Tintagel: Arthur's Castle?

Top Ten Arthurian Locations: No 2

"Now feast and festival in Arthur's hall:
Hark! stern Dundagel softens into song!
They meet for solemn severance, knight and king,
Where gate and bulwark darken o'er the sea."
- R S Hawker (1864)

Where History meets Legend
A ruined medieval castle on the Cornish coast, surrounded on three sides by azure blue sea, white sea-water spray crashing against the rocks, the birthplace of King Arthur: with such a dramatic setting how can one fail to be impressed with Tintagel?

Gallos

No, English Heritage have not ruined the island – yet! Under immense financial pressure to become self sufficient as government (tax payers) money is withdrawn English Heritage must increase revenue from top draw attractions such as Tintagel. The so-called guardians of this rare piece of Cornish heritage have been accused of 'Disneyfication' of the site with the so-called Merlin carving on the rocks by the entrance to Merlin's Cave in The Haven and the bronze sculpture named Gallos, inspired by the Arthurian legend.

The face of Merlin causes the biggest concern, as a rock carving, at once it became a permanent feature. But it is unobtrusive and can't be found unless one gets down to Merlin's Cave. Whereas Gallos is clearly a modern sculpture and surprisingly does not feel out of place. Indeed, tourists queue up here to get their photograph taken by the bronze warlord. Only time will tell how this rare piece of Cornish heritage fares in the hands of its trusted guardians.

But next year (2019), English Heritage intend to build a bridge from the mainland to the island. This could be just too much; yes there are many steps to climb to the island but the effort is worthwhile and gives the feeling of remoteness. On achieving the climb you have left behind the mainland and the modern world and enter through a doorway into another realm; you have arrived at Arthur's Castle.

Arthur's Castle?
Geoffrey of Monmouth introduces Tintagel to the Arthurian legend in in his History of the Kings of Britain, c.1136, as the place of Arthur's conception after his father Uther Pendragon takes the form of Gorlois Duke of Cornwall by taking Merlin's potion. That night Uther enters Tintagel Castle and spends the night with Ugraine. In the 15th century William of Worcester toured Cornwall and recorded that King Arthur was born at Tintagel.

The ascent on to the island

The myth of King Arthur and his Tintagel castle has been firmly embedded in the public’s consciousness by successive generations of writers since Geoffrey, including Sir Thomas Malory, Lord Tennyson, and R S Hawker.

The eccentric clergyman, poet and antiquarian, Robert Stephen Hawker (1803 – 1875), known as the vicar of Morwenstow, was inspired to write The Quest of the Sangraal after spending his honeymoon at Tintagel in 1823. Twenty five years later in 1848 Alfred Tennyson, the Poet Laureate, visited Hawker at Morwenstow, and sharing a deep fascination with Arthurian legend, the two travelled to the ruined castle at Tintagel. On completion of The Quest for the Sangraal, Tennyson is said to have declared that “Hawker has beaten me on my own ground.”

The curtain wall of the 13th century Castle

Geoffrey Ashe (1997) mentions another legend of Tintagel, possibly no older than Tennyson, that recounts that when Arthur was mortally wounded at Slaughter Bridge (a contender for the site of the battle of Camlann), he was taken to Tintagel and died there. Ashe writes of strange wind-sighings and sea moanings that were said to have been heard around the headland immediately after and continued while Arthur's body was conveyed to Glastonbury for burial. Not until his body was laid in the grave did the eerie noises cease.

The birth of modern tourism in the Victorian period arrived in north Cornwall with the railway in Camelford and construction of the hotel overlooking the ruins of the medieval castle; Tintagel met the visitors' criteria of romantic wild landscape and fashionable coastal resort. The guide Florence Nightingale Richards, Keeper of the Castle Keys, would take visitors around the island pointing out such features as King Arthur's Seat, King Arthur's Cup and Saucers, King Arthur's Footprint. Tennyson's epic poem 'Idylls Of The King' (1859) inspired the Pre-Raphaelites leading to a re-discovery in the arts and crafts movement of the period and the Arthurian Revival.

The Arthurian association with Tintagel was accepted dogma until the 1920's when Henry Jenner the Grand Bard of Cornwall presented a paper in which he dismissed the Arthurian connections to Tintagel as a fraud. Jenner demolished the Arthurian connection and concluded that “historically and romantically, Tintagel Castle is rather a fraud” and argued for a religious function on the island. Jenner, who was responsible for the revival of the Cornish language, suggested that the name of the promontory was Norman-French, highlighting the similarity to a rock on the island of Sark which was known to the locals as “Tente d'Ageu”.

Tintagel was originally just the name of the headland promontory connected to the mainland by a thin isthmus now greatly eroded by the sea. The village was known, until comparatively recently, as Trevena, meaning 'farm on the hill'. Oliver Padel of the Institute of Cornish Studies has argued that the name may originate from the older Cornish language: 'Din', meaning a fort, and 'tagell', meaning a place where two currents of water meet.

Jenner argued that Geoffrey introduced Tintagel Castle into the Arthurian canon because of its dramatic setting high upon the cliffs of the north Cornish coast. Jenner asserted that the medieval castle was not built until about 1230, nearly a hundred years after Geoffrey wrote his story and therefore could not possibly be an Arthurian site and therefore all subsequent accounts relating to Tintagel as Arthur's birthplace were derived from Geoffrey. He considered the Arthurian association was pure invention by Geoffrey as his own research found no such connection. Jenner's theory that Tintagel was a religious establishment, rather than secular, influenced archaeological interpretations of the site for the next 50 years.

In 1930, C. A. Raleigh Radford was commissioned by the British Ministry of Works to investigate the Arthurian history of the Tintagel site. He carried out excavations at the site, on and off, for thirty years. Yet, Radford's interpretation of the site concurred with Jenner's earlier suggestion that Tintagel was indeed the site of a Celtic monastery.

A small group of Irish Saints 'Lives' make reference to a place called “Rosnat” (or “Rostat”), a place of religious learning outside Ireland where early saints received an education. Radford envisaged Tintagel as Rosnat, created by the holy man St. Julitta, who arrived in the south west of England shortly before the year 500 with a group of disciples. Radford believed that Julitta equated with St. Juliana, one of the 'children of Brychan', a large family of siblings who became Celtic saints and have left their names in church dedications all over Cornwall. Today the low walls of a 12th century chapel, identified by Ralegh Radford as St Julitta's chapel, still stand on the highest part of the island.

Henry VIII's antiquary John Leland visited Tintagel twice, in the late 1530's and early 1540's, following an itinerary similar to that of William of Worcester. Leland records that the chapel of “Ulette or Ulaine still stands within the dungeon”, while the remainder of the castle is in ruins. But Arthur is notably absent from Leland's record of his two visits to Tintagel.

The Chapel

If we can believe Arthurian Romance as being based on fact then a chapel was standing here at least thirty years before Richard Earl of Cornwall constructed his castle in the 13th century. "Perlesvaus or The High History Of The Holy Graal" was originally written in Old French in the first decade of the 13th Century A.D., as a continuation of Chretien DeTroyes' unfinished work "Perceval, or the Story of the Grail". The unknown author is rumoured to have been a monk of Glastonbury and may have possessed first hand knowledge of the site. The account of Tintagel therein would appear to be adhering to Geoffrey's account in which Uther is transformed into the shape of Gorlois by Merlin:

“[Lancelot and Gawain] ….. rode right busily on their journeys until they came into a very different land, scarce inhabited of any folk, and found a little castle in a combe. They came thitherward and saw that the enclosure of the castle was fallen down into an abysm, so that none might approach it on that side, but it had a right fair gateway and a door tall and wide whereby one entered. They beheld a chapel that was right fair and rich, and below was a great ancient hall. They saw a priest appear in the midst of the castle, bald and old, that had come forth of the chapel. They are come thither and alighted, and asked the priest what the castle was, and he told them that it was the great Tintagel.

"And how is this ground all caved in about the castle?"

"Sir," saith the priest, "I will tell you. Sir," saith he, "King Uther Pendragon, that was father of King Arthur, held a great court and summoned all his barons. The King of this castle that then was here was named Gorlois. He went to the court and took his wife with him, that was named Ygerne, and she was the fairest dame in any kingdom. King Uther sought acquaintance of her for her great beauty, and regarded her and honoured her more than all the others of his court. King Gorlois departed thence and made the Queen come back to this castle for the dread that he had of King Uther Pendragon. King Uther was very wroth with him, and commanded him to send back the Queen his wife. King Gorlois said that he would not. Thereupon King Uther Pendragon defied him, and then laid siege about this castle where the Queen was. King Gorlois was gone to seek for succour. King Uther Pendragon had Merlin with him of whom you have heard tell, that was so crafty. He made him be changed into the semblance of King Gorlois, so that he entered there within by Merlin's art and lay that night with the Queen, and so begat King Arthur in a great hall that was next to the enclosure there where this abysm is. And for this sin hath the ground sunken in on this wise."

He cometh with them toward the chapel that was right fair, and had a right rich sepulchre therein.

"Lords, in this sepulchre was placed the body of Merlin, but never mought it be set inside the chapel, wherefore perforce it remained outside. And know of a very truth that the body lieth not within the sepulchre, for, so soon as it was set therein, it was taken out and snatched away, either on God's behalf or the Enemy's, but which we know not." [Trans. Sebastian Evans, 1898]

The account of Tintagel in The High History diverges from Geoffrey in recording a chapel standing in the ruins of a castle in much the same as that of Leland. Yet, The High History was written down at least three hundred years before Leland's account and thirty years before the medieval castle of Richard Earl of Cornwall was constructed; does The High History contain evidence of an Early Medieval stronghold on the island of which the remains were present in Geoffrey's day?

The island courtyard

A Royal Palace
A grass fire swept across the island in 1983 revealing many small dwellings which lead to the questioning of Radford's monastic interpretation. Subsequently, more recent interpretations of the Tintagel site have come to a very different conclusion and favour a secular trading post.

A re-evaluation of the site was carried out by the Cornish archaeologist Charles Thomas who closely studied the pottery sherds uncovered by Radford. Thomas noted that the pottery, mainly amphorae used to transport wine and oil, represented material evidence of imported luxury goods and concluded that the site had been used by high status or royal individuals and dismissed the monastic interpretation.

In medieval literature Tintagel was always referred to as a 'royal palace' and a dwelling of the rulers of Cornwall, notably the palace of King Mark in the legend of Tristan and Iseult. In the earliest Arthurian tales (such as Culhwch and Olwen) Arthur's camp, Celliwig, is always in Cornwall. However, this does not qualify as providing any sort of evidence for proof of Geoffrey of Monmouth's account of the conception of King Arthur at Tintagel Castle.

The history of Tintagel, as with much of Britain, starts in the Roman period. Two Roman honorific markers from the area, one now in Tintagel church and one at Trethevy, a mile and a half to the east, suggest an Imperial presence in the area in the 3rd and 4th centuries. Small amounts of pottery and some Roman coins found on the island appear to confirm limited Roman activity.

In 1998 English Heritage announced the discovery of an inscribed slate which swung the pendulum firmly back in Arthur's favour. Known as The Artognou Stone, the slate found at Site C on the Eastern terrace, bears the inscription:

PATER COLIAVIFICIT / ARTOGNOV / COLI FICIT

The name “Artognou” was proposed as a variant of Arthur and immediately led to speculation that it was confirmation of King Arthur's presence at Tintagel. English Heritage's chief archaeologist at the time, Dr Geoffrey Wainwright, seemingly carried away in the euphoria, described the discovery as "the find of a lifetime".

A display replica of the Artognou Slate

Charles Thomas translated this as "Artognou, father of a descendant of Coll, has had this built". This inscription has been dated to a 6th century hand, found in a sealed layer containing fragments of 6th century Mediterranean pottery. However, it is often ignored that the slate bears two inscriptions in different hands from different periods. The letters 'AXE' appears to be the tailend of a Classical Roman inscription from the Late 4th century, which Thomas suggests may be an inscription to the Emperor Honorius, Augustus from 393 to 423 AD. The slate appears to have been re-used later for some 6th century graffiti, such as a practise inscription. Thomas speculated that the slate may originally have hung on the wall of a public building, perhaps a tax office, in the late 4th century before being used as a drain cover in the 6th century at the post-Roman buildings at Site C. The Romans could have used Tintagel as a trading post, exchanging Mediterranean goods for Cornish tin.

Further archaeological investigations, sponsored by English Heritage, confirmed Tintagel was indeed a post-Roman palace, possibly the seasonal seat of the kings of ancient Dumnonia (modern Cornwall and Devon). Sceptics may argue that archaeologists always seem to find what they want to find, especially when English Heritage are hoping to raise the Arthurian profile of Tintagel and visitor numbers.

2017 excavations on the island

A new program of archaeological investigations at Tintagel has already declared the discovery of a 'Dark Age' high status building on the Headland in July 2016. The media circus that followed declared it as the discovery of King Arthur's palace. However, as with the inscribed 'Artognou' slate, this is not evidence for Arthur. The excavations go on.

"I yearn that men I know not, men unborn,

Should find, amid these fields, King Arthur's fame!

Here let them say, by proud Dundagel's walls--

'They brought the Sangraal back by his command,

They touched these rugged rocks with hues of God:'

So shall my name have worship, and my land."

- R S Hawker (1864)

Copyright © 2018 Edward Watson
http://clasmerdin.blogspot.co.uk/



Sources:
Geoffrey Ashe, The Traveller's Guide to Arthurian Britain, Gothic Image, 1997.
Robert Stephen Hawker, The Quest of the Sangraal, 1864.
The High History Of The Holy Graal - Branch XX, Translation by Sebastian Evans, 1898.
Charles Thomas, Tintagel - Arthur and Archaeology, Batsford, 1993.
Rachel C. Barrowman and Colleen E. Batey, Excavations at Tintagel Castle, Cornwall, 1990-1999 (Reports of the Research Committee of the Society of Antiquaries of London), Society of Antiquaries of London, 2007.
C A Ralegh Radford, Tintagel Castle, Cornwall : Official Guide, HMSO, Reprint edition, 1969.
Ronald Youlton, King Arthur. Tintagel Castle and Celtic Monastery, Tintagel Parish Council, 13th Edition edition, 1976.
Henry Jenner & J.Hambley Rowe, Tintagel Castle: Its History and Romance (1926), Oakmagic Publications edition 1999.

Photographs copyright © Edward Watson

* * *

King Arthur lives in Merry Carlisle

Top Ten Arthurian Locations: No 3

“King Arthur lives in merry Carlisle,
And seemly is to see;
And there with him Queen Guenever,
That bride so bright of blee.”

Lug's Town: Carlisle Castle
Experiencing quieter days now, Carlisle has been caught between the wars of rival kingdoms for centuries. This is the land of Urien Rheged but Cumbria is also rich in Arthurian legend and well worth a visit.

Carlisle was formerly a major Roman town called Luguvallium (Carvettiorum), thought to mean the "wall[ed town] of Lugus". The large Roman fort was built of turf and timber in 72 AD, supplying support for the garrisons on Hadrian’s Wall. The Roman fort and town are now located under present day Carlisle. After the Romans, Carlisle may have been used as the administrative centre of the Romano-British kingdom of Rheged and possibly the citadel of Urien Rheged; the exact boundaries of Rheged and Urien's stronghold have eluded historians. The city regained its importance at the end of the 13th century when Edward I used it as a base for his invasion of Scotland.

Carlisle Castle

Founded by by William II (William Rufus) in 1092, the Castle we see at Carlisle today was mainly constructed in the late 12th century, occupying the northern end of the historic city. On the second floor of the keep is a remarkable set of well known graffiti scratched into the masonry; the “Prisoners' Carvings” is dated to about 1480, based on the inclusion of the white rose of the house of York and the the boar badge of Richard III.

Being the principal fortress of England’s north-western border with Scotland, Carlisle Castle witnessed frequent conflict between the two countries. Edward I (Longshanks) made Carlisle his headquarters in the early stages of his war against the Scots in 1296. His relentless campaign earned him the epithet “the Hammer of the Scots”.

Between 1173 and 1461 The Scots besieged Carlisle no less than seven times. Robert the Bruce carried out perhaps the most determined siege in 1315 following his victory over the English at the Battle of Bannockburn the previous year. However, the Scots failed to take the castle. The next century Carlisle witnessed one of the bloodiest episodes of the Wars of the Roses during the siege of 1461 when a combined army of Lancastrians and Scots succeeded in taking the castle from the Yorkists.

During the second Jacobite rising of 1745–6 the city was besieged in November 1745 but surrendered after just 5 days. Having found little support further south the Jacobite army retreated over the border back into Scotland in December, leaving a garrison of 400 soldiers at Carlisle Castle to hold off the pursuing English. The castle then endured its tenth and final siege, but fell after being battered by the English artillery of the Duke of Cumberland. Several Jacobite prisoners were taken, 31 given public executions.

Opposite Carlisle Castle is the Tullie House Museum with a collection consisting of over 12,000 man-made objects that date from Prehistory to the end of the Tudor period. The Roman influence here is reflected in the large collection of Roman artefacts housed by the museum, including objects from excavations of the fort and town in addition to a large collection of altars, inscribed and sculptured stones originating from the Cumbrian sections of Hadrian’s Wall, today a designated UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Is This Camelot?
Named as “Caer-Ligualid” in the list of Britain's 28 cities in the Historia Brittonum, the earliest record of the place in English is as “Luel” (c. 1050); combined with the Latin prefix of “Caer” it was known as “Carleol” by the 12th century, which led to later medieval forms including “Cardeol” or "Carduel". In Arthurian Romance references to Carduel are generally considered to represent Carlisle, and is first specifically named as the location of Arthur's court in Landavall (an English version of Marie de Frane's Lanval). Historian Michael Wood has suggested that Carlisle is the most likely base for the legendary King Arthur.

Cardoel (Carduel, or sometimes Cardeuil), which may have some basis in memories of a Northern Arthur to French writers of the Romances, is often confused with "Carlion" (Caerleon) which was known to the French story writers as being in Wales. Indeed, Welsh adaptions of Chretien's Romances always substitute "Caerleon" for "Carduel".

Chrétien de Troyes was the first to mention Arthur's court at "Camelot" in the poem Lancelot, the Knight of the Cart, although Chrétien does not say where it is, but Arthur had travelled from Carlion to get there. In Yvain, or the Knight of the Lion, Chrétien places Cardoel in the kingdom of Gales (Wales).

Chrétien then follows Geoffrey of Monmouth's Historia Regum Britanniae and places Arthur's principal court in Carlion in Wales. Chrétien has Arthur holding court at a number of cities and castles. Cardoel, then appears to be one of the three principal residences of King Arthur, along with Camelot and Carlion. In later Romances, from the 13th century, Camelot came to be the prominent residence.

Surprisingly, in his Le Morte d'Arthur (1469), a text based mainly on the French romances, Sir Thomas Malory identified Camelot with Winchester. Malory was almost certainly influenced by the presence of the Round Table hanging on the wall of the Great Hall at Winchester Castle in his own day. Although Malory saw this as a genuine Arthurian relic his editor, William Caxton, preferred a Welsh location and appeared to lean towards Caerleon or perhaps the Roman ruins at Caerwent.

According to Malory, Guinevere and Lancelot's affair was exposed by Mordred at Carlisle. After fighting his way out of her bed chamber Lancelot fled while Guinevere was sentenced to burn at the stake outside the city walls. Lancelot returns to rescue her just in time of course but he kills several Knights. The ensuing war enabled Mordred to seize the throne while Arthur pursued Lancelot in Gaul, culminating in the battle of Camlann and the demise of the Order of the Round Table.

No doubt because of its association with Cardoel, Carlisle features in many Arthurian Romances, such as the Awntyrs off Arthure which may have been composed in Carlisle in the late 14th century; the  Middle English  texts Sir Landevale and Sir Gawain and the Carle of Carlisle, c.1400, the latter, in turn seems to have inspired The Carle of Carlisle found in the 17th century Percy Folio.

Arthur's Round Table, Eamont Bridge

The presence of Carlisle (Cardoel) in the Arthurian Romances may have influenced the naming of several landscape features in Cumbria. South of Penrith we find 'Arthur's Round Table'. This Bronze Age earthwork with a central round platform is situated at the junction of the A6 and the B5320 at Eamont Bridge. This is another of those prehistoric sites where the connection with Arthur is not understood.

Sir Walter Scott wrote part of The Bridal of Triermain while staying at the Royal Oak in Keswick, clearly inspired by the legend:

“He pass’d red Penrith’s Table Round,

for feats of chivalry renown’d

left Mayburgh’s mound and stones of power,

by druids raised in magic hour,

and traced the Eamont’s winding way…”

Nearby is the Giant's Cave, a place associated with two giants called Tarquin and Isir, which may, or may not, have some connection to the Giant's Grave in Penrith.

Pendragon Castle
At around 50 miles south of Carlisle is the ruins of Pendragon Castle, the legendary stronghold of Uther Pendragon, Arthur’s father, at Mallerstang, near Kirkby Stephen. The only connection to Arthur is the name and the local tale that Uther attempted to divert the River Eden for the moat. The castle was built in the 12th century and owned by the Lord of Westmorland, a certain Sir Hugh de Morville, who was one of four knights who murdered Thomas Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury, in 1170. You can see Morville's sword in Carlisle cathedral.

Carlisle Cathedral

Talking of swords, follow the A595 from Carlisle toward Cockermouth and turn off for Bassenthwaite Lake. This stretch of water is said to have provided the inspiration for Alfred, Lord Tennyson’s description of the lake into which Excalibur is thrown after the battle of Camlann, where King Arthur is mortally wounded, while he wrote Morte d’Arthur while vacating at Mirehouse, overlooking the lake:

“So all day long the noise of battle roll'd
Among the mountains by the winter sea;
Until King Arthur's table, man by man,
Had fallen in Lyonnesse about their Lord,
King Arthur: then, because his wound was deep,
The bold Sir Bedivere uplifted him,
Sir Bedivere, the last of all his knights,
And bore him to a chapel nigh the field,
A broken chancel with a broken cross,
That stood on a dark strait of barren land.
On one side lay the ocean, and on one
Lay a great water, and the moon was full.”

Ullswater is another with an Excalibur story.

Travelling in the opposite direction on the A689 toward Birdoswald on Hadrian's Wall, after 10 miles one soon arrives at St Martin’s Church at Brampton. This church is famous as being the only church designed by the Pre-Raphaelite architect Philip Webb. Inspired by Malory's Le Morte d'Arthur, the Pre-Raphaelite's are famous for their artwork depicting Arthurian scenes which adorn the covers of many of our Arthurian books today. But sadly Brampton church has no Arthuriana on display, the stained glass windows, many designed by Edward Burne-Jones and manufactured by William Morris, depict biblical scenes but is still well worth a visit.

Lanercost Priory & Bewcastle
Of all the Cumbrian monasteries Lanercost Priory is the best-preserved. The east end of the 13th-century church survives to its full height, with its triple tier of arches. The Nave is still used as the parish church.

Lanercost Priory

The Priory was founded about 1166 by Henry II on land granted “between the ancient wall and the Irthing” and remained in use for some 370 years until the Dissolution of the Monasteries in 1536. It is evident that stones were robbed from Hadrian's Wall in the construction, in part, for some of the Priory buildings; a number of Roman inscriptions can be seen among the walls, of note is an inscription to Legio VI Victrix which took part in the construction of the Wall.

Roman altars at Lanercost Priory

Lanercost Priory suffered badly during the long Anglo-Scottish wars, one offensive lead by Robert Bruce himself. The sickly King Edward I is said to have stayed here for five months in 1306-7 shortly before his death on his final campaign.

Bewcastle Cross

Now you've made it this far, it is just a few miles on to Bewcastle. At St Cuthbert's churchyard stands the famous 7th Century Bewcastle Anglo Saxon Cross said to still stand in its original position. Bewcastle is also known for its unusual hexagonal Roman fort, which has been identified as Fanum Cocidi; the earthen ramparts can still be seen by St Cuthbert's churchyard. The fort was built as a northern outpost to Hadrian's Wall, originally garrisoned by the First Cohort of Nervians. It was linked direct by road to the Roman fort of Birdoswald  on the Wall.

Bew Castle (Fanum Cocidi)

Birdoswald is one of the best preserved Roman forts on Hadrian’s Wall, and joined to the longest continuous stretch of the Wall still standing. Nearby can be seen remnants of the original turf wall. The Roman fort here has been identified as the site of Arthur's last battle at Camlann based on the etymology of the Roman name Camboglanna. Here, the Roman granaries were replaced by a chieftain's hall in the early 6th century which has added to the speculation of this being the residence of a Post-Roman warlord. I have discussed the mis-identification of Birdoswald with Camboglanna at length in a previous post The Hunters of Banna - Camlann at Castlestead. 

Roman remains at Birdoswald (Banna)

The prospect of Camlann being fought on Hadrian's Wall fits comfortably with the theory of Lucius Artorious Castus as a contender for a historical Arthur. In reconstructing the career of Castus in Britain, based on epigraphic evidence and the account of the Caledonian revolt in the 180s AD from Dio Cassius, Linda Malcor presents a serious contender for Arthur, stationed at York, the City of the Legions, recovering much of the north. Malcor's theory was the inspiration behind Antoine Fuqua's 2004 film 'King Arthur' starring Clive Owen, for which both Malcor and John Matthews were historical advisors. Matthews expands this theory in the opening chapter to his latest work The Complete King Arthur ( John Matthews and Caitlín Matthews, 2017).  It must be said that the Castus theory gets closer to a historical Arthur than many other proposals. However, there are weaknesses in this theory which I have noted in a previous post; The Road to Camlann, Part I The North.

Hadrian's Wall at Birdoswald

Following the B6318 further along the Wall for about a mile and a half mile east of Housesteads Roman Fort, we cross into Northumberland and the site of SewingShields. It is a well known legend that King Arthur and his Knights lie sleeping in some cave under a hollow hill somewhere and will return in Britain’s hour of greatest need. There are many sites across the country claiming to possess the 'Sleeping King' in the hollow hill such as South Cadbury in Somerset, Snowdon in Wales, Alderley Edge, Cheshire, Eildon Hills on the Scottish Borders, and here on the Wall we find another.

Sewingshields Castle, probably a tower made from masonry robbed from the Wall, once stood in a marshy area known as Fozy Moss beyond the wind-swept Whin Sill ridge. Here the landscape bears such names as the King’s Crags, Queen’s Crags (said to be named after Guinevere), King Arthur’s Well and King Arthur’s Chair.

A popular local tale recalls a shepherd who was sitting by the ruins of Sewingshields Castle knitting. He dropped his ball of wool and ran after it, when he came across a hidden passageway which he followed. At the end of the passage, now well underground, was a great hall. Here was King Arthur, Guinevere and the Knights of the Round Table sat around a large table, all in deep sleep.

Hadrian's Wall

On the table was a bugle, a garter and the sword Excalibur. The shepherd's instinct was to pick up Excalibur and cut the garter; at that moment Arthur, Guinevere and the Knights all awoke. Surprised by the awakening Knights, the shepherd quickly returned Excalibur to its sheath when Arthur muttered in anger: “O, woe betide the evil day, On which this witless wight was born, Who drew the sword, the garter cut, But never blew the bugle horn.” Arthur and the Knights returned to their slumber and the shepherd fled safe in the knowledge that should the country need Arthur and his Knights he was but a bugle call away.

If you have time it is worth travelling a few further miles east along the B6318 toward the village named Wall. Before arriving at the village, just east of Chollerford, you will notice a large wooden cross set in a walled enclosure by the roadside. This is the Heavenfield Cross erected, near the presumed site of the original cross erected by Oswald, to commemorate the battle of Hefenfelth fought between Cadwallon of Gwynedd and his ally Penda of Mercia against Oswald of Northumbia in 633, or 634 AD. On the eve of battle Oswald claimed to have seen a vision of St Columba, who promised him victory. Bede tells us that Oswald erected a large wooden cross where he prayed before the battle which resulted in a decisive victory for the Northumbrians and the death of Cadwallon. A Saxon church was erected on the site of the battle, which has been rebuilt in the Norman period and again during the 19th century. On leaving Hadrian's Wall we now head for the village of Arthuret to complete our tour.

The Birth of the Merlin Legend
The 9th century Historia Brittonum tells us that Arthur's “seventh battle was in the Caledonian Forest, that is, the Battle of Celidon Coit”.

The site of this battle has been (almost) unanimously identified as the Caledonian Forest in modern Scotland,Coed Celyddon, by Arthurian scholars. At one time this forest probably extended from the Solway to the Highlands, but Welsh tradition tends to favour the area of the Scottish border.

North-east Cumbria retains a memory of one of the bloodiest battles of Early Medieval Period Britain. The 10th century Welsh Annals (Annals Cambriae) record the Battle of Arfderydd in the year 573 as “Bellum armterid”. This is too late for Arthur of course if he was present at the battle of Badon c.500, although Thomas Green (2008) argues for the interesting possibility of Arthur's seventh battle as a mythical 'Battle of the Trees' (Cad Goddeu) as recorded in the Book of Taliesin in which animated trees form an army.

Arfderydd has been identified as Arthuret, lying between the rivers Esk, Lyne, and Liddel, near Longtown, north-east of Carlisle near the Scottish border. However, it must be said, this is based on an uncertain etymology. An alternative suggestion is that the site was once known as “Arthurs Head” which has become corrupted over time to “Arthuret”.

The Parish Church at Arthuret, St Michael and All Angels, was constructed in 1609, yet a church is said to have stood on the site since the 6th Century AD. A local tradition claims Arthur was buried here after the battle of Camlann on Hadrians Wall, thought to be Castlesteads (Camboglanna), in 537. Today a plaque at the church reinforces the claim of its most famous intern.

The Triads record the Battle of Arfderydd as one of the Three Futile Battles of Britain, fought over a “Lark's Nest.” This has been interpreted by historians as a particularly bloody event during the conflict of the Northern British kings Gwendoleu of Caer-Winley and Peredyr of Ebrauc, with much slaughter on both sides. The “Lark's Nest” was apparently the disputed territory at fort at Caer-Laverock.

A later addition to the Annal entry noted that “Merlin went mad.” This is supported by a series of Welsh poems found in the Black Book of Carmarthen and the Red Book of Hergest which tell the story of Myrddin's (Merlin) madness after the carnage of the battle, who then fled into the Celidon Forest where he spent the rest of his days. In Scottish texts he is named as Lailoken. Tim Clarkson (2016) sees the Battle of Arfderydd as the one single event that sparked the Merlin legend.


Copyright © 2018 Edward Watson
http://clasmerdin.blogspot.co.uk/


Sources:
John Matthews and Caitlín Matthews, The Complete King Arthur: Many Faces, One Hero, Inner Traditions, 2017. Chapter 1: Arthur of Rome: Commander of Legions, pp.5-40.
Tim Clarkson, Scotland's Merlin: A Medieval Legend and its Dark Age Origins, John Donald (Birlinn), 2016.
Thomas Green, Concepts of Arthur, Tempus, 2008,

Photographs copyright © Edward Watson

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