than Mordred.

537:  The Battle of Camlann, in which Arthur and Medraut fell: and there was plague in Britain and Ireland.

While we are made aware of Arthur and Medraut's deaths, we are not told that they were on opposing sides of the battle, nor are we told the reason for the battle.

Battle of Camlann by Arthur Rackham 

In Geoffrey of Monmouth's Historia Regum Britanniae, Mordred is called Modred and is presented as Arthur's nephew, the son of Lot and Morgause, who is sometimes known as Anna.

...which when Arthur intelligence of, he committed the government of the kingdome to his nephew Modred...

Sir Thomas Malory's Le Morte d'Arthur brings incest into the mix, with Mordred being born to Arthur and the wife of King Lot, Morgause.  It is not until later that King Arthur discovers that Morgause also happens to be his half-sister, daughter of Igraine and Gorlois.

And thither came to him, King Lot's wife (Morgause), of Orkney... with her four sons, Gawaine, Gaheris, Agravine, and Gareth, with many other knights and ladies.  For she was a passing fair lady, therefore the king cast great love unto her, and desired to lie by her; so they were agreed, and he begat upon her Mordred, and she was his sister, on his mother's side, Igraine...  But all this time King Arthur knew not that King Lot's wife was his sister.

"Sir Mordred" by H. J. Ford 

When Arthur discovers the truth, Merlin tells him that Mordred must die as his existence is a threat to King Arthur's life.  Arthur has all of the boys born on the day of Mordred's birth, Mordred included, put onto ships which were set adrift.  While most aboard the ships die, Mordred survives.

Then King Arthur let send for all the children born on May-day, for Merlin told King Arthur that he should destroy him... born on May-day... and so he sent for them all, upon pain of death; and so there were found many lords' sons, and all were sent onto the King, and so was Mordred sent by King Lot's wife, and all were put in a ship on the sea, and some were four weeks old and some less.  And so by fortune the ship drove unto a castle, and wall all toriven, and destroyed the most part, save that Mordred was cast up and a good man found him and nourished him till he was fourteen years old.

In Wace's Roman de Brut, Mordred is again Arthur's nephew and his is in love with Guinever.

...Mordred was a man of high birth, and of many noble virtues, but he was not true.  He had set his heart on Guinevere, his kinswoman, but such love brought little honour to the queen.  Mordred had kept this love close, for easy enough it was to hide since who would be so bold as to deem that he loved his uncle's dame?

Sir Mordred

Accounts of Mordred consider him to be traiterous and he was introduced by Layamon, who translated Wace's Alliterative Morte Arthure, to the reader as 'Modred, wickedest of men; truth he had none to ever any man... to the queen was his resort - that was evilly done - to his uncle he did treachery.'  Layamon adds that Mordred and the queen did numerous sorrows to the land, losing their lives and souls as a result.

When Mordred reaches adulthood, he becomes one of Arthur's knights and Geoffrey tells us that, when Arthur was away on his Roman campaign, Mordred, who had been entrusted with Arthur's kingdom, seized Guinevere and the throne, paving the way for Arthur's final battle.

...But at the beginning of the following summer, as he was on his march towards Rome and was beginning to pass the Alps, he had news brought to him that his nephew Mordred, to whose care he had entrusted Britain, had by tyrannical and treasonable practices set the crown upon his own head; and that queen Guanhumara (Guinevere), in violation of her first marriage, had wickedly married him.

Arthur and Mordred

According to Sir Thomas Malory's Le Morte d'Arthur, when Arthur is away on his campaign, Mordred is left with the care of the kingdom and informs the people that Arthur was killed in battle.  He is crowned king and Guinevere agrees to marry him.

As Sir Mordred was ruler of all England, he did do make letters as though that they came from beyond the sea, and the letters specified that King Arthur was slain in battle with Sir Lancelot.  Wherefore Sir Mordred made a parliament, and called the lords together, and there he made them to choose him king, and so was he crowned at Canterbury, and held a feast there fifteen days; and afterward he drew him unto Winchester, and there he took the Queen Guinever, and said plainly that he would wed her which was his uncle's wife and his father's wife.  And so he made ready for the feast, and a day prefixed that they should be wedded; wherefore Queen Guinever was passing heavy.  But she durst not discover her heart, but spake fair, and agreed to Sir Mordred's will. 

The Marriage of King Arthur and Queen Guinevere By John Henry Frederick Bacon

The Dream of Rhonabwy, the latest of the tales included in the collection of the Mabinogion and believed to date from sometime betweel 1159 and 1200, tell us that Mordred is Arthur's nephew and also his foster-son.

I will tell thee.  I was one of the messengers between Arthur and Medrawd his nephew, at the battle of Camlan; and I was then a reckless youth, and through my desire for battle, I kindled strife between them, and stirred up wrath, when I was sent by Arthur the Emperor to reason with Medrawd, and to show him, that he was his foster-father and his uncle, and to seek for peace, lest the sons of the Kings of the Island of Britain, and of the nobles, should be slain.  And whereas Arthur charged me with the fairest sayings he could think of, I uttered unto Medrawd the harshest I could devise. And therefore am I called Iddawc Cordd Prydain, for from this did the battle of Camlan ensue. And three nights before the end of the battle of Camlan I left them, and went to the Llech Las in North Britain to do penance. And there I remained doing penance seven years, and after that I gained pardon.

Banishment of Mordred 

Geoffrey of Monmouth tells us that when King Arthur discovers that his nephew is a traitor, a series of battles commence, with Mordred fleeing Arthur.  Mordred is twice beseiged but eventually decides to stay and fight, whether he might live or die.

Arthur, being inwardly grieved that he should so often escape, forthwith pursued him into that country as far as the river Cambula, where the other was expecting his coming.  And Mordred, as he was the boldest of men, and always the quickest at making an attack, immediately placed his troops in order, resolving either to conquer or to die, rather than continue his fight any longer.

And so Arthur's final battle commences, where many, including King Arthur, lose their lives.

For in this assault fell the wicked traitor himself, and many thousands with him.  But notwithstanding the loss of him, the rest did not flee, but running together from all parts of the field maintained their ground with undaunted courage.  The fight grew more furious than ever, and proved fatal to almost all the commanders and their forces...  And even the renowned king Arthur himself was mortally wounded.

 The Death of Mordred

Le Morte d'Arthur gives us more information about the battle between Mordred and King Arthur:

Then the king gat his spear in both his hands, and ran toward Sir Mordred, crying: Traitor, now is thy death-day come.  And when Sir Mordred heard Sir Arthur, he ran until him with his sword drawn in his hand.  And there King Arthur smote Sir Mordred under the shield, with a foin of his spear, throughout the body, more than a fathom.  And when Sir Mordred felt that he had his death wound he thrust himself with the might that he had up to the bur of King Arthur's spear.  And right so he smote his father.

Malory's account of this battle is in line with most of the other literature.  In some texts, while King Arthur is always fatally wounded, Mordred survives the battle.  Jean d'Outremeuse's Ly Myreur des Histors (The Mirror of Histories), an ambitious 14th century narrative claiming to be a history of the world from the flood to the 14th century, tells how Mordred apparently survives the Battle of Camlann only to be defeated by Lancelot.  Lancelot executes Guinevere and imprisons Mordred with her body.  Starving, Mordred eats her body but later dies of starvation.

 The Death of King Arthur by James Archer

While it is assumed that King Arthur dies as a result of this battle, sources do vary and the conclusion is often left open to interpretation.

That's all for today.  Next time we will look at the Avalon and the fate of King Arthur.


Annales Cambriae
Historia Regum Britanniae by Geoffrey of Monmouth
Le Morte d'Arthur by Sir Thomas Mallory
Roman de Brut by Wace
The Mabinogion: The Dream of Rhonabwy

Avalon and the Death of King Arthur

 The Last Sleep of Arthur in Avalon by Edward Burne-Jones

The accounts of King Arthur's final battle remain much the same throughout later literature, with Arthur being taken to Avalon after he is mortally wounded as we are told by Geoffrey of Monmouth:

...and being carried thence to the Isle of Avallon to be cured of his wounds, he gave up the crown of Britain to his kinsman Constantine, the son of Cador, duke of Cornwall, in the five hundred and forty-second year of our Lord's incarnation.

While all literature tells us that Arthur is badly wounded in the Battle of Camlann, the date of the battle seems to vary and we are often not told whether King Arthur dies from his wounds after reaching Avalon.  In Wace's Roman de Brut, this final detail is left open for the reader's interpretation.

...Arthur himself was wounded in the body to the death.  He caused him to be borne to Avalon for the searching of his hurts.  He is yet in Avalon, awaited of the Britons; for as they say and deem he will return from whence he went to live again.  Master Wace, the writer of this book, cannot add more to this matter of his end than was spoken by Merlin the prophet.  Merlin said of Arthur - if I read aright - that his end should be hidden in doubtfulness.  The prophet spoke truly.  Men have ever doubted and - I am persuaded - will always doubt whether he liveth or is dead.

  The End of King Arthur by andrekosslick

Like is Geoffrey's Historia, Wace tells us that Arthur bade that he should be carried to Avalon in this hope in the year 642 of the Incarnation.  He gives a much later date for the battle but agrees with Geoffrey that Arthur hands over his kingdom to Constantine: commanding him to hold it as king until he returned to his own.  The earl took the land to his keeping.  He held it as hidden, but nevertheless Arthur never came again.

The end of Arthur's life is much the same in Malory's Le Morte d'Arthur, with Arthur being taken to Avalon by Morgan le Fay to be healed of his wounds. 

Comfort thyself, said the king, and do as well as thou mayst, for in me is no trust for to trust in; for I will into the vale of Avilion to heal me of my grievous wound: and if thou hear never more of me pray for my soul.

Avalon by raysheaf

Malory does not tell us that Arthur dies from his wounds, again leaving it up to the reader to interpret.

Yet some men say in many parts of England that King Arthur is not dead, but had by the will of our Lord Jesu into another place; and men say that he shall come again, and he shall win the holy cross.  I will not say it shall be so, but rather I will say, here in this world he changed his life.  But many men say that there is written upon his tomb this verse: Hic jacet Arthurus, Rex quondam, Rexque futurus.

Despite these accounts leaving King Arthur's fate open to interpretation, later tradition assumes that Arthur died and was buried in Avalon, which is traditionally identified with Glastonbury.  Glastonbury has been deemed as suitable for a High-King,; the most holy place in Britain due to Glastonbury's Vetusta Ecclesia or Old-Church, which is said to have been founded by St. Joseph of Arimathea.  The Isle of Avalon is also known as the 'place of apple' and apparently Glastonbury was once known as the 'Isle of Avalon'.  While no one today would consider Glastonbury to be an island, in the 5th century it was surrounded by lakes and marshes for several kilometres.  And it was, for centuries, noted for its delicious, red apples.  While this is an interesting coincidence, it is not absolute proof that Glastonbury is the Avalon of Arthurian legend.

 Avalon Finalised by cheery-macaroon

Glastonbury was once the richest and most important abbey in the country but, in the 12th century, the abbey and some of the surrounding buildings burned to the ground.  Then, in 1190, the monks were in desperate need of pilgrim-attracting  relics.  After receiving information, which had been passed onto King Henry II by 'an ancient Welsh band', that King Arthur had been buried on the grounds of Glastonbury.  They dug beneath 'two pyramids' and later claimed that they had discovered the bones of both King Arthur and Guinevere.  To prove that the bones were authentic the monks produced an inscribed leaden cross which they claimed to have discovered above the grave.

Gerald of Wales, a medieval historian, wrote two accounts of this claimed discovery.  One was included in Liber de Principis instructione, written in 1193.

"Leaden cross found in Arthur's grave, Glastonbury" William Camden

In my own lifetime Arthur's body was discovered at Glastonbury although the legends had always encouraged us to believe that there was something otherworldly about his ending, that he had resisted death and had been spirited away to some far-distant spot.  The body was hidden deep in the earth in a hollowed-out oak bole and between two stone pyramids which had been set up long ago in the churchyard there...  It had been provided with most unusual indications, which were, indeed, little short of miraculous, for beneath it, and not on top, as would be the custom nowadays, there was a stone slab, with a leaden cross attached to its underside.  I have seen this cross myself and I have traced the letting which was cut into it on the side turned toward the stone, instead of being on the outer side and immediately visible.
The inscription reads as follows:

HERE IN THE ISLE OF AVALON LIES

BURIED THE RENOWNED KING ARTHUR,

WITH GUINEVERE, HIS SECOND WIFE

...There has been some indication in the Abbey records that the body would be discovered on this spot, and another clue was provided by lettering carved on the pyramids, but this had been almost erased by the passage of the years...  However, it was Henry II, King of England, who had told the monks that, according to a story which he had heard from some old British soothsayer, they would find Arthur's body buried at least 16ft in the ground, not in a stone coffin but in a hollowed-out oak bole.  It had been sunk as deep as that, and carefully concealed so that it could never be discovered by the Saxons.

There were other accounts of the discovery of the grave and the cross which appeared in various other chronicles, all of which included or omitted details which others did not.  It total there are at least five other versions of the discovery, all of which have differing details.  These inconsistencies led many scholars to believe that a great hoax had been perpetrated by the Glastonbury monks.  Adding to their suspicions aroused by these differing accounts, the possibility of this having been a hoax gains strength when the Glastonbury monks' other possible motives came to their attention.

Glastonbury Abbey Reconstruction

In 1184, Glastonbury abbey church, the greatest in England, and some say 'possibly in all of Christiandom', was completely destroyed by fire - just a few short years before the 'discovery' was made.  Their greatest pilgrim attraction, the Old Church, burned along with it.  The monks' chief benefactor, King Henry II, died and King Richard was unconcerned, leaving the monks with no one to finance their efforts to rebuild.  The location of Arthur's grave had never been identified nor even speculated about, giving the monks an opportunity to provide a location for it.  To top it all off, the Norman Kings were concerned about the possibility of a Welsh rebellion and were keen to prove that King Arthur was indeed dead, meaning he would be unable to lead a rebellion.  This would, in turn, discourage the rebellion and provide peace of mind.  Some speculate that the Norman Kings and Glastonbury monks may have even planned the hoax together.

The Old Church as it may have looked in 712AD

The monks apparently documented the discovery of the tomb but, like in many historical 'discoveries', all the physical evidence - the bones, coffin, and the leaden cross - has been lost, leaving us with nothing but the tracings made before it disappeared.  Unfortunately, there is no way to say if these tracings are accurate or not.  The inscription, however, gives the opportunity to date the lettering.  On closer examination the style of some letters within the text were not used until long after King Arthur's time, meaning the cross was almost certainly a forgery.

All we can really glean from Arthurian literature is that Arthur fought and was wounded during the Battle of Camlann before being taken to the Isle of Avalon.  Whether he died from his wounds is left unclear, although we can assume that he did eventually die.  Where he was buried is not known for certain, but some believe that his grave was discovered in 1190 by the Glastonbury monks, while others believe that King Arthur never existed.  And then there are those that think King Arthur and his knights still live but are sleeping, waiting for when they are most needed.

Avalon by teji

That's all for today.  Next time we will learn about the Holy Grail of Arthurian legend.


Useful Resources

Historia Regum Britanniae by Geoffrey of Monmouth
Le Morte d'Arthur by Sir Thomas Mallory
Roman de Brut by Wace 
The Tomb of King Arthur by: Gerald of Wales

Revealing King Arthur: Swords, Stones and Digging for Camelot by Christopher Gidlow
King Arthur: The Truth Behind the Legend by Rodney Castleden
The Historic King Arthur: Authenticating the Celtic Hero of Post-Roman Britain By Frank D. Reno

The Archaeology of Arthur

Looking For King Arthur's Camelot - Caerleon: The City of Legions

 Reconstruction of Caerleon in the Roman period,

Caerleon: The City of Legions

Although Chretien de Troyes mentioned Caerleon and Camelot separately, Geoffrey of Monmouth tells of how Arthur held his Court at The City of Legions, and there is little doubt that this was Caerleon in Wales, although Geoffrey does not give it the name Camelot.


'...he [Arthur] pitched upon the City of Legions [Caerleon] as a proper place for his purpose. For besides its great wealth above the other cities, its situation, which was in Glamorganshire upon the river Uske, near the Severn sea, was most pleasant, and fit for so great a solemnity. For on one side it was washed by that noble river, so that the kings and princes from the countries beyond the seas might have the convenience of sailing up to it. On the other side, the beauty of the meadows and groves, and magnificence of the royal palaces with lofty gilded roofs that adorned it, made it even rival the grandeur of Rome. It was also famous for two churches; whereof one was build in honour of the martyr Julius, and adorned with a choir of virgins, who had devoted themselves wholly to the service of God; but the other, which was founded in memory of St. Aaron, his companion, and maintained a convent of canons, was the third metropolitan church of Britain. Besides, there was a college of two hundred philosophers, who, being learned in astronomy and the other arts, were diligent in observing the courses of the stars, and gave Arthur true predictions of the events that would happen at that time. In this place, therefore, which afforded such delights, were preparations made for the ensuing festival.'

 A close up of what the fortress wall might’ve been like.

With it's splendid Roman remains, Caerleon would have been an impressive place for Arthur to hold Court for important rulers.  We can also be fairly sure that only a professional army could have defended the Roman fortress ruins.  However, some believe Caerleon may have just been a meeting place for Arthur and so we should look at the surrounding hilltops for possible locations of his 'castle'.  Interestingly, such a site exists less than a mile north of the village - a fortification known as Belinstocke.

Caerleon is another site that is said to have a hidden cave where King Arthur and his knights slumber.  Here they are said to wait to be called on to save their country in its hour of need.  One local tale tells of a farmer who met a mounted man wearing a 3-cornered hat, who promised to show him something amazing.  He took the farmer to the middle of a woods, stopping in front of a sheer rock face.  He pushed a large boulder away to reveal a hidden cave.  The man led the farmer inside, passing two bells and descending into a huge underground cavern.  Here the farmer observed over a thousand knights, with King Arthur at their head.  All slept.  On leaving, the farmer knocked one of the two great bells, waking the sleeping men who immediately asked, 'Is is time?'  The man told them it was not yet time and that they should continue to sleep.  The knights returned to their slumber.  The man and the farmer left the cave, where they parted ways without a word.  The farmer is said to have searched for the cave many times but could never find it again.

Caerleon-Roman Prysg Field Barracks

In the preface of Le Mort d'Arthur by Sir Thomas Mallory, William Caxton tells us that Camelot is located in Wales, describing ruins of a city that sound much like Caerleon.

'...in Wales, in the town of Camelot, the great stones and the marvellous works of iron lying underground, and the royal vaults which many now living have seen.

This part of Wales, believed to be Gwent, became a Dark Age kingdom which was ruled by Atrwys ap Meurig, who is believed by some to be 'the real King Arthur'.

 Aerial view of Caerleon Roman amphitheatre

Caerleon is especially noted for Arthur's Table, the Roman amphitheatre, which is where King Arthur is said to have been appointed St. Dyfric as an Archbishop of St. Aaron's Cathedral in Caerleon.  When the Caerleon Excavation Committee formed in 1926, Sir Mortimer Wheeler, the Director of the National Museum in Wales, made the most of the connection between King Arthur's Round Table and the Roman amphitheatre, commenting that it was 'likely to attract considerable funds required for a long-term programme of work.'  Wheeler announced his project to the media, with the Daily Mail soon offering to give the Committee £1,000 for exclusive rights and daily reports of the excavation of''King Arthur's Round Table'.  By the time the agreement was made, the Daily Mail had tripled their offer and carried daily 'sensational' reports, despite Wheeler being accused of shameless exploitaton and no Dark Age remains were reported.

But Wheeler's connection between King Arthur's Round Table and the Roman amphitheatre was not the first.  In 1587, Thomas Churchyard wrote of the Roman amphitheatre at Caerleon:

In Arthur's tyme, a table round,
Was where at he sate:
As yet a plot of goodly ground,
Sets forth that rare estate...

 Caerleon Roman amphitheatre

And this is not the earliest connection between the two.  According to a French source, Chronique Religieus de St Denys, in 1405 the French army, who had landed at Milford Haven to support Owain Glyn Dwr in his uprising against the English Crown, went to Caerleon, once known as the legionary fortress Isca.  They are then said to have visited 'The Round Table of Arthurian legend', which was in fact the Roman amphitheatre.  Those that believe Caerleon is a contender for Arthur's Camelot claim that the addition of Arthur's Table strengthens the theory.

King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table, painting by Michel Gantelet from 1472. 

That's it for today.  Tomorrow we will look at one more potential contender for King Arthur's Camelot.  Until next time.


Useful Resources

Le Morte D'Arthur by Sir Thomas Malory
Historia Refum Britanniae [History of the Kings of Britain] by Geoffrey of Monmouth
King Arthur: The Truth Behind the Legend by Rodney Castleden
Revealing King Arthur: Swords, Stones and Digging for Camelot by Christopher Gidlow
Caerleon and Arthur