Nwywre Island - Museum

Camelot the Legend
The very name conjures up visions of chivalry and magic, romance and adventure. Back in the mists of time half way between history and myth there came man to lead his people to glory - Arthur.
Under the guidance of Merlin he drew the sword of destiny from the stone and won the crown.

In British legend, Camelot was the capital of the kingdom of King Arthur. Cadbury Castle in Somerset, an isolated Iron Age hill fort, is the site most often identified with Camelot. Archaeological evidence confirms that during the 6th century the fort was occupied by a powerful British warrior chieftain. However, local folklore advances alternative sites at Camelford in Cornwall and Winchester in Hampshire as the original Camelot.

King Arthur, Guinevere, Merlin, Lancelot, Camelot and Excalibur are names rooted in British tradition and culture.
Their stories have been recreated through centuries, from the poets and romancers of France and Germany through the poetry of Tennyson and the music drama of Wagner to successful stage and screen adaptation.

Local tales and folklore are spread over a vast stretch of territory, from Scotland through Northern England and Wales to Cornwall, and extending also into Britanny, where a great part of the legend is thought to have originated.

Early chroniclers believed that the seat of Arthur's power was the famed town of Camelot, situated in the south-west. Modern research has shown that behind the figure of legend was a real person of considerable historical significance.

The south west of England possesses a powerful tradition of independence, a strain of mysticism taken from early Pagan times and modified by Christianity and a breathtaking combination of scenery and climate. This area was the home of a man of greatness and fighting prowess who became a folk-hero.

King Arthur is one of the greatest figures in English folklore. According to legend he lived in the late 5th and early 6th centuries at a time when Britain was the scene of the final bloody struggles for domination between the Romano-British Celts and the Saxon invaders. He is considered to have been the leader in the defense of the south-western homelands.
Arthur was a Christian warrior, and led a band of 28 knights, the legendary knights of the round table. One of these knights was Lancelot, whose love for the beautiful Guinevere, the wife of King Arthur is one of the best known Arthurian stories resulting in the break up of the round table.

A historian writes;

"In this time of winter and destruction, 
there were brave men among the Britons, 
who for many years held back the heathen Saxons, 
striving with might and wisdom to preserve their country, 
to maintain an orderly and decent system of government, 
to preserve town, church and villa, 
to rescue the beleaguered, 
and to bring peace to the land. 
Such a man was Arthur."

Merlin
Merlin, Arthur's adviser, prophet and magician, is basically the creation of Geoffrey of Monmouth, who in his twelfth century History of the Kings of Britain combined the Welsh traditions about a bard and prophet named Myrddin with the story that the ninth century chronicler Nennius tells about Ambrosius (that he had no human father and that he prophesied the defeat of the British by the Saxons).

Geoffrey gave his character the name Merlin us rather than Merdinus (the normal Latinization of Myrddin) because the latter might have suggested to his Anglo-Norman audience the vulgar word "merde." In Geoffrey's book, Merlin assists Uther Pendragon and is responsible for transporting the stones of Stonehenge from Ireland, but he is not associated with Arthur. Geoffrey also wrote a book of "Prophecies of Merlin" before his History. The Prophecies were then incorporated into the History as its seventh book. These led to a tradition that is manifested in other medieval works, in eighteenth century almanac writers who made predictions under such names as Merlinus Anglicus, and in the presentation of Merlin in later literature.

Merlin became very popular in the Middle Ages. He is central to a major text of the thirteenth century French Vulgate cycle, and he figures in a number of other French and English romances. Sir Thomas Malory, in the Morte d'Arthur presents him as the adviser and guide to Arthur.

In the modern period Merlin's popularity has remained constant. He figures in works from the Renaissance to the modern period. In The Idylls of the King, Tennyson makes him the architect of Camelot. Mark Twain, parodying Tennyson's Arthurian world, makes Merlin a villain, and in one of the illustrations to the first edition of Twain's work illustrator Dan Beard's Merlin has Tennyson's face. Numerous novels, poems and plays centre around Merlin. In American literature and popular culture, Merlin is perhaps the most frequently portrayed Arthurian character.

King Arthur
Pendragon of the Isles of Britain. Son of Uther and of his wife, Igraine of Lionesse. Born at Tintagel but taken by Merlin to -London to be brought up by Sir Hector de Mowen.
He proved to be the lawful King of England by drawing the Sword from the Stone.
Founder of the Order of the Knights of the Round Table, the members of which had to adhere to the rules which governed the fellowship, the basis of which was the love of God and men and noble deeds.
He died of wounds received in the battle against Sir Mordred at Slaughterbridge, near Tintagel.

Guinevere
Queen Guinevere, Wife of King Arthur, she had a love affair with Sir Lancelot. Arthur's treacherous nephew Mordred used this affair to start a civil war, which led to the end of Arthur's reign and the fellowship of the knights of the Round Table.

According to Geoffrey, Duke Cador took Guinevere into his household and brought her up. This is where we first hear of her in Geoffrey's account. He says she was descended from a noble Roman family, but gives no clue as to how she found her way into a Cornish foster home. Romancers who enlarge on her background tell us that her father was Leodegan, "King" of Carmelide or Camelerd, a name that may echo the Cornish river Camel and the town of Camelford on its banks. They also tell us that he owned the Round Table before Arthur.

Merlin made it for Uther, who passed it on to Leodegan, and it came to Arthur as Guinevere's dowry when he married her. Merlin foresaw trouble, but the marriage proceeded.
The old form of her name is Gwenhwyfar, meaning the White Phantom. Welsh tradition is unkind to her, dubbing her the most faithless of women

Sir Launcelot (Lancelot)
Son of King Ban of Benwick and Queen Elaine. He was the first Knight of the Round Table, never failing in courtesy, courage and gentleness, or in willingness to serve others.
Sir Launcelot went on the quest of the Holy Grail, but owing to his pride was unable to see the Holy Vessel.
When the Queen was put to the fire test, pride caused Sir Launcelot to make a greater battle than necessary and led to the break up of the Round Table.
After the battle he became a monk and lived as a penitent until his death.

Excalibur
King Arthur's magical sword, said to symbolize both destruction and fertility. In one version of the legends of Arthur, the future king proved his right to rule by pulling Excalibur out of a stone, which no other man could do. In another version, he received the sword from the Lady of the Lake. As Arthur lay dying he asked Sir Bedevere, one of his knights, to return Excalibur to the lake, where an arm rose up out of the water to receive it.

The Sword in the Stone, sometimes a sword in an anvil, is drawn by Arthur as proof of his birthright and of his nobility. It is both a test and a miraculous sign of his royalty. The sword drawn from the stone is different from the one given to Arthur by the Lady of the Lake. The latter is always referred to as Excalibur; the former is called by that name only once, when Arthur draws the sword at a crucial moment in the first battle to test his sovereignty (Vinaver I, 19):

"thenne he drewe his swerd Excalibur, but it was so breyght in his enemyes eyen that it gaf light lyke thꮠĴtyor��ys�� The Knights of the Round Table
The fellowship of the knights of King Arthur who included Sir Bedivere, Sir Gawain and Sir Lancelot. Their most famous adventure was the quest for the Holy Grail which was eventually found by Sir Galahad.

The Round Table was first described in 1155 by the poet Robert Wace who held that Arthur devised the table to promote equality among the knights. A table said to the Round Table hangs in the Castle Hall in Winchester but this dates only from the 13th century.

Sir Bedivere
A constant companion and cup bearer of King Arthur. He was the last Knight left alive on the field of the battle against Sir Mordred at Slaughterbridge, near Tintagel. When King Arthur received his death wound he debuted Sir Bedivere to return his sword Excalibur to the Lady of the Lake at Dosmary Pool near Tintagel. Throwing the sword into the lake there came a hand and an arm up out of the water, caught the sword by the hilt and then vanished beneath the water.
After the death of King Arthur he retired to a hermitage, where he remained until his death.

Sir Bors de Ganis
The son of King Bors, the brother of King Ban, and cousin of Sir Launcelot du Lake. He was a Knight of great courage and was known as one of the three peerless Knights.
He witnessed the achievement of the Quest of the Holy Grail by Sir Galahad but he was denied its fulfillment. After the death of Sir Galahad he returned to King Arthur and gave him an account of all the circumstances connected with the achievement.
He was faithful and loyal, and he died fighting to maintain the principles of Knighthood.

Sir Gaheris
Sir Gaheris was the son of King Lot of Orkney and his wife Margawse, sister of King Arthur, before being knighted he was squire to his elder brother Gawaine.
Sir Gaheris married Linnet on the day his brother Gareth married her sister, Dame Lionesse, of the Castle Perilous.
The two brothers were slain in the struggle following the rescue of Queen Guenevere from the fire, though this was by accident as Sir Launcelot did not recognize them in the crowd. Sir Gawaine for a long time held Sir Launcelot in bitter hatred.

Sir Galahad
The pure and stainless Knight son of Sir Launcelot du Lake and Elaine, the daughter of King Pelles.
His arrival at King Arthur's court, where he sat at the seat of the Perilous Siege, caused the Knights to set out on the Quest of the Holy Grail.
As the perfect Knight, Sir Galahad achieved the Quest and in an ecstasy of joy he desired that he should die, which request was granted unto him.

Sir Gareth
Youngat son of King Lot of Orkney and Margawse. He was allowed to go to King Arthur's Court on condition he hid his name and took a rawly position. Gareth worked in the kitchen and was roughly treated by Sir Kay, but was befriended and knighted by Sir Launcelot. Sir Gareth was given the quest of Linnet. He fell in love with Lionesse, their love was thwarted by her sister, until Arthur gave him to her in marriage.
Sir Gareth died at the hand of Sir Launcelot, who did not recognize him in the melee surrounding Guenevere's rescue.

Sir Gawain
Eldest son of King Lot of Orkney. Knighted at King Arthur's wedding and first to take the vow of the Quest.
He refused to take Queen Guenevere to the trial by fire but, during the trial by fire, Gawaine's brothers were killed accidentally by Sir Launcelot as the Queen was rescued. Sir Gawaine's quest for revenge led to the disbanding of the Round Table.
Gawaine was mortally wounded by Launcelot and on his deathbed repented of his hatred. He was buried in Dover Castle.

Sir Geraint
Son of Sir Erbin, a Knight of Devon, Sir Geraint restored Sir Yniol to his possessions and fell in love with and married Enid, Sir Yniol's beautiful daughter.
Geraint heard Enid bewailing his sloth as a Knight. He was stung with shame and mistakenly believed Enid to be unfaithful to him. He took her on a journey through a series of trials until she convinced him of her constancy. They returned and lived in happiness for the rest of their lives.

Sir Kay
Sir Kay, son of Sir Ector, foster father of King Arthur, who brought the boys up as brothers.
When Sir Kay lost his sword, young Arthur went in search and found the sword in the stone in the churchyard. On becoming King, Arthur made Sir Kay seneschal of England and put him in charge of the Court service. Sir Kay had a bitter tongue, but King Arthur appreciated his trustworthiness.

Sir Lamorak de Galis
Sir Lamorak was the son of King Pellinore; he was one of the three Knights most noted for their deeds of prowess. At an early age he received the degree for jousting at which he excelled.
On three occasions he overthrew over thirty Knights. Sir Lamorak was the Knight of Queen Margawse and in defense of her beauty he fought Sir Meliagaunce.
He was killed by the treacherous Knight Sir Mordred, who, as Sir Lamorak was defending himself against several Knights crept behind him and stabbed him in the back.

Sir Percivale
Son of King Pellinore.
With the exception of Sir Galahad he was the most peerless Knight in holy deeds.
He accompanied Sir Galahad on their successful quest for the Holy Grail where he met the Lady Blanchefleur, the Holy Grail maiden. Percivale married Blanchefleur, lived at Cartomek where their son, the Black Knight, became King.

Sir Tristram
Son of King Meloidas of Liones and of Elizabeth, the sister of King Mark of Cornwall.
A Knight of song and music, and known as the "Sorrowful Knight~.
He fought for King Mark against the Marhaus of Ireland and overcame him. He became the King's champion although the King was mean and showed him nothing but hatred and enmity.
He loved Yseult but she was destined to become King Mark's bride. King Mark slew them in a fit of rage. Overcome by remorse he buried them in the same grave so that they should be together.

Camelot
Although Camelot is, for most modern readers, the legendary centre of King Arthur's realm, in many medieval texts Arthur holds court at Carleon or some other city. Camelot is first mentioned in line 34 of Chretien de Troyes's Lancelot; and the name does not appear in all manuscripts of that poem. In the thirteenth century Vulgate Cycle, Camelot becomes the principal city of Arthur's realm and remains so in many, though certainly not all, later texts.

For the English-speaking world Camelot is Arthur's central city because of Malory, who identifies it with Winchester. The image many modern readers have of the Camelot coincides with Tennyson's description of it in Tennyson's "The Lady of Shalott" as "many-tower'd Camelot." Tennyson's image of Camelot is much more complex, however, in "Gareth and Lynette" in The Idylls of the King where it is described as a City built to music and where it is suggestive of Tennyson's theme of appearance and reality "For there is nothing in it as it seems / Saving the King."

Since Camelot is a legendary place, it is perhaps futile to speak of its location. However, John Leland identified it with Cadbury Castle. Excavations carried out at the site in 1966-1970 confirmed that this large hill fort (with 1200 yards of perimeter surrounding an eighteen acre enclosure and rising about 250 feet above the surrounding countryside) was refortified in the Arthurian era and was occupied by a powerful leader and his followers.

More recently, largely through the influence of T. H. White, Camelot has come to be associated with the values Camelot is believed to have represented (White's "Might for Right"). The moral overtones still often remain but sometimes "Camelot" is used only to represent an ideal place.

Cadbury
The attractive little village of North Cadbury and South Cadbury are noted for the massive earthwork known as Cadbury Castle, which stands on a steep hill west of South Cadbury. The castle believed to be the site of King Arthur's Camelot is undoubtedly the finest prehistoric camp in Somerset. According to legend, the hill of Cadbury is the place from which King Arthur set out to find his sword Excalibur.

The Holy Grail
The sacred cup said to have been used by Jesus at the Last Supper. It became an object of quest for the knights of the Round Table who included Sir Galahad and Bedivere. In one story, it was kept in the Grail castle of the crippled Fisher King. According to legend, the Grail is said to rest beneath the spring on Glastonbury Tor.

The Holy Grail is generally considered to be the cup from which Christ drank at the Last Supper and the one used by Joseph of Arimathea to catch his blood as he hung on the cross. This significance, however, was introduced into the Arthurian legends by Robert de Boron in his verse romance Joseph d'Arimathie (sometimes also called Le Roman de l'Estoire du Graal), which was probably written in the last decade of the twelfth century or the first couple of years of the thirteenth.

In earlier sources and in some later ones, the grail is something very different. The term "grail" comes from the Latin gradale, which meant a dish brought to the table during various stages (Latin "gradus") or courses of a meal. In Chretien and other early writers, such a plate is intended by the term "grail." Chretien, for example, speaks of "un graal," a grail or platter and thus not a unique item.

Wolfram von Eschenbach's Parzival presents the grail as a stone which provides sustenance and prevents anyone who beholds it from dying within the week. In medieval romance, the grail was said to have been brought to Glastonbury in Britain by Joseph of Arimathea and his followers. In the time of Arthur, the quest for the Grail was the highest spiritual pursuit. For Chretien and his continuators, Perceval is the knight who must achieve the quest for the Grail. For other French authors, as for Malory, Galahad is the chief Grail knight, though others (Perceval and Bors in the Morte d'Arthur) do achieve the quest. Tennyson is perhaps the author who has the greatest influence on the conception of the Grail quest for the modern English-speaking world through his Idylls and his short poem "Sir Galahad". However, James Russell Lowell's "The Vision of Sir Launfal", one of the most popular of nineteenth century American poems gave to generations a democratized notion of the Grail quest as something achievable by anyone who is truly charitable. The notion that the Grail story originated in fertility myths was popularized by Jessie Weston in her book From Ritual to Romance, which was used by T. S. Eliot in the writing of The Waste Land. Eliot's poem, in turn, influenced many of the important novelists of his and succeeding generations, including Hemingway and Fitzgerald.

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