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+*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 41783 ***
+
+Note: Project Gutenberg also has an HTML version of this
+      file which includes the original illustrations.
+      See 41783-h.htm or 41783-h.zip:
+      (http://www.gutenberg.org/files/41783/41783-h/41783-h.htm)
+      or
+      (http://www.gutenberg.org/files/41783/41783-h.zip)
+
+
+      Images of the original pages are available through
+      Internet Archive. See
+      http://archive.org/details/cu31924074466586
+
+
+
+
+
+KING ARTHUR IN CORNWALL
+
+by
+
+W. HOWSHIP DICKINSON, M.D.
+
+Honorary Fellow of Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+Longmans, Green, and Co.
+39 Paternoster Row, London
+New York and Bombay
+1900
+All rights reserved
+
+
+
+
+PREFACE
+
+
+The following pages present an attempt to bring together what may be
+accepted with regard to the personality and actual life of King Arthur,
+while putting aside everything that is obviously or probably fabulous. I
+have endeavoured to give due weight to the evidence, both positive and
+negative, rather than to work up to a pre-determined conclusion. With
+regard to the evidence of a positive kind, if so it may be called, I have
+given especial weight to the details of topography, more particularly in
+Cornwall, with the Arthurian localities of which I happen to be more
+familiar than with those elsewhere.
+
+The fame of Arthur as expressed by the association of his name with places
+is greater than that of any other personage save one who can claim this
+sort of connection with our island. On this showing, Julius Cæsar and
+Oliver Cromwell sink into insignificance as compared with the Cornish
+Chief. Only the Devil is more often mentioned in local association than
+Arthur. That name, indeed, is almost ubiquitous, since it is to be found
+wherever local peculiarities exist which were not explicable to our
+forefathers save by infernal agency. The Devil's Dyke, The Devil's Bridge,
+the Devil's Jumps, the Devil's Frying Pan, the Devil's Post-Office, the
+Devil's Punch-Bowl, are a few instances among many. Next to the Devil in
+bestowing names on localities comes Arthur. But the two names are
+distributed in a very different fashion: that of the Devil is scattered
+impartially, being placed at random wherever thought suitable; that of
+Arthur is limited to certain districts in which according to history or
+tradition the hero lived or moved. This dissemination and limitation of
+the name must have some origin, and may be most obviously and reasonably
+explained by connecting them with an individual to whom it actually
+belonged. I hold Arthur to have been as real a person as Cæsar or
+Cromwell, though less advantageously circumstanced for the recording of
+his deeds. The British Chief lived in the dark interval between two
+civilisations, between the departure of the Romans from the island and
+the establishment of the Saxon polity. The west and the north, which were
+the seats of his exploits, were remote from what had been the centres of
+Roman learning, and it may be presumed that Arthur's fighting men were
+only less illiterate than the Saxons with whom they contended. There may
+have been priests among them, for Christianity had already reached Ireland
+and touched the western extremity of England, but the priests, if priests
+there were, were probably more religious than literate. There was no
+Xenophon in Arthur's army, and perhaps no one who could read or write. No
+manuscript has come down to us from Arthur's time and place, though we
+have reason to believe that among his contemporaries and immediate
+successors were some who could compose and others who could learn, recite,
+and remember with advantages the deeds of a leader who made an impression
+on his countrymen which will probably never be obliterated. What was
+crystallised in metre was easily remembered and handed down with something
+approaching to verbal accuracy. The narratives not so expressed gathered
+exaggeration as they went on, until in the course of time both the facts
+and the fiction acquired the permanence of writing. Oral tradition is not
+to be ignored; indeed, a large proportion of ancient history must have had
+this origin.
+
+Putting aside obvious and inevitable exaggerations, the general outlines
+of Arthur's story are consistent with historic probability and with his
+great fame, which cannot be otherwise explained; while, as will presently
+be seen, many details are strikingly confirmed by the correspondence of
+the topography with the traditions.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+I have not attempted to construct a biography of Arthur, nor even to
+arrange in chronological sequence the deeds attributed to him and the
+circumstances which, according to tradition, preceded his birth. So far as
+I have used the order of time, it has had to do with the records to which
+I have referred rather than with the events of which I have made mention.
+
+
+
+
+CONTENTS
+
+
+                                                                      PAGE
+
+    I. INTRODUCTORY                                                      1
+
+   II. TRADITIONS AND HISTORY BEARING UPON THE LIFE OF ARTHUR           10
+
+  III. ARTHUR'S LAST BATTLE--THE DOUBTS WHICH SURROUND HIS PLACE
+       OF BURIAL                                                        31
+
+   IV. TOPOGRAPHICAL ASSOCIATIONS                                       49
+
+    V. CONCLUSIONS                                                      78
+
+
+
+
+ILLUSTRATIONS
+
+
+  FIGURE                                                              PAGE
+
+  1. TINTAGEL CASTLE AS REPRESENTED BY NORDEN, 1584-1600                62
+
+  2. TINTAGEL CASTLE, FROM THE 25-INCH ORDNANCE MAP                     63
+
+  3. DAMELIOCK CASTLE, REPRODUCED FROM THE 25-INCH ORDNANCE MAP         69
+
+  4. CASTLE KILLIBURY, FROM THE 25-INCH ORDNANCE MAP                    73
+
+  5. CARDINHAM CASTLE, FROM THE 25-INCH ORDNANCE MAP                    76
+
+
+
+
+KING ARTHUR IN CORNWALL
+
+
+
+
+I
+
+INTRODUCTORY
+
+
+_Ex nihilo nihil fit._ For the story of King Arthur there must be some
+foundation, however the primary facts may have been distorted and
+exaggerated. Two rules may be safely laid down with regard to tradition:
+it usually has some truth to rest upon; that truth is not accurately
+presented to us, but has been altered and probably magnified by verbal
+transmission. We may believe that Troy was besieged and captured by the
+Greeks, though we hesitate to accept the many instances of divine
+intervention which the siege afforded; we may believe that Ulysses met
+with many adventures at sea, though we may have our doubts concerning the
+Sirens and Polyphemus. The creative power of man's mind is small; he is
+more ready to embellish than to invent. We may give to tradition a
+credence as to something which has an origin in fact, though it is not
+always easy or possible to separate that fact from the superstructure by
+which it has been overlaid. Tradition, first oral and latterly written,
+pointed to the grave of Agamemnon: a skeleton with a gold mask was found
+there, after the lapse of 3,000 years, with surroundings which appeared to
+indicate that it was that of the King of Men. Tradition preserved the
+memory of a church at Perranzabuloe which was buried in sand and lost to
+view--some say in the 8th or 9th century--certainly at a remote period of
+English history. In the year 1835 a great storm shifted the sand and
+exposed the minute archaic edifice where tradition had placed it, and
+where it had been hidden for we cannot say how many centuries.
+
+A tradition came down from Druidical to recent times to the effect that
+near the Cheesewring in Cornwall the Arch-Druid had his seat, and there
+dispensed wine to hunters out of a gold cup, which, like the widow's
+cruse, was inexhaustible. In the year 1837 a gold cup was found in
+Rillaton Barrow, within a quarter of a mile of the supposed seat of the
+Druid. This cup was decided by archæologists to belong to the Bronze
+Age.[1]
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+In looking at the legend of King Arthur one is immediately struck with its
+wide distribution. Originally of Celtic origin, it has taken root in
+certain localities, and held its place in them notwithstanding that the
+people among whom it originated have suffered admixture or even been
+entirely replaced by other races. There are four groups of what are called
+'Arthurian localities'--localities in which the name 'Arthur' is
+frequently used in connection with places or structures, or in which some
+name or tradition is retained which connects Arthur with them. Some of the
+designations referred to are certainly ancient, some of doubtful
+antiquity, some obviously modern.
+
+The four groups of 'Arthurian localities' are:--
+
+1. In North Cornwall, from Boscastle to Wadebridge. This is the most
+interesting, and the traditions belonging to it are the most explicit, and
+relate not only to Arthur's life, but to events which preceded it.
+
+To mention some of the Arthurian names in Cornwall, and the names of
+places with which Arthur is traditionally connected, we find King Arthur's
+Castle, the famous stronghold at Tintagel, where we may believe that he
+was born; Damelioc, whereby hangs a tale; and Kelly Rounds, which, if I am
+correct in identifying it with Kelliwic, has also a place in Arthurian
+lore. Allusive names without circumstance are numerous in the same
+district. To mention some, we have King Arthur's Hall, Hunting Seat, Bed,
+Quoit, Cups and Saucers, Tomb, and Grave. I may add Pentargon, which Mr.
+Baring-Gould interprets as 'Arthur's Head.' Many of these designations
+declare nothing more than the prevalence of the name in a certain district
+and the readiness of our ancestors to apply it indiscriminately. 'Arthur's
+Tomb' bears the name of Latinus, but is assigned to Arthur because he was
+erroneously thought to have been killed in the vicinity, and the
+inscription is difficult to be read. (See page 33). 'Arthur's Grave' is a
+barrow also called the 'Giant's Grave,' of which the occupant is unknown.
+'Arthur's Quoit' is the top stone of a cromlech which has no probable
+relation to King Arthur, excepting that it is in Tintagel. 'Arthur's Cups
+and Saucers' are excavations made by weather in Tintagel Head. These bare
+names prove nothing beyond the vague retention of a memory in the district
+to which they relate, but so much they may be held to indicate. The names
+which are associated with traditions are more suggestive and will receive
+further consideration.
+
+2. In Britanny, probably a mere offshoot from Cornwall--Britanny and
+Cornwall being closely connected geographically and by identity of race.
+As there is no reason to suppose that Arthur was ever in Gaul, I do not
+propose to dwell upon the French localisation of the Arthurian legend, nor
+have I the necessary local knowledge.
+
+3. In Wales, chiefly in the south, with Caerleon-upon-Usk as a centre, but
+involving the north to a lesser extent. I may touch briefly upon the Welsh
+localisations, though it is not my purpose to dwell upon them in detail.
+The Welsh legends or traditions are more circumstantial than those I
+shall presently refer to as Scottish or Cumbrian. Caerleon-upon-Usk was
+known as the City of Legions, because in the time of the Roman supremacy a
+legion (the Second Augustan) was stationed there. It was an Archiepiscopal
+See, and as such was held by Dubricius, who plays a prominent part in
+Arthurian mythology. According to Nennius, one of Arthur's battles was
+fought here. Welsh names, local and personal, abound in Arthurian
+literature, and the connection of Arthur with South Wales was accepted by
+both Hume and Gibbon as sufficient to warrant them in regarding him as a
+prince of the Silures. As will presently be seen, I have not adopted this
+hypothesis.
+
+4. In Scotland and the North of England, reaching from north of Edinburgh
+to south of Carlisle, and comprising the Lowlands and Cumberland. Cornwall
+and Wales belong to what Sir William Harcourt once called 'the Celtic
+fringe'; in the Lowlands and Cumberland the Celt has been superseded by
+other races, who have taken, together with his territory, some
+reminiscence of his traditions. In the north Arthurian names are more
+widely scattered than anywhere else, though there is an absence of the
+details which connect the Cornish localities with the personality of
+Arthur. Mr. Skene in his 'Four Ancient Books of Wales,'[2] a work to which
+I owe much, has discussed with learning the military career of Arthur, and
+shown that there is reason to believe that many of his battles took place
+in the north, including that in which he met his end. Mr. Stuart Glennie
+has followed on the same side, in the endeavour to prove that the north
+was 'the historical birthland of the Arthurian tradition.' I venture to
+think, as will presently be seen, that there is satisfying evidence that
+Scotland was the scene of the later events of Arthur's life and probably
+of his death.
+
+The Arthurian district of the north reaches from Penrith to Strathmore,
+and has supplied Mr. Skene and Mr. Stuart Glennie with a large number of
+Arthurian names. Arthur's Seat occurs three times, Arthur's Round Table
+twice; besides which we have Arthurstone, Arthur's O'on (oven), Arthur's
+Chair, Camp, Lee, Fountain, Hill, Tomb. There are also to be found
+Merlin's Fountain, Merlin's Grave, Mordred's Castle, and Camlan or
+Camelon. The local association of Mordred and Camlan is of especial
+interest; for Camlan, wherever it be, is the name given in Arthurian
+literature to Arthur's last battle. Whether this is to be placed in
+Scotland or in Cornwall is a question which will receive further
+consideration. I have no doubt that this list of Scottish place-names
+which refer to Arthur might be considerably increased. Ben Arthur is to be
+found at the head of Loch Long, and Dumbarton Castle was known in the time
+of David II. as Castrum Arthuri, near which, according to Mr. Skene's
+reading, occurred Arthur's ninth battle. Many of these names may be purely
+fanciful--applied, we know not how recently, to the places they denote;
+but at any rate it may be regarded as probable that someone, presumably a
+Celtic chieftain (for the word 'Arthur' is of Celtic origin), left the
+memory of the name, if of little else, widely scattered over Scotland and
+the North of England.
+
+In addition to the localisation of Arthurian names it will presently be
+seen that many, or I may say most, of the battles attributed to Arthur,
+including that in which he died, have been placed in this district. The
+conclusion is not to be avoided that at some remote time, imperfectly
+presented to us by history, one Arthur was a prominent person in the south
+of Scotland and the north of England, left his name widely scattered in
+the Lowlands, and fought many battles hereabouts.
+
+
+
+
+II
+
+TRADITIONS AND HISTORY BEARING UPON THE LIFE OF ARTHUR
+
+
+Apart from the evidence of names, we may inquire what is to be found in
+the way of history or circumstantial tradition.
+
+Arthur has been regarded as a somewhat shadowy character; it has even been
+doubted whether he was not wholly imaginary. Milton[3] thus expresses his
+uncertainty: 'Who Arthur was, and whether any such person reigned in
+Britain, hath been doubted heretofore, and may again with good reason.' It
+is said that Tennyson, who has partaken of Arthur's immortality, doubted
+his existence; and so much has the Arthurian story been overlaid with
+romance that it is no easy matter to discover the historical facts which
+are concealed under the superstructure of fiction.
+
+So much has the story of Arthur been magnified and embellished by the
+romancers of the twelfth and subsequent centuries, so much has it been
+glorified by impossible details and inflated by obvious anachronisms,[4]
+that we cannot wonder that the whole tale was distrusted where there was
+so much reason for rejecting the greater part. The later Arthurian story
+presents conditions rather befitting the Black Prince than the British
+king. To get to the foundations, we must dig below the superstructure,
+which is mostly of French origin, and examine the records, scanty though
+they be, which belong to Arthur's country and as nearly as may be to his
+time. The ancient literature of Cornwall, if there ever was any, has
+perished with its language, but there remains much of that of Wales, some
+going back possibly to the time of Arthur, probably to the century in
+which he lived. Some of the Triads and some of the songs of the bards are
+confidently believed to have been handed down from the sixth century,
+though we possess no manuscripts which have an earlier date than the
+twelfth. Among these survivals are many allusions to Arthur, mentioning
+him by name and referring to him as a fighting man and a leader, and more
+than one associating him with Cornwall, and with a particular earthwork
+which, I venture to think, can still be identified. One of these writings
+is entitled 'Triads of Arthur and His Warriors,'[5] and is thus
+translated:
+
+    Arthur the chief lord at Kelliwic in Cornwall, and Bishop Betwine the
+    chief Bishop, and Caradawe Vreichvras the chief elder.
+
+This is referred to by Dr. Guest[6] as 'a poem of the sixth century, whose
+genuineness no scholar has ever doubted.'[7] The Triads do not deal with
+narrative; their purpose is served when three names are linked together.
+The mention of Cornwall in connection with Arthur may be taken to indicate
+that he was a Cornish rather than a Welsh potentate; while that of
+Kelliwic, as will presently be shown, is of especial interest as
+indicating the locality to which he belonged. The 'Black Book of
+Caermarthen' contains a poem of somewhat uncertain date and authorship, in
+which the same place is referred to in connection with Arthur:
+
+    he killed every third person
+  When Celli was lost.
+
+Celli is evidently the place elsewhere referred to as Celliwig, another
+form of the name Kelliwic. The same 'Black Book' gives a poem relating to
+Geraint, who was killed in the course of it. Arthur was there, and
+attracted the notice and commendation of the author:--
+
+  In Llongborth I saw Arthur,
+  And brave men who hewed with steel,
+  Emperor and conductor of the toil.
+
+I presume that Llongborth is a place elsewhere spoken of as Longporth, and
+believed to be Portsmouth; and the battle referred to, one between Arthur
+and Cerdric.
+
+The same manuscript gives a poem entitled 'The Verses of the Graves.' Many
+graves are mentioned which are not to the present purpose; that of Arthur
+is referred to as unknown in the following line:--
+
+  A mystery to the world the grave of Arthur.
+
+Taliessin was a Welsh bard who, among others, is assigned to the sixth
+century. He refers to Arthur frequently as the Guledig--a term, according
+to Skene, equivalent to Ruler or Imperator. That Arthur was not Imperator
+of all Britain will presently appear; that he held some position of
+supremacy in the west may well be believed. Taliessin refers to Arthur
+frequently, once as 'Arthur the blessed':--
+
+        on the face of battle,
+  Upon him a restless activity.
+
+The same poet describes with much repetition a certain expedition, of
+which one stanza may serve as a sufficient sample:--
+
+  And when we went with Arthur, a splendid labour,
+  Except seven none returned from Caer Vedwyd.
+
+The same poet alludes to 'the steed of Arthur' in a poem which enumerates
+memorable horses. In the 'Book of Aneurin,' a Welsh poet who belonged, as
+it is thought, to the sixth century, Arthur is made use of as a standard
+of comparison. A certain warrior is thus referred to:--
+
+            He was an Arthur
+  In the midst of the exhausting conflict.[8]
+
+Further quotations from similar sources might be brought together, but
+enough have been adduced to show that the name of Arthur was so widely
+celebrated by the Welsh bards, and was so connected by them with place and
+circumstance, that it is not possible to doubt that the traditions had
+reference to a real person. Whether any of the bardic effusions which have
+come down to us are correctly assigned to the sixth century, as Welsh
+scholars believe, I am not competent to decide. Many of them are obviously
+of later date; but if we may accept what is generally believed, we must
+attribute some of these poetic remnants to a time when Arthur was a recent
+memory, and give credence to them as at least founded on fact. By the
+bards Arthur was represented as a military chief paramount in the country
+to which their knowledge extended; as a soldier of exceptional activity,
+and one who attracted the admiration of those who fought under him; as
+concerned in a variety of fights in a variety of places, most of which are
+not now to be exactly identified, but one of which was Kelliwic, a place
+of strength which will receive further notice; and as resembling another
+great leader in the invincible obscurity which shrouded his place of rest.
+'In the lost battle borne down by the flying,' his sepulchre may have been
+the maws of kites.
+
+From the time of the bards--not to limit that period to the sixth
+century--until the ninth century no records concerning King Arthur have
+come down to us. It is more likely that some were written, utilised, and
+lost, than that the historian of the ninth century was guided only by
+oral tradition. The earliest connected history of Arthur, though, as has
+been seen, this by no means contains the earliest mention of him, is that
+of Nennius, a Briton who, according to his own statement, wrote in the
+year 858, and concludes his history in the time of the 'Heptarchy.' Thus
+three centuries elapsed between the supposed death of Arthur in 542 and
+any collected record of his doings which is still extant. This interval,
+however, was not barren of Arthurian lore, for we have derived from it, as
+I have shown, a sufficiency of fragments and allusions to certify to the
+existence of Arthur, to mark his position as 'Dux Bellorum,' to present
+him in his fighting character, and in more than one instance to associate
+him with places which can still be identified.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+As against the positive testimony of the Bards we have a certain amount of
+negative evidence to which due weight must be attached, though the
+negation may be held to apply not so much to the existence of Arthur as a
+chieftain in the west as to the general supremacy assigned to him by
+later writers and popular tradition as King of Britain, Comes Britanniæ,
+lord of the whole country comprising the 'Saxon shore' as well as the
+remote districts of the west and north. Proceeding in chronological order,
+the first historical record (for the bardic fragments can scarcely be so
+termed) relating to 'Britain's Isle and Arthur's days' is that of Gildas,
+a British priest of reforming tendencies, who was born, according to his
+own statement, in the year of the famous battle of Badon Hill, or Mons
+Badonicus, and received in consequence the addition of Badonicus to his
+name. This battle, which was fought in the year 520, or, according to
+another reckoning, 516, was connected in later times with Arthur, and
+regarded as his crowning victory. If Gildas was born in the year of Badon
+Hill, he must, supposing we accept the date 520 for that engagement, have
+been twenty-two years old at the time assigned by tradition to Arthur's
+last battle. Yet Gildas makes no mention of Arthur, though he refers by
+name to Ambrosius as the successful leader of the Britons against the
+Saxons at this epoch. If, as there is reason to believe, Scotland was the
+scene of the latter part of Arthur's career and of his death, it is the
+less remarkable that he should have escaped mention by Gildas, who
+apparently belonged to the south of England, for he is known to have spent
+part of his time at Glastonbury. Similar negative evidence is provided by
+the Venerable Bede, who lived nearer to the place of Arthur's exploits
+than did Gildas, though he was more remote from them in time. Bede was a
+Northumbrian priest in the time of the 'Heptarchy.' He was born in 673 and
+died in 735. As a writer on ecclesiastical history, it is remarkable that
+he found no place for Arthur as a Christian champion. Bede, who closely
+follows Gildas, mentions only Ambrosius. I may venture to quote from the
+'Ecclesiastical History' the passage which refers to Ambrosius, from which
+it will be seen that this historian does not explicitly attribute the
+victory of Badon Hill to Ambrosius, though his words have been thought to
+bear that signification. 'Under him' (Ambrosius) 'the Britons revived and,
+offering battle to the victors, by the help of God came off victorious.
+From that day, sometimes the natives, and sometimes their enemies,
+prevailed, till the year of the siege of Baddesdown Hill, when they made
+no small slaughter of those invaders.' Putting Badon Hill aside, there
+are other battles, which will be enumerated in due course, of which Arthur
+has the sole credit, which might have been expected to have drawn the
+attention of the priest to the hero had he been all that later chronicles
+represent.
+
+Here is a difficulty which cannot be ignored; and which consists not so
+much of conflicting testimony as of testimony conflicting with the absence
+of testimony. In such a case it is probable that more weight should be
+attached to positive evidence than to negative. The ignoring of Arthur by
+Gildas and Bede, and as I shall presently show by the 'Saxon Chronicle,'
+may imply no more than that he held no such position as would have caused
+him to be mentioned by the British writers, who named no one but the
+commander-in-chief, and that the field of his activity did not bring him
+under the notice of the Saxon chroniclers, who took no cognizance of what
+went on at this time in the west. The two British writers, whose notice of
+the wars of the Saxon invasion is confined to the briefest epitome,
+mention no leader on either side but Ambrosius. There must have been
+others, of whom Arthur may have been one. Arthur was never, like
+Vortigern, King of Britain, or, like Ambrosius, commander-in-chief of the
+British forces: he had no concern with the 'Saxon shore'; he was, as we
+are frequently told, Guledig, or Imperator, but his authority must have
+been limited to the west and north.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Between the history of Bede and that of Nennius, the Arthurian legend
+appears to have taken tangible shape, and by the later historian was
+written in a connected though condensed form. If, as is probable, Nennius
+was guided by earlier manuscripts, they have perished or not come to
+light. Little is known of this writer. His 'Historia Britonum' is said to
+have been edited by Mark the Hermit in the tenth century. According to his
+own statement, Nennius, who was apparently a Briton and a priest, wrote
+his history in the year 858. It concludes with the battle of Cocboy (or
+Maserfield), between two kings of the 'Heptarchy' in the year 642.
+Importance (as will presently be seen) is to be attached to the date of
+this conclusion. Nennius in the course of his history deals with the
+conflicts between the Britons and Saxons after the death of Hengist, and
+introduces us to Arthur in these words:--
+
+'Then it was that the magnanimous Arthur, with all the kings and military
+force of Britain, fought against the Saxons. And although there were many
+more noble than himself, yet he was twelve times chosen their commander
+and was as often conqueror. The first battle in which he was engaged was
+at the mouth of the river Gleni. The second, third, fourth and fifth were
+on another river, by the Britons called Duglas, in the region Linuis. The
+sixth on the river Bassas. The seventh in the wood Celidon, which the
+Britons call Cat Coit Celidon. The eighth was near Gurnion Castle, where
+Arthur bore the image of the Holy Virgin, mother of God, upon his
+shoulders, and through the power of our Lord Jesus Christ and the Holy
+Mary put the Saxons to flight, and pursued them the whole day with great
+slaughter. The ninth was at the City of Legion which is called Cair Lion.
+The tenth was on the banks of the river Trat Treuroit. The eleventh was in
+the mountain Breguoin, which we call Cat Bregion. The twelfth was a most
+severe contest, where Arthur penetrated to the hill of Badon. In this
+engagement nine hundred and forty fell by his hand alone, no one but the
+Lord affording him assistance.'[9] It is worth noting that a later writer,
+Geoffrey of Monmouth, tells a story with regard to the battle of Badon
+Hill resembling that which Nennius attaches to that of Gurnion Castle.
+Arthur had a picture of the Virgin painted on his shield, and with his own
+hand and his sword Caliburn slew 470 men; Giraldus Cambrensis explains
+that the picture was on the inside of the shield, so that Arthur might
+kiss it without inconvenience.
+
+These battles are indicated by Nennius only by their localities, without
+mention of the chiefs to whom Arthur was opposed. It is believed that
+Cerdric was prominent in this capacity: he may have been so in the south,
+but we find no evidence that this commander ever got far enough north to
+take part in the majority of the fights of which Nennius is the historian
+and Arthur the hero. The river Gleni has been thought to be the Glen in
+Ayrshire; by others to be a river of the same name, a tributary of the
+Till in Northumberland. The Duglas, or Dubglass, has been supposed to be
+the Dunglas, which forms the southern boundary of Lothian; by others one
+of the rivers in Scotland which bears the name of Douglas; by others to be
+the Duglas in Lancashire. The wood Celidon may be the Caledonian Forest or
+Englewood in Cumberland. Gurnion Castle is supposed by some to have been a
+Roman station near Yarmouth, by Skene to be one near Lammermoor. The City
+of Legion or Cair Lion, where the ninth battle was said to have been
+fought, should be Caerleon-upon-Usk, though this position does not
+correspond with that of the other contests, and on this and other grounds
+must be held in doubt. Giles supposes Cair Lion to have been Exeter. The
+river Trat Treuroit, on which was the tenth battle, cannot be
+satisfactorily located. The eleventh battle was apparently fought at
+Edinburgh, not against the Saxons but the Picts. Cadbury in Somersetshire,
+according to another hypothesis, has also been assigned as the place of
+this battle. The famous twelfth battle, which was between the British and
+Saxons, and resulted in the taking of Mons Badonicus or Badon Hill, has
+been placed at Bannesdown near Bath, at Badbury in Dorsetshire, and at
+Bouden Hill in Linlithgowshire. This great battle, whatever may be the
+doubts as to its position, stands out as an indubitable historical fact,
+though Gildas and Bede have occasioned a certain ambiguity between Arthur
+and Ambrosius in regard to it. If, as is believed, Ambrosius died, whether
+by sword or poison, in 508, and Mons Badonicus was fought in 520, we may
+disconnect Ambrosius from this battle and give the sole credit of it to
+Arthur. The opponent of Arthur on this occasion was, according to evidence
+and probability, Cerdric, who had landed at the mouth of the Itchen in
+495, defeated Natanleod near Netley in 508; and was himself defeated at
+Badon Hill in 520.[10] If these statements be accepted, as it seems they
+should be, we can scarcely place Mons Badonicus in Scotland, whither
+Cerdric, so far as we know, never went. He was probably sufficiently
+occupied at this time in establishing his kingdom of Wessex. It is
+possible that at Badon Hill Arthur and Cerdric may have met, not for the
+first time, for a bardic fragment to which I have referred (see page 14)
+represents Arthur as fighting, probably with Cerdric, at Llongporth or
+Portsmouth. English, as distinguished from Scottish, historians concur in
+placing Badon Hill in the south. Geoffrey says that the battle was near
+Bath (not that this is by any means conclusive); Bannesdown has been
+generally accepted as its situation, though Dr. Guest prefers to place it
+at Badbury in Dorsetshire. At any rate, we must believe that it took place
+in the southwest and within stroke of Cerdric. Amid much that is obscure,
+this battle, as between the British and Saxons and Arthur and Cerdric,
+presents itself as a sort of anchorage in a sea of doubt.
+
+We may look back upon the preceding battles having regard to the
+presumption that in 520 Arthur was in the south of England. Of these
+battles, eleven in number, we have no exact knowledge as to either time or
+place. With regard to three of them we cannot form any reasonable
+conjecture. Of the remaining eight each has more than one position
+hypothetically assigned to it--always one in the lowlands of Scotland,
+where Arthurian names most abound, another generally in the north of
+England. It would be vain to pretend that we know enough of the
+particulars of the invasion to give us more than vague guidance as to the
+movements of Arthur. It may be supposed that in his time the Angles were
+penetrating the island by the Humber and the Forth, and it is possible
+that he may have been concerned in the fighting which ensued. Manifestly
+he obtained great fame in the north, though we do not know when. Between
+the battle of Badon Hill in 520 and Camlan in 542 we are in absolute
+darkness as to his whereabouts. We may presume that he was in the south of
+England in 520 and in Scotland in 542; between the two dates there is room
+for conjecture and for much fighting. If we could adapt the traditions to
+probability, we should suppose that the Scotch battles took place after,
+and not before, Badon Hill; that in the early part of his career Arthur
+was at war with Cerdric and the Saxons of Wessex, in the later part with
+the Angles of the north and possibly with the Picts. But if we accept the
+list of battles as given by Nennius, and in the order in which he places
+them, we must believe that Arthur went north before Badon Hill[11] and
+returned to fight there, for all the little evidence we have indicates
+that some at least of the battles which this historian records were in
+Scotland. If this be so, Arthur must have gone north again to conclude his
+career at Camlan, and thus must have made more than one Scotch campaign,
+to the multiplication of Arthurian names.[12]
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The 'Saxon Chronicle,' which gives a detailed account of the battles in
+Kent, Sussex, and Hampshire, makes no mention of any in the west or north,
+or of Arthur. The 'Saxon Chronicle' is an apparently truthful, if somewhat
+bald, history. It mentions Vortigern as King of Britain and the opponent
+of Hengist, it names Natanleod, Commail, Condida and Farinmail as British
+kings who were defeated and slain; but neither Arthur nor Ambrosius find
+place in this record. It has been supposed that Natanleod, who was killed,
+together with five thousand men, by Cerdric at Netley in the year 508,
+was no other than Ambrosius, but I have not been able to find the evidence
+on which this theory rests; and there is another tradition with regard to
+the death of Ambrosius, namely, that he was poisoned in the same year by a
+Saxon monk. The silence of the Chronicle, if so it be regarded, as to
+Ambrosius throws no doubt upon his existence; and as to Arthur, though it
+may indicate that he had no position of national supremacy in the east and
+south, it goes for nothing as touching the west and north, of which this
+record takes no cognizance.
+
+The fame of Arthur may have been, or rather must have been, founded upon
+his deeds, but the vast superstructure raised on that foundation is to be
+attributed to the close association between the branches of the Celtic
+race in Cornwall, Wales and Britanny. The fame of Arthur, once established
+among the Welsh Bards and the Romancers of Britanny, easily lent itself to
+exaggeration and attracted to itself much that was due to others or was
+purely imaginary.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+I have called Geoffrey of Monmouth an imaginative writer: it may admit of
+question whether he should be termed imaginative or credulous. He was an
+indiscriminate collector of Arthurian legends, some of which may contain a
+modicum of truth, while others are wholly false. Of the latter variety
+Arthur, according to Geoffrey, conquers Ireland, Iceland and the Orkneys,
+subdues Norway, Dacia, Aquitaine and Gaul, bestows Normandy upon Bedver
+the butler, and establishes his court in Paris. He was crossing the Alps
+to attack Rome when he was recalled by the treachery of Mordred, to
+conclude his career on the Camel. Such inventions savour more of the
+twelfth century than the sixth, and mark Geoffrey as one whose statements
+are not to be accepted without concurrent testimony.
+
+So overloaded is the story of Arthur with fiction or romance that it is
+difficult or impossible to discern the truth that must necessarily be at
+the bottom of it. The more remote are the Arthurian writings from the
+Arthurian epoch, the more voluminous, the more circumstantial, and the
+more obviously superadditional, they become. But there must necessarily be
+a root under all this efflorescence, the presence of which is clearly
+indicated, though it cannot be fully exposed to view.
+
+
+
+
+III
+
+ARTHUR'S LAST BATTLE--THE DOUBTS WHICH SURROUND HIS PLACE OF BURIAL
+
+
+The last battle attributed to Arthur has obtained more prominence than the
+most famous battles of antiquity, has been connected with its supposed
+place by geographical particulars, has been enriched with romantic detail,
+made the subject of poetry, and so much glorified in English literature
+from Geoffrey to Tennyson, that it seems like sacrilege to hint that the
+only fight on the Camel of which we have sure information, took place long
+after Arthur's death; and that if he and Mordred encountered, as there is
+reason to believe they did, the place of that event was not Cornwall but
+Scotland.
+
+The fatal battle of Camlan, as it is called, which is assigned to the year
+542, in which Mordred is supposed to have been slain and Arthur mortally
+wounded, is stated by Geoffrey, and generally believed, to have taken
+place on the Camel. There was undoubtedly a great battle on this river,
+near Camelford, at some remote time, and its position seems to be exactly
+indicated by a bridge which still bears the name of Slaughter Bridge, or
+Bloody Bridge. Near the bridge, close to the river, is an inscribed
+sepulchral stone, obviously of great antiquity, which is held in repute in
+the neighbourhood as marking the grave of King Arthur.
+
+The position is a likely one to have been chosen by an army on the
+defensive. The stream, which was probably larger then than now, runs
+through a marshy bottom with hills ascending on both sides. That a great
+battle was fought here may be accepted as certain, and equally so that it
+was between the Britons and the Saxons. One of the writers who attributes
+it to Arthur tells us that the Camel[13] overflowed its banks with the
+blood of the slain. So far we have a likely Arthurian story, and we may
+look with interest at the inscription on the stone which presumably covers
+(or rather _covered_, for the stone has been slightly moved from its
+original situation) the bones of some one killed in the fight, perhaps of
+the king himself. Carew, in his 'Survey of Cornwall,' speaks of the stone
+as 'bearing Arthur's name, though now depraved to Atry.' Borlase accepts
+the tradition that Arthur fought his last battle near this spot, but
+denies that the stone bears reference to that warrior. The inscription,
+according to Borlase, runs thus: 'Catin hic jacit[14]--filius Magari,' and
+refers not to Arthur but to the son of Magarus. The letters are about six
+inches high and much weatherworn. They are not easy to be made out, but
+the Rev. W. Iago, of Bodmin,[15] has brought his special skill to bear
+upon them, and, with the aid of casts and rubbings, has determined the
+inscription to be as follows:
+
+  Latini ic jacit filius Magarii.
+
+which Mr. Iago thus interprets:
+
+  (The monument) of Latinus; here he lies; son of Magarius.
+
+_ic_ stands of course for _hic_.
+
+The use of the Latin language points to British rather than Saxon
+authorship.
+
+Latinus was probably a Briton of Roman descent who was presumably fighting
+on the British side. That his fellow soldiers had leisure to construct a
+memorial on the battlefield may be accepted as an indication that they
+retained their position as victors, but we seek in vain for evidence that
+Arthur was here concerned.
+
+It is certain that a great battle was fought in this position in the time
+of Egbert in the year 823. This is mentioned in the 'Saxon Chronicle,' in
+'Ethelwerd's Chronicle,' and by Henry of Huntingdon, as having taken place
+at Camelford between the Britons of Cornwall and the Saxons of Devonshire.
+Several thousands fell on both sides according to Henry of Huntingdon, but
+we are not told which was victorious. Probably the Britons, for the Saxons
+do not seem to have pushed their conquests further, at least until the
+time of Athelstan, nor ever to have generally replaced the former
+inhabitants in the further parts of the county.
+
+So much for the historical battle in the year 823. Now for the traditional
+battle on the same river in the year 542. Nennius makes no mention of
+either. His history terminates in the year 640, and does not reach the
+later battle, but his failure to mention the earlier, if it took place
+when and where it is supposed, is remarkable. Another English writer,
+Henry of Huntingdon, who is disposed to give much credit to Arthur, speaks
+of the twelve battles, with particular reference to Badon Hill, but makes
+no mention of the subsequent battle or of the death of the king. These
+appear to have been entirely ignored so far as English chroniclers are
+concerned until we reach Geoffrey of Monmouth, in the twelfth century, who
+must be regarded as a romancer rather than a serious historian. We must
+either suppose that there were two great battles on the Camel, the earlier
+of which, in the sixth century, escaped the notice of chroniclers until
+the twelfth, and then was recovered with ample circumstance and detail by
+the highly imaginative writer to whom I have referred; or we must suppose
+that there was only one great battle in this situation; that this was
+fought in the ninth century; and that between the ninth century and the
+twelfth it came to be confused with a battle in Scotland in which Arthur
+was really engaged, and in which he met his death.
+
+In relation to the earlier battle on the Camel, if there was one, and the
+supposed connection of Arthur with it, I must mention a scrap of
+topographical evidence, which is far from conclusive, but which may be
+taken for what it is worth. In this supposed battle, Cador, Duke of
+Cornwall, half-brother to Arthur, or, according to another account, his
+nephew, takes a traditional place among the slain. About three miles from
+Camelford, between the Camel and the sea, stands a large sepulchral mound
+which looks down upon the Atlantic from an elevation of over a thousand
+feet. This is known as Cadõn Barrow, and the tradition is that it covers
+the body of Cador. To this tumulus especial consideration and sanctity
+have long been attached. If it covers the bones of Arthur's kinsman the
+place consorts with his death on the Camel. At a distance of about seven
+miles from the battlefield, be it Arthur's or Egbert's, stands another
+sepulchral mound in which an interested person might find an Arthurian
+association. This mound is known as the Giant's Grave, or King Arthur's
+Grave. It lies within a gigantic double-walled enclosure which has the
+name of Warbstowe Bury, one of the largest of the British camps of
+Cornwall. This occupies a commanding situation, and would furnish an ideal
+resting-place for a Cornish hero. But whatever be the purpose of the
+mound, we have no reason to connect it with Arthur. The name is employed
+somewhat at random: barrows are common in Cornwall; and we must have
+consistent historical evidence before we suppose Arthur to occupy the
+Giant's Grave or his kinsman Cadõn Barrow.
+
+The evidence which is wanting with regard to Arthur's battle on the Camel
+comes to light on the Firth of Forth. There is reason to suppose that
+tradition did not err in the fatal association of Arthur and Mordred,
+though the place of the last scene was not Cornwall but Scotland. The name
+Camlan, which has been freely given by later writers to the supposed
+battle on the Camel, is not to be found there, nor, so far as I can
+ascertain, in Cornwall.
+
+Skene and Stuart Glennie maintain with much converging evidence that
+Camlan is Camelon[16] on the river Carron, in the valley of the Forth,
+where it is said are the remains of a Roman town. Here, according to
+Scotch tradition, Arthur and Mordred met. We have evidence which appears
+to be sufficient that Mordred was King of the Picts, or, as he is
+sometimes termed, King of Scotland, and the head of a confederacy of
+Picts, Scots, and Saxons, or, as some authorities have it, Picts, Scots,
+and renegade Britons. With this composite army he gave battle to Arthur
+and his faithful British force, in which the latter were defeated and
+Arthur slain.
+
+It is worth noting as in favour of the Scottish location of the battle
+that Geoffrey, who places it on the Camel, nevertheless states Mordred's
+force to have consisted of Picts and Scots. It is surely improbable that
+Arthur could have been confronted in Cornwall by a great army of these
+northern savages. On the Forth[17] they were numerous and much at home.
+Mordred was supposed to have been the son of Llew, to whom Arthur had
+given Lothian. These particulars are confirmed by the 'Chronicle of the
+Scots.' It may be added that an earthwork with double lines of
+circumvallation in the neighbouring valley of the Tay, now known as Barry
+Hill, is designated by tradition as Mordred's Castle, not the only
+instance in which testimony of this nature has been found to throw light
+upon Arthurian history.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+It is impossible to dissociate the place of Arthur's death from that of
+his supposed burial. According to the well-known story which we owe to
+Geoffrey of Monmouth, the king was desperately wounded on the Camel, and
+thence conveyed to Glastonbury, where we must suppose he died; for there,
+in confirmation of Geoffrey's account, was his grave found, or said to
+have been found, after the lapse of 647 years. The circumstantial report
+of the finding and identification of the grave on the spot indicated by
+the story gives verisimilitude to the legend, and demands for it serious
+criticism. In the first place, there is reason to believe, as I have
+shown, that though there was a great battle on the Camel, Arthur was not
+in it, and though he died in battle, it was not on the Camel. If Arthur
+concluded his career, not on the Camel but the Forth, the question of
+sepulture at Glastonbury may be dismissed as a fabrication. On the other
+hand, if the burial in this place can be maintained, then we must abandon
+the Scottish localisation of the last battle, and may accept the statement
+of the unveracious Geoffrey that it was fought on the Cornish river. It
+behoves us, therefore, to examine the Glastonbury story as one upon which
+much turns. The tradition that Arthur, mortally wounded on the Camel, was
+conveyed alive to Glastonbury may be at once discarded. Such a
+transporting of a desperately wounded man must be regarded as
+impracticable. He was within easy reach of his Cliff Castle at Tintagel
+and of his fortified camp of Kelliwick (assuming this to have been Kelly
+Rounds), and would probably, if moved at all, have been deposited in one
+or the other. On the other hand, if he was killed outright the removal of
+the body to Glastonbury by way of the Camel and the sea would be neither
+impossible nor unlikely.
+
+Glastonbury was one of the earliest seats of Christianity in this island,
+and no doubt was reverenced as such in the time of Arthur. The tumulus and
+the churchyard were at this time competing as receptacles for the
+dead--the tumulus as a heathen, the churchyard as a Christian place of
+rest. A tumulus was raised over a Saxon chief in the time, and with the
+permission, of Ambrosius. Christian burial was probably practised at
+Glastonbury at as early a date. Giraldus Cambrensis, together with a monk
+of Glastonbury quoted by Leland, professed themselves to have been
+witnesses of the opening of Arthur's grave. There are two accounts as to
+the finding of this--one that it was sought for by order of Henry II., who
+had learned from the British Bards that Arthur was buried between two
+pyramids at Glastonbury; the other that it was found accidentally in this
+situation in digging to bury a monk who had selected this spot for his
+interment. The pyramids undoubtedly existed before the alleged discovery
+of Arthur's grave; for they were described by William of Malmesbury in the
+reign of Henry I. They displayed some inscription, apparently Saxon, and
+an ecclesiastical effigy, but no mention of Arthur.
+
+So circumstantial is the statement of Giraldus, who represents himself as
+an eye-witness of the exploration, that if in any essential respect he
+departed from the truth, whether by way of addition or otherwise, we can
+scarcely suppose that the falsehood was unintentional. Though there are
+differences, as I shall presently show, relating to the date of the
+alleged exploration, preponderating evidence places it in the time of
+Henry II., in whose interest it has been suspected that a fraud was
+devised to gratify the king and serve a political purpose. Henry as a
+Norman might, it has been thought, desire to rehabilitate Arthur as, like
+himself, an enemy of the Saxons. Priests were deceivers ever: here they
+may have had both the motive and the means for deception. But it must be
+allowed that if the ecclesiastical explorers lied they lied so much like
+truth that if any exception be taken to their report it is only that it
+comes up too exactly to what might have been expected. The story, as told
+by Giraldus, is as follows. On digging between the pyramids in the monks'
+cemetery a leaden cross was found at a depth of seven feet, which bore
+this inscription in rude letters:
+
+  HIC JACET SEPULTUS INCLYTUS REX ARTHURIUS IN
+  INSULA AVALLONIA, CUM WENNEVEREIA UXORE
+  SUA SECUNDA
+
+Camden gives what professes to be a facsimile of the inscription, which
+'was formerly written and preserved in the monastery of Glastonbury.' The
+lettering has the appearance of great antiquity, but suspicion attaches to
+the mention of the name of the place in connection with the interment.
+Avallonia, or Avalon, is of course Glastonbury--probably in Arthur's time
+an island in a swamp. As to its place, the body speaks for itself. It may
+be necessary to say whose it is; it is not necessary to say where it is;
+nor is it usual on tombstones or coffins to give their address.
+
+At a depth of nine feet, or two feet below the cross, was found a coffin,
+consisting of a hollowed oak, in which were the bones of a man and a
+woman. The man was represented as of great stature. I am indebted to the
+scholarship of Mr. T. Holmes for as exact a translation of the words of
+Giraldus as the Latin of that author allows. Speaking of the male occupant
+of the coffin, Giraldus says: 'His tibia placed beside that of the tallest
+man in the place (whom the Abbot pointed out to me), and fixed into the
+earth by the side of his foot, extended fully three fingers' breadth above
+the man's knee. His skull bone also was capacious and large enough for a
+prodigy or a show--so much so that the interval between the eyelids and
+the space between the eyes might contain the size of a man's palm fully.
+And in this were seen ten or more wounds, all of which, except one larger
+than the others and which had made a great gash, and which alone seemed to
+have caused death, had joined into a firm cicatrix.'
+
+The body of the woman found in the same receptacle presented yellow hair
+nicely braided, a lock of which on being handled by a monk crumbled into
+dust. Here we have all we could expect--almost more. Strength and valour,
+together with as much of female charm as could survive six centuries. Hair
+will last and retain its colour for an indefinite time. With regard to the
+male skeleton, the large recent wound on the head corresponds with the
+manner of Arthur's death and the wounds of earlier infliction with the
+manner of his life. In the length of the tibiæ there is nothing
+impossible. But with regard to the skull the dimensions possible to
+humanity are so much exceeded that it is difficult to suppose that we are
+reading the honest report of an eye-witness. The palm between the eyes
+savours more of imagination than observation. The space between the
+orbits in an ordinary skull on a level with the eyelids, where the
+distance is greatest, is at most 1-1/2 inch. One of the largest human
+skeletons known is that of the Irish Giant at the College of Surgeons,
+which measures 7 feet 7 inches in height. The distance between the orbits
+in a level with the place of the eyelids is 2 inches. The palm between the
+eyes is impossible even to procerity. Thus doubts gather round the grave:
+if the king desired that this should be found attempts not wholly
+ingenuous might have been made to gratify him. Apart from the inscription
+and the skull, the completeness of the alleged discovery, the
+appropriately wounded skeleton and the fascinating queen, are suggestive
+of invention.
+
+A postscript or corollary was added to this story in the time of Edward I.
+The skeletons, when first found, were removed, as we are told, from the
+cemetery to the church; not as yet to find final repose, for in the year
+1278 'Eduardus Longus' (Edward I. or Longshanks), together with Queen
+Eleanor, caused the tomb to be reopened and the bones to be again buried
+in front of the high altar, with the exception of the skulls, which were
+kept outside for the devotion of the people.[18] The chests in which the
+bones were found were painted with representations, and the arms, of the
+occupants. Within the new sepulchre was placed a writing referring to the
+finding of the bones by Edward and Eleanor, and attested by many witnesses
+whose names are still to be read in the pages of Leland.[19]
+
+I think it may be credited that bones were unearthed, probably in the time
+of Henry II. and the Abbot Henry de Blois, which were adopted as those of
+King Arthur and provided with suitable conditions and surroundings. That
+bones were re-buried as those of Arthur and found by 'long Edward' I think
+admits of no doubt. But much may we doubt whether the bones were those of
+Arthur, not only from the inconsistency and improbabilities of the story
+of the disinterment, but from the lack of evidence that Arthur died within
+practicable reach of Glastonbury.
+
+But perhaps the most convincing negative evidence is supplied by Gildas,
+to whom I have already referred. This historian, a fellow-countryman and
+contemporary of Arthur, was either ignorant of his existence or thought
+him not worth mentioning. Now Gildas, as we are told by William of
+Malmesbury, 'took up his abode' at Glastonbury 'for a series of years.' If
+Arthur died, as was supposed, in the year 542, and Gildas was born in 520,
+the historian must have been twenty-two years old when the king was buried
+under the description of 'the famous King Arthur,' _inclytus Rex
+Arthurius_. Gildas might have been present had this taken place as
+represented, or at any rate must have heard from his friends the monks of
+what could not fail to be of interest to the British historian. But
+neither Arthur's death nor his life appealed to Gildas. Thus we must
+discredit both the Camel and Glastonbury as connected with Arthur's death
+and burial.
+
+
+
+
+IV
+
+TOPOGRAPHICAL ASSOCIATIONS
+
+
+I do not propose to follow in detail the romancers of the twelfth and
+succeeding centuries, excepting where they may be taken in concurrence
+with surviving structures and geographical peculiarities. I have said
+something in this sense both of the Cornish and the Scottish localisation
+of Camlan. Turning from the conclusion of Arthur's career to the beginning
+of it, I must again have recourse to Geoffrey of Monmouth, a writer who
+sometimes finds the corroboration which he always needs.
+
+Uther Pendragon, King of Britain, held a festival in London, or, according
+to another account, at Winchester, at which were present Gorlois, King of
+Cornwall, and his wife Igerna, 'the greatest beauty in all Britain.' Uther
+was more attentive to the lady than was approved by her husband, who
+abruptly left the Court and returned to Cornwall, taking his wife with
+him. Uther followed. Gorlois deposited Igerna in Tintagel, 'upon the sea
+shore, which he looked upon as a place of great safety. But he himself
+entered the castle of Damelioc to prevent their both being involved in the
+same danger if any should happen.' Damelioc is described as a strong
+'castle,' having many issues out. According to the legend, Gorlois hoped
+here to receive succour from Ireland. In this place Gorlois was besieged
+by the superior forces of Uther, and was slain fighting outside its
+ramparts. Igerna was apparently secure in Tintagel. 'For it is situated
+upon the sea and on every side surrounded by it; and there is but one
+entrance into it, and that through a straight rock, which three men shall
+be able to defend against the whole power of the kingdom.' But though
+Tintagel was impregnable, the lady was not. Uther obtained admittance into
+the castle while Gorlois was in Damelioc, and Arthur was the result.
+According to tradition, Uther was transformed into the likeness of Gorlois
+by the arts of Merlin, and the King of Britain admitted under a
+misunderstanding to the domestic privileges of the King of Cornwall. The
+sceptical may hesitate to accept this explanation of the error of Igerna,
+but no doubt it was furnished by the lady herself, who could scarcely fail
+to have been acquainted with the facts. My purpose in alluding to the
+story is rather local than personal. The description of Tintagel might
+serve at the present day. Part of the castle is on a lofty and precipitous
+peninsula commonly known as the Island, which has only a narrow connection
+with the mainland, which few could defend against many. It is obvious that
+it was on the Island that Igerna was placed and Arthur begotten.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The Castle of Tintagel is so closely connected with the Arthurian legend
+that a few particulars concerning it must be introduced. At Tintagel,
+according to tradition, the Kings or Dukes of Cornwall had their residence
+before the coming of Cæsar. The place was formerly known as Dundagell, and
+is supposed to be indicated by the name Donecheniv, which is to be found
+in 'Domesday Book,' and according to Gilbert means the fort or castle with
+the chain. This is the earliest reference to Tintagel, if it be one,
+which I have been able to discover. The allusion to the chain is
+appropriate. There is evidence that the chasm which separates the insular
+part of the castle from that on the mainland was formerly crossed by a
+drawbridge. This is likely enough, for the chasm was evidently once
+narrower than at present, having been enlarged by the falling away of the
+cliff, while the buildings on the mainland and the island are opposite and
+near to each other, as if they had at one time been connected. Leland in
+his 'Itinerary' describes the castle as it existed in the time of Henry
+VIII. In the earlier part of his work he refers to a drawbridge as
+connecting the two portions of the fortress; in a later part he states
+that the island could be reached only by long elm trees laid for a bridge.
+Other writers refer to the bridge. Carew in his 'Survey of Cornwall' in
+1602 states that this was in existence one hundred years before he wrote,
+and Norden, a writer of about the same date, says that it was there within
+living memory. It is obvious that the historical bridge belonged to the
+buildings parts of which still exist. The allusion in 'Domesday Book,' if
+correctly interpreted, must relate to an earlier structure, for there is
+reason to believe, as I shall presently show, that no part of what now
+remains existed at the time of the Conquest. Nevertheless, there was
+probably at that time some mechanism with a chain which gave access to the
+island from the adjacent cliff.
+
+It is not my purpose to give a detailed description of Tintagel Castle,
+such as may be found in many works relating to the locality;[20] but a few
+words bearing upon the question of its hypothetical association with
+Arthur seem called for.
+
+The site of the castle is remarkable: it is partly on the mainland and
+partly on a peninsula which from time immemorial has been known as the
+Island. This is separated from the mainland by a deep chasm which is
+evidently in process of enlargement, or, in other words, was once narrower
+than it is now. The island, which is bounded by lofty precipices, is
+connected with the mainland only by a narrow ridge, which rises steeply
+from the sea, traverses the chasm, and gives access to the island by a
+narrow path cut in the face of the cliff, which now, as in ancient days,
+might be defended by a few against many.
+
+To take first the insular part of the castle, which no doubt was the
+original place of retreat and defence, the site may be associated with
+that of many prehistoric fortifications of earth or stone, the remains of
+which are to be found on the Cornish coast. The ancient engineers
+habitually selected a precipitous peninsula, inaccessible from the sea,
+with a narrow neck, across which they made barriers to protect against
+attack from the landward side. Thus Tintagel Head was selected as a place
+of defence, if not by prehistoric engineers, certainly in accordance with
+prehistoric methods. The buildings at present on the island are less
+extensive than those on the mainland. There is no evidence that any part
+of them is anterior to the Plantagenets. An arch which forms the gateway
+of the outer wall is distinctly though bluntly pointed, and must be later
+than the Norman period. A bluntly pointed arch, known as the Iron Gate, is
+also to be seen in a wall which protects what was apparently once a
+landing place. Outside the enclosure of the castle are the wind-swept
+remains of a little chapel which should be that in which Merlin vainly
+sought repose. Old it undoubtedly is, but the most credulous could
+scarcely attribute it to the sixth century. In construction it resembles
+the rest of the insular part of the castle, being not too solidly built of
+roughly quarried unsquared slates. There is nothing of architectural style
+to determine the date, but the walls resemble the others and may be
+presumed to be like them of the early Plantagenet time.[21]
+
+The buildings on the mainland give more scope for discussion. These are
+placed on a high, narrow elevation which rises out of a gorge: this
+elevation, which is steep on one side and precipitous on the other, rises
+above the level of the buildings on the island, with which at one point
+they may easily have communicated. The structures on the mainland consist
+of two walled enclosures on different levels, connected by steps. The
+lower and larger is supposed to be the courtyard, the higher the keep, and
+indeed they do not admit of any other interpretation. The courtyard
+presents towards the land the remnants of a great gateway, while towards
+the sea the wall has fallen, exposing a precipice where once the wall
+stood. The gateway is of especial interest: what remains of the arch is
+suggestive that it once was pointed, and I have the evidence of an
+intelligent mason who lives hard by, and who was familiar with its
+condition twenty years ago, that though then broken it retained enough of
+the curve to indicate that originally it was bluntly pointed, and
+resembled in construction those still to be found on the island. I may add
+that I have seen a drawing executed by Mr. Sturge, about sixteen years
+ago, from which the same inference is to be drawn. I may draw attention to
+a photographic reproduction of a print of the castle as it was about 300
+years ago, when the gateway was complete (see fig. 1, p. 62). The arch in
+question appears to be less flat than it should be were it Norman, though
+the scale of the drawing is too small to display a distinct point. It has
+been supposed that the upper enclosure, known as the keep, is older than
+the lower or courtyard, and the late Prebendary Kinsman thought he had
+found traces of Roman methods in a projecting course of flat stones which
+traverses the upper part of one of the walls; but I am inclined to agree
+with my friend the mason, who considers the projection to be of English
+invention, designed to protect the wall from weather and give finish to
+its top.[22] The keep is connected with the courtyard by a flight of
+steps, as if the two formed part of the same design, while the masonry of
+the two portions is exactly of the same character, as if they were coeval.
+That the upper and lower enclosures formed parts of the same design, is
+sufficiently evinced by the drawing which has been reproduced.
+
+The insular part, though showing similar work and material, is in better
+preservation; indeed, it is not easy to doubt that it is considerably
+later, though belonging to the same architectural period. The pointed
+arches indicate that neither the continental nor the insular part were
+constructed before the introduction of this form of arch. The pointed arch
+gradually superseded the round arch during the reign of Henry
+II.--1154-1189--and did not become general until quite the end of this
+period.[23] There are indeed pointed arches in the church of St. Cross,
+near Winchester, which are supposed to date back as far as 1136, but this
+appears to have been a solitary instance some 50 years earlier than the
+general employment of the style. It may fairly be presumed that neither
+portion of the existing buildings dates back further than the twelfth
+century, while the insular portion is probably less ancient than that on
+the mainland. There is evidence that there were buildings on the island at
+an earlier date than can be ascribed to those now existing.
+
+Geoffrey of Monmouth, who was made Bishop of St. Asaph in the year 1152,
+and probably wrote earlier, describes the place, in words which I have
+already quoted, as he supposes it to have been in the time of Uther
+Pendragon. He calls it 'the town of Tintagel, a place of great safety. For
+it is situated upon the sea and on every side surrounded by it; and there
+is but one entrance into it, and that through a straight rock, which three
+men shall be able to defend against the whole power of the kingdom.' Not
+to insist upon Uther, it is clear that Geoffrey intended to describe the
+place as it was before his own time, and, by unavoidable inference, before
+the buildings at present on the island were constructed. For it is almost
+certain that none of them existed in the time of Geoffrey--quite certain
+that none of them were built before his birth. It is to be noted that this
+writer makes no allusion to the part of the castle on the mainland, which,
+though probably older, was presumably not made when he wrote. We cannot
+but infer that before Geoffrey's time there was some sort of fortification
+on the island, which was replaced by the existing structure; and this
+inference is supported by the name under which this place is referred to
+in 'Domesday Book,' if Gilbert is correct in his interpretation of it as
+'the fort with the chain.' The evidence that Tintagel Head was used as a
+stronghold before the present buildings were made lends credibility to the
+tradition which connects Arthur with Tintagel, though none of the present
+walls were constructed until at least 600 years after his death.
+
+With the great gateway at one end and the exposed precipice at the other,
+the courtyard corresponds with a description written in the thirteenth
+century, and designed to present the state of the castle in the time of
+Arthur.[24] Through this gateway, according to the romance, rode Uther and
+Merlin, and within these walls Arthur was begotten. It is much to be
+regretted that the building so adapted to the story had no existence in
+the time to which it relates. It may be objected also that the romancer
+has made a capital error in placing the adventure on the mainland, and a
+minor error in assigning the same position to the chapel. It is to be
+presumed that the story-tellers long subsequent to Arthur's time adapted
+the legends relating to Tintagel somewhat loosely to the building as it
+existed in their own.
+
+The 25-inch Ordnance Map represents the continental part of the castle as
+built upon the site of a camp. It is with great diffidence that I venture
+to question this interpretation of a trench which runs parallel to, and
+close to, the south wall of the castle. This trench must, I think, be
+accepted as having been made simultaneously with, or subsequently to, the
+building, for it evidently bears relation to the great gate and to an
+otherwise unprotected wall, of which it formed an outer defence. Sir
+John Maclean calls this a moat. If this means no more than a defending
+ditch I am of his opinion, but if a moat should hold water the term is
+inapplicable, for the fosse is on such a slope that water never could have
+remained in it. As to the camp theory, it may be observed that there are
+undoubted remains of a camp within a quarter of a mile, close to the
+church, and it is unlikely that two camps would have been constructed in
+such proximity.
+
+[Illustration: FIG. 1.--_Tintagel Castle as represented by Norden_,
+1584-1600.]
+
+[Illustration: FIG. 2.--_Tintagel Castle from 25-inch Ordnance Map_]
+
+I insert a drawing (p. 62), to which I think much interest attaches. It
+represents the castle as it was about the year 1600--roughly speaking, 300
+years ago. It is a copy made by photography of a print in 'Norden's
+Speculi Britanniæ Pars,' a book now in the British Museum, formerly in the
+Royal Library. It is dedicated to James I., and appears to have been
+written at the end of the sixteenth century. The date 1584 has been
+doubtfully assigned to it: we may safely refer it to the end of the
+sixteenth century. Norden was born in 1548 and died in 1626. He was
+Surveyor of Woods to James I., and evidently regarded architectural
+accuracy more than pictorial effect. The drawing shows the landward part
+as extending further seawards than at present, while it indicates a place
+where parts of the insular buildings had recently been engulfed. The great
+gateway on the mainland is entire; the keep and the lower court nearly so;
+while the relation of the three as parts of the same building, presumably
+built at the same time, is unmistakable. The buildings on the island are
+much as they are now.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+I append what may also be of interest--a facsimile of as much of the
+25-inch Ordnance Map as relates to Tintagel Castle. For permission to do
+so I have to thank the Director of Her Majesty's Stationery Office, to
+whom also I am indebted for similar permission touching the maps of
+Damelioc, Kelly Rounds, and Cardinham Castle, to which I shall presently
+draw attention.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+So much and so little for the Castle of Tintagel and its relation to King
+Arthur, who certainly never saw an arch or a stone of the existing
+building, and could not have been begotten in a hall which was not made
+until many centuries after his death. What took place, and where, before
+the hall was built are other questions. This does not necessarily detach
+Arthur from Tintagel. It is probable that Tintagel Head was a place of
+strength and of retreat in prehistoric times, as were many headlands on
+the Cornish coast. No earthworks were needed to secure it, as it had been
+rendered impregnable by nature. The Celts in the sixth century, and in
+Cornwall, though they must have had skill in stone-carving if some of the
+existing crosses are correctly attributed to this period, were probably
+not castle builders, unless the term 'castle' be applied to earthworks, as
+is indeed still the custom. If Arthur was the lord of Tintagel, as is
+indicated by an immemorial tradition, which we may, without violence to
+probability, accept, nothing remains of this his dwelling-place excepting
+the immortal ramparts which will be for ever associated with his name.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+_Dameliock_ or _Dimilioc_ still exists as a formidable earthwork, and
+retains the name.[25] It is mentioned in 'Domesday Book' under the term
+Damelihoc. 'Domesday Book' is a mere rent-roll and does not deal in
+descriptions, but the name is significant if Gilbert[26] is correct in
+his interpretation of it as 'the place of battle.'
+
+Damelioc Castle is a British camp of great strength. It lies about eight
+miles from Tintagel Castle by the modern roads, though in earlier time the
+distance may have been as much as ten miles, which is assigned by
+tradition as the distance of Damelioc from Tintagel. It is in the parish
+of St. Kew, close to the road which connects Tintagel with the mouth of
+the Camel, and, taking a wide scope, may be said to lie between the north
+of Cornwall and the south of Ireland. The work is said to extend over an
+area of twelve acres. It once consisted of three concentric ramparts, of
+which two remain effective if not complete, while portions of a third and
+outer are still to be seen, though much of it has yielded to the invasion
+of agriculture. Outside each of the two nearly complete ramparts, of which
+the outer is the higher, lies a ditch. This rampart is from 20 to 30 feet
+high, measured from the bottom of the ditch;[27] it is about 11 yards
+thick and the ditch 10 yards wide. The inner circle is less perfect than
+the outer, or more properly the middle, little remaining except the ditch,
+which is about 5 feet deep. The enclosure, measuring from the inside of
+the middle rampart (the outermost is not complete enough to reckon by),
+has a diameter of about 170 yards and a circumference of about 530 yards.
+The enclosure formed by this rampart would, according to Colonel Mead,
+whose assistance I had in examining the fortification, give comfortable
+accommodation to 2,000 men, supposing them to be besieged for a week or
+ten days, while under temporary pressure 5,000 people might be crowded
+into it. Were the outer circle restored according to the indications
+afforded by its remains, it is obvious that the camp would hold a much
+larger number than that referred to as capable of being contained within
+the middle defence. Like others of the Cornish earthworks, it stands on a
+commanding elevation among hills which are higher than itself.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+It has been seen that Tintagel and Damelioc are exactly adapted to the
+story of which they are the scene. Either the story must have had some
+foundation in fact, or the inventor of it must have possessed extensive
+and accurate knowledge of the topographical features of this remote part
+of the British Isles.
+
+[Illustration: FIG. 3.--_Reproduced from the 25-inch Ordnance Map._]
+
+The Romancers of Britanny may easily have heard of a place so well known
+as Tintagel, and woven it into their fictions; but Damelioc seems to have
+attracted little attention, though mentioned by Gilbert in 1838, until it
+emerged from obscurity to find name and place in the last edition of the
+Ordnance map. Thus unknown or disregarded, it would scarcely have been
+selected as the scene of a purely imaginary romance. To me, the finding of
+Damelioc where and what it should be according to the story is an
+indication that this was dictated by something more substantial than
+imagination, though this faculty no doubt had much to do with its
+embellishment.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+I have already quoted from the Welsh Triads assigned to the sixth century
+a reference to Arthur as 'the chief lord at Kelliwic,' and have referred
+also to other Welsh compositions, probably of little less antiquity, in
+which Kelliwic or Celliwig is spoken of in the same connection. Professor
+Rhys finds in the Triads an account of a raid made by Mordred[28] upon
+Arthur's Court, apparently in Arthur's absence, where the intruder left
+neither food nor drink unconsumed so much as would support a fly, and
+where he outraged the Queen. This is said to have occurred at Kelliwic in
+Cornwall, though it must be admitted that the association of the northern
+king with the southern fortress is suggestive of doubt. Kelliwic is
+elsewhere referred to as a place from which a certain marksman of
+exceptional ability was able to hit a wren in Ireland. Dismissing this as
+one of the super-additions to which tradition is liable, I revert from the
+archer to the king. If there be any truth in the tradition which places
+Arthur's court or camp at Kelliwic, we ought to find some trace of it. If
+Kelliwic could be found as a place of defence in the Arthurian country, we
+might at least say that the coincidence was remarkable, unless the
+tradition had some substratum of fact. Now I venture to suggest that we
+have Kelliwic still with us under the name of that remarkable earthwork
+known as Kelly Rounds.
+
+_Kelly Rounds_ or _Castle Killibury_ is about five miles from Damelioc, to
+which it bears a general resemblance, though possessing only two ramparts,
+with no traces of a third. The work is situated near the road between
+Camelford and Wadebridge, about 2-1/2 miles from the latter, which is a
+well protected port. It consists--or rather I should say consisted--of two
+concentric circles, each with rampart and ditch. It is obviously a British
+camp. A road now cuts it into two nearly equal parts, of which that on the
+south has been nearly obliterated, while the northern segment is
+comparatively uninjured. The ramparts, of which the inner is the higher,
+present a maximum height of perhaps 15 feet, judging roughly by the eye.
+The diameter of the remaining semicircle is about 210 yards, measuring
+from the inside of the outer rampart, while the semi-circumference in the
+same position is 290 yards. On the west side are the traces of an outwork,
+or partial enclosure, which was evidently designed to protect the
+entrance.
+
+The extravagance of the archer who 'shot with a lusty longbow' from
+Kelliwic to Ireland is not quite without significance, for it may be
+held to show that Kelliwic, like Kelly Rounds, was opposite the Irish
+coast.
+
+[Illustration: FIG. 4.--_From the 25-inch Ordnance Map._]
+
+We may with some confidence identify Kelly Rounds, or Castle Killibury,
+with Kelliwic, and discern in it, as in Damelioc, a definite association
+with Arthur.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+A place to which the name of _Caradigan_ is given is prominent in
+Arthurian lore. This has been interpreted as Cardigan, the ancient
+designation of Cardiganshire being Keridigion.[29] But Mr. E. G. B.
+Phillimore, who is a great authority on ancient Welsh literature,
+considers that Caradigan is not Cardigan, but Cardinam, now known as
+Cardinham, a considerable, though much damaged, earthwork near Bodmin. In
+this interpretation Mr. Phillimore apparently has the approval of
+Professor Rhys. If Caradigan is Cardinham, this was one of the places
+where Arthur held his Court. It was at Caradigan that Enid was wedded to
+Eric by the Archbishop of Canterbury, in the presence of Queen Guenevere.
+It was to Arthur's Court at Caradigan that Lancelot brought his
+newly-married wife, Iblis.
+
+The doings at Caradigan are obviously mingled with fiction, if not wholly
+fictitious. The Archbishop of Canterbury was not yet, and Eric as a knight
+of mediæval chivalry is, like the Archbishop, an anachronism; but there is
+something in a name, and Caradigan associates Arthur with the Cornish
+stronghold.
+
+Cardinham Castle, as it is called, though far inferior in size and
+distinctness to Killibury and Damelioc, is worth more notice than it has
+yet received. About five miles from Bodmin, on the edge of Cardinham Moor,
+lies Old Cardinham, now represented by a solitary farm-house. In a field
+behind the house stands an earthwork, of small extent but great natural
+advantage. It is situated, like Damelioc and Kelly Rounds, on high ground
+among hills which are higher than itself, but not near enough to command
+it without artillery. This stronghold or place of defence displays the
+remains of one rampart enclosing an ovoid or irregularly elongated space
+on the side of a hill, within which the experts of the Ordnance Survey
+discern a small inner circumvallation. In designing the enclosure the
+natural slope has been made use of to co-operate with the rampart on the
+north side, while the rampart on the south is wholly artificial, much
+broken, and in places obliterated.
+
+[Illustration: FIG. 5.--_From the 25-inch Ordnance Map._]
+
+The partial destruction of the south wall makes the enclosure incomplete,
+and gives it a horse-shoe shape. The entire circuit along the tops of the
+existing and nearly obsolete ramparts is about 267 yards, and this
+comparatively small circumference encloses a narrow and elongated space of
+relatively small capacity. The surface is irregular, and may once have had
+buildings upon it, of which there are now no remnants. This small but
+well-protected enclosure seems to have been better fitted for a fortified
+residence than a resort for an army. It may conceivably have held the
+residential quarters of a Cornish chieftain in the sixth century, and its
+legendary association with Arthur may not impossibly have had some
+foundation in fact.
+
+
+
+
+V
+
+CONCLUSIONS
+
+
+To piece together the dislocated fragments which are all that remain of
+the life of Arthur, they thus present themselves. Arthur, though unknown
+or unrecorded by the Saxon chroniclers of the invasion, who say nothing of
+what went on in the west and north, finds abundant mention among the Welsh
+bards and poets assigned to the sixth century, who speak of him by name,
+attribute to him great fame as a warrior, and briefly refer to certain
+details which connect him with places some of which can still be
+identified. This positive and detailed evidence is of more weight than the
+negative evidence, if so it can be called, which lies in the omission of
+Arthur's name by Gildas and Bede, two ecclesiastics who touch only
+incidentally upon the wars of the sixth century and are satisfied with the
+mention of Ambrosius, who preceded Arthur, and apparently occupied a
+position more nearly approaching that of commander-in-chief, having regard
+to the whole country, than did the later champion.
+
+But it is not my purpose now to recapitulate the writings to which I have
+already referred, but only to put together, with their help, some
+indications as to the probable biography of a personage who is at once so
+famous and so obscure.
+
+We may look upon Tintagel as the birthplace of Arthur, and believe that he
+was the son or putative son of a petty Cornish king. The exact fitness of
+Tintagel and Damelioc for the story of which they are the scene lends
+probability to it: not that we need accept the narrative precisely as
+related. Time, verbal transmission, and Celtic imagination have to be
+allowed for; but we may without undue credulity believe that Gorlois was
+slain at Damelioc and Arthur born at Tintagel. We may presume that Arthur
+remained in possession and occupation of the country of his nativity.
+Tintagel Castle has been from time immemorial known as King Arthur's;
+Kelliwic, which is mentioned in the earliest records in connection with
+Arthur, may with probability be identified with Kelly Rounds and placed
+near the estuary of the Camel; and Cardinam Castle, which credible though
+later tradition assigns to Arthur as a palace or residence, exists near
+Bodmin. Great interest, to my mind, attaches to these memorials. Military
+engineering is older than the corps of Royal Engineers; and it may be said
+that the most ancient history of our country is written in earth. These
+memorials, together with Tintagel, a fortification constructed by the hand
+of nature, indicate that King Arthur occupied the coast line from Tintagel
+to the Camel, and the inland country to the vicinity of Bodmin.
+
+If we accept the evidence of names, that of Pentargon in particular, we
+must suppose Boscastle to be included in the Arthurian country, which
+would thus extend from the mouth of the Camel to the mouth of the
+Vallency. The town of Camelford lies within this district, and it is
+difficult not to think of Camelot as possibly on the Camel, though we have
+no indication, excepting the name, to justify the assumption, and other
+places compete for the distinction of supplying the site of this somewhat
+hypothetical creation.
+
+We can speak with more confidence of Kelliwic, assuming that it is still
+with us under the name of Kelly Rounds. This lies 2-1/2 miles from
+Wadebridge, where the Camel forms a practicable tidal harbour, and was no
+doubt used as such in the sixth century. The fortification covered the
+landing-place, at a convenient distance, and commanded what must have been
+the chief line of communication between Arthur's Cornish domain, Wales,
+Ireland, and the north-west coast. The sea is a connection rather than a
+separation, and may have provided the lord of Kelliwic with an access to
+the north which would have been practically unattainable by other means.
+
+It may be doubted whether in Arthur's time the Saxons had reached
+Tintagel: it is clear that in the ninth century they were fighting on the
+Camel, apparently unsuccessfully, and that they never generally superseded
+the Celtic population much further to the west than the traditional
+territory of Arthur. That Arthur ever fought a great battle on this river
+is improbable; nor is it likely that the Saxons in his time got far enough
+to the west to assault his earthworks; but these at any rate may have
+served as places of retreat, and been used by him as Torres Vedras was by
+Wellington.
+
+We may accept the statement of Nennius, who was apparently an historian of
+honest intentions, that Arthur was selected to command against the Saxons,
+and that in this capacity he fought many, perhaps twelve, battles. There
+must, it is certain, have been much fighting in the west and north as well
+as elsewhere, and we may give Arthur the credit of much of it, though
+details, if not entirely absent, are by no means explicit. It seems clear
+that he entered Scotland, perhaps more than once, became a prominent
+character in the Lowlands, as the dissemination of his name implies, and
+finally perished at Camelon or Camlan, near the Firth of Forth, fighting
+against a coalition of Saxons, or, strictly speaking, Angles, Picts, and
+Scots, or, according to another tradition, against one consisting of
+Picts, Scots, and revolted Britons. It is a far cry from Cornwall to
+Scotland, but the feat is not impossible. Agricola marched from the south
+of England to Scotland at an earlier date; but he had the resources of the
+Roman Empire behind him. Arthur must have been aided by his access to the
+sea, and probably found allies in the Celts of the west and north-west
+along the whole front of the Teutonic encroachments. His movements in the
+south and in the north were attended with a series of British victories in
+which the invaders were pushed back from the western parts of the island,
+and which contributed to the preservation of the Celtic race in the
+regions of Cornwall and Wales, where it still survives. Such achievements
+were enough to make Arthur famous from the Camel to the Forth, however
+little in those days of imperfect communication his reputation extended to
+the 'Saxon shore.' The places where above all others he was held in memory
+and where his name was handed down as a local tradition were his little
+inheritance in Cornwall, where he was born, and which we cannot doubt that
+he occupied--more or less; and the northern region, where he apparently
+did much fighting and where he ultimately perished. I need not repeat that
+if, as seems probable, Arthur's last battle was in Scotland we must
+dissociate his death with the Camel and his burial with Glastonbury.
+
+So much for what may be accepted as history. We might have had more had
+the Cornish language survived like the Welsh. I do not propose to deal
+with the superstructure of romance which in succeeding centuries
+collected about Arthur's name. The magnitude of this echo, if so it may be
+called, is in some sort a measure of the impression produced by Arthur in
+his life time. The romance seems to have come chiefly from France. There
+was little communication in Arthur's time between the west and east of
+England: even between Cornwall and Devonshire there seems to have been
+little. The chief connection between Cornwall and the rest of the world
+was by sea, and Wales, Britanny and Ireland were the countries in the most
+intimate association with this peninsula. Navigation is an ancient art,
+older than the mariner's compass: in the comparatively late sixth century
+crossing the Channel and the narrow seas must have been familiar to our
+ancestors, whether Saxon or British. Britanny and Wales, countries within
+touch of Cornwall, were, like it, occupied by Celts, a race gifted with
+more imagination than has been granted to the practical and hard-headed
+Saxon. The fictions of which Arthur is the centre, constructed chiefly in
+France, but to a lesser extent in Wales, were brought to England in the
+twelfth and later centuries, and replaced history by myth. In these
+poetic regions this story attained a complicated development the like of
+which is not to be found in British history, though we can discern
+something like it in connection with the siege of Troy and the subsequent
+adventures of some of the persons supposed to have been concerned in it.
+
+That Arthur was a patriot, a defender of the soil against foreign
+invaders, is sufficiently obvious. That he was also a Christian must be
+believed. Christianity reached Cornwall before St. Augustine preached in
+Kent: Britain probably received some sprinkling of Christianity during the
+Roman occupation, though we cannot suppose that much of this religion
+penetrated from London to Cornwall. The western extremity of the island
+was much associated with Ireland, and we have reason to believe that as
+early as the fifth century the creed of St. Patrick was brought to
+Cornwall, which thus became one of the earliest places in Britain to
+receive the Christian religion. It is worth observing that the ancient
+Cornish crosses, of which there are so many, generally present the Greek
+cross rather than the Latin, and would appear to belong to the Eastern
+rather than the Western Church. The oldest of these crosses are supposed
+to date back to the sixth century. It is more than probable that a Cornish
+chieftain at this period would have been a Christian, and possible that
+Arthur himself may have knelt before some of the crosses which still
+exist.
+
+
+THE END
+
+
+  PRINTED BY
+  SPOTTISWOODE AND CO., NEW-STREET SQUARE
+  LONDON
+
+
+
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[1] I have to thank the Rev. S. Baring-Gould for supplying me with these
+particulars, which are to be found in the Report of the Launceston Meeting
+of the Cambrian Archæological Society, _Archæologia Cambrensis_, No. 51,
+fifth series, July 1896. This relic is preserved in the royal collection
+at Osborne, and is described and figured in the _Archæological Journal_,
+vol. xxiv. p. 189. The vessel is represented as in excellent preservation
+and of artistic design. It is of hammered gold, and is supposed to be of
+Scandinavian workmanship.
+
+[2] See _The Four Ancient Books of Wales_, by W. F. Skene, 1868; also an
+essay on Arthurian localities, by J. S. Stuart Glennie, _Merlin_, part
+iii., published by the Early English Text Society, 1869.
+
+[3] _History of Britain_, by John Milton.
+
+[4] I need not refer to _La Morte d'Arthur_, a work of which Roger Ascham
+disapproves as encouraging manslaughter and incontinence: 'yet I know,'
+says Roger, 'when God's Bible was banished the Court, and La Morte
+d'Arthur received into the prince's Chamber.'
+
+[5] Skene's _Four Ancient Books of Wales_, vol. ii. p. 457.
+
+[6] Guest's _Origines Celticæ_, vol. ii. p. 194.
+
+[7] Dr. Guest's opinion as that of an antiquarian scholar deservedly
+carries great weight, though some at least of the bardic fragments usually
+ascribed to the sixth century are held by Stephens to belong to the
+twelfth. (See _Literature of the Kymry_, 1849.) This writer allows certain
+of these fragments to have come down from the sixth century, and the
+admission of so scrupulous a critic goes far to establish their antiquity.
+I may refer to Skene's _Four Ancient Books of Wales_ for information
+regarding the works in question, as well as for the text of some of them.
+There appears to be no reasonable doubt that Taliessin, Llymarch Hen, and
+Myrddin lived in the sixth century, though their supposed compositions are
+not presented to us in any manuscripts which bear an earlier date than the
+twelfth. _The Black Book of Caermarthen_, which contains some of these
+remnants, of the greatest reputed antiquity, was written in the time of
+Henry II. But though all intermediate writings have perished or remain
+hidden, we are not to infer that none ever existed. It is clear that some
+of the bardic fragments refer to the sixth century; for example, that
+relating to the fight at Llongborth between Geraint and, as is supposed,
+Cerdric, in which Arthur is mentioned. It is possible that this and other
+poems may at first have been transmitted by word of mouth, but impossible
+that they could have been so conveyed for six hundred years. Intermediate
+writings there must have been; these have not survived, but they are
+probably fairly represented in the _Black Book of Caermarthen_ and similar
+records. It cannot be doubted that these compositions relating to the
+sixth century, by whatever means and with whatever modifications they
+reached the twelfth century, must have had some substantial foundation. It
+would have been impossible in the twelfth century to create out of nothing
+stories and allusions so suited to the sixth in historic probability and
+local association.
+
+[8] Skene's _Four Ancient Books of Wales_, vol. i. p. 426.
+
+[9] Quoted from the edition by J. A. Giles in _Six Old English
+Chronicles_.
+
+[10] See the _Chronicle of Henry of Huntingdon_.
+
+[11] As bearing upon Arthur's early campaigns and their connection with
+Scotland, it is of interest to recall the tradition which connects Arthur
+with Mordred. Arthur's sister, Anne by name, married Llew, otherwise
+Lothus or Lot, King of the Picts, to whom Arthur is supposed to have given
+Lothian. Of this marriage came Mordred, or Modred, Arthur's nephew and
+mortal enemy. From this it would appear that the southern adventurer was
+associated with the northern monarch before Mordred was born, and had
+visited Scotland apparently as a conqueror in the time of Mordred's
+father.
+
+[12] An elaborate and learned disquisition relating to Arthur and his
+battles is to be found in Whitaker's _History of Manchester_, published in
+the year 1775. See book ii. chapter ii.
+
+[13] Quoted by Camden from _Marianus Scotus_.
+
+[14] _Jacit_, instead of _jacet_, calls for remark. Mr. Iago assures me
+that this spelling was not unusual in the time to which the inscription
+belongs, and refers to Professor Hübner for instances of Christian
+inscriptions in Britain in which the same spelling was employed.
+
+[15] See _Trigg Minor_, by Sir John Maclean, vol. i. p. 583, where is a
+representation of the stone and inscription provided by Mr. Iago.
+
+[16] Skene's _Four Ancient Books of Wales_, vol. i. p. 60; Stuart Glennie,
+_Arthurian Scotland_, Merlin Early English Text Society, part iii. p. lxi.
+
+[17] The Scots with whom Arthur fought were probably, like the Picts,
+inhabitants of Scotland, though the term Scotti is also applied to a
+portion of the inhabitants of Ireland.
+
+[18] Leland's _Assertio Arturii_.
+
+[19] There are discrepancies of date with regard to disentombment which
+increase the doubts which on other grounds surround the story. The date
+commonly assigned is that adopted by Camden, 1189, the last year of King
+Henry's reign. Leland gives the date as 1191, in which he is followed by
+Hume, in the reign of Richard I. Giraldus, who represents himself as an
+eye-witness, and is necessarily the earliest authority, does not give the
+year, but indicates the time within certain limits. He states that the
+grave was opened by order of Henry II. during the rule of the Abbot Henry.
+This Abbot was apparently Henry de Blois, the grandson of the Conqueror
+and the brother of King Stephen; Henry II. was therefore his first cousin
+once removed. It has been supposed that the consanguinity may have
+disposed the Abbot to gratify the king by finding what he wanted. Henry de
+Blois was the 37th Abbot. He was appointed in 1126, in the time of Henry
+I., and died in 1171, in that of Henry II. In the year 1129, three years
+after his appointment to Glastonbury, this Abbot became, according to
+Leland, also Bishop of Winchester. Giraldus tells us that the discovery
+took place before the Abbot became Bishop. If that were so the remains
+were found not later than 1129, in the reign of Henry I., not in that of
+Henry II., as Giraldus represents. Giraldus himself was not born until
+1147, or 1150 (both dates are assigned); so it is evident that a large
+error has come in with regard to the date of the disentombment, in
+reference to the appointment of the Abbot to the bishopric. Putting aside
+this contradiction as possibly due to some mistake in the ecclesiastical
+records, we at any rate cannot doubt, if any credit is to be attached to
+Giraldus, that the exhumation took place, if at all, in the time of Henry
+de Blois, who died in 1171. This is inconsistent with the dates 1189 and
+1191 which are respectively assigned to the event. Thus three Kings are
+presented as contemporary with the finding of Arthur's grave, while two
+Abbots and a _locum tenens_ offer themselves as immediately concerned in
+the transaction. For in the last year of the reign of Henry II., in which
+according to one account the grave was opened, there was no Abbot of
+Glastonbury, the King from the year 1178 until his death in 1189 having
+retained the Abbey in his own hands and administered it by means of a
+subordinate. Thus in 1189, the date authoritatively assigned for the
+concurrence of the Abbot and the King, there was no Abbot and the King was
+approaching his end. In the year 1191 Richard I. and the 39th Abbot bore
+sway. Like the Abbot of royal blood, he was named Henry (which may have
+led to confusion), one Henry de Saliaco, but he does not supply the
+requirements of the case if we are to believe that King Henry was the
+instigator and his sacerdotal kinsman the agent. Thus the whole story is
+beset with doubts. This much may be believed: in the time probably of
+Henry II. the bones of Arthur were sought for; two skeletons were found
+where skeletons most do congregate, which with judicious exaggeration and
+some invention were made to come up to what was demanded of the remains of
+the warrior and his beautiful consort; these were re-interred under the
+names of Arthur and Guenevere, and about 100 years later were honestly
+accepted as such by Edward and Eleanor.
+
+[20] _History of the Deanery of Trigg Minor_, by Sir John Maclean, vol.
+iii. p. 194.
+
+[21] Among the more noticeable particulars in the buildings, both on the
+island and the mainland, especially on the island, are the numerous holes
+in the walls. These have given rise to much remark and speculation; by
+some they have been inconsiderately interpreted as arrow holes. It is
+sufficiently obvious that they once gave lodgment to the beams which
+formed the scaffolding employed in the construction of the walls. The
+orifices are rectangular, about 7 inches × 6 or 6 inches × 5. The passages
+in connection with them are horizontal and give no scope for the
+adjustment of the weapon; many of them have no exits, but come to an end
+against rock or masonry. The holes are generally arranged so that several
+are on the same level. Similar holes for the same purpose are not uncommon
+in the neighbourhood, and may be seen in the Vicarage wall. I am indebted
+to Colonel Mead, of the Royal Engineers, for the self-evident explanation
+which I have adopted.
+
+[22] A similar projecting course is to be seen on a wall which cuts off
+the neighbouring peninsula of the Willapark from the mainland. This wall,
+though ancient and probably defensive, cannot be supposed to be Roman or
+to show Roman methods.
+
+[23] Rickman's _Gothic Architecture_.
+
+[24] I insert the description of Tintagel Castle as given in _The High
+History of the Holy Grail_, a French romance of the thirteenth century:
+
+'They (_i.e._ Arthur, Lancelot and Gawain) 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 they 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 middle 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 it
+was the great Tintagel. "And how is the ground all caved in about the
+castle?" The priest then relates the death of Gorlois and the
+transfiguration of Uther, "so that he 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 then 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 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 in God's behalf or the Enemy's, but which we know not."' _The
+High History of the Holy Grail_, by Master Blihis (1200-1250), translated
+by Sebastian Evans, vol. ii., p. 75.
+
+If we may suppose, as probably we may, that Master Blihis describes the
+castle as it was in his own time, though affecting to adapt his
+description to that of King Arthur, we may infer that in the thirteenth
+century when the existing castle was comparatively new it had already
+begun to suffer from the encroachments of the sea.
+
+[25] In connection with the identification of Damelioc Castle, I have to
+acknowledge my obligation to the Director-General of the Ordnance Survey,
+and to Staff-Surgeon Trevan, of Bideford.
+
+[26] See Gilbert's _History of Cornwall_, 1838, vol. i. p. 328, vol. iv.
+p. 94.
+
+[27] These measurements and others relating to the camps are only to be
+taken as approximate, the horizontal distances were measured by pacing,
+the heights by the eye. They will serve to give a generally correct
+impression, though not made with the accuracy of a land-surveyor. This may
+be found in the Ordnance maps which are attached.
+
+[28] _The Arthurian Legend_, by Professor Rhys, pp. 15 and 38.
+
+[29] _The Arthurian Legend_, by Professor Rhys, pp. 129 and 132.
+
+*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 41783 ***