Camelot
Camelot is the court of the mythical British King Arthur . The legend of the same name names numerous people who are said to have lived at this court.
History and localizations
The author of the original Arthurian manuscript, Geoffrey of Monmouth , names the Welsh town of Caerleon (near Newport ) as the royal seat of King Arthur , near which is the Roman settlement of Isca Silurum ; Monmouth interpreted the ruins of the ancient amphitheater as Camelot. However, the name "Camelot" is not mentioned in the original version. This first appears in the writings of the French poet Chrétien de Troyes at the end of the 12th century .
In 1542 the English scribe John Leland brought Cadbury Castle as Camelot in connection with the Arthurian legend. He wrote: "... The people can share nothing here but that they have heard say Arthur much resorted to Camalot." Local legends tell of the haunted Arthurian ghost that is said to roam the region at night. The size of the ramparts as well as valuable fragments excavated there point to a rich and powerful lord of the castle, which confirms the thesis, but does not prove it. The refuge was built in the Iron Age ; in the 5th century it was fortified again.
The present city of Colchester was also identified as Camelot . Accordingly, the castle name is derived from the Roman name Camulodunum . There is no clear evidence for this either. Camelot is also associated with Tintagel Castle in Cornwall and is considered the birthplace of Arthur. A stone with the inscription "Arthur" was found near the castle. Other places where Camelot is suspected are e.g. B. Carlisle , Dinas Bran , the Welsh ruins Viroconium and Winchester . The latter was equated with Camelot as early as the 15th century by Thomas Malory .
literature
for localization
- Leslie Alcock: By South Cadbury, is that Camelot: excavations at Cadbury Castle, 1966-70 (London, Thames & Hudson 1972).
- Leslie Alcock: Cadbury - Camelot. A fifteen-year perspective (Oxford: Oxford University Press 1983).
- CA Radford, Michael J. Swanton: Arthurian sites in the west (Exeter, University of Exeter 1975).
- John Morris: The age of Arthur. A history of the British Isles from 350 to 650 (London, Weidenfeld and Nicolson 1973).
- C. Scott Littleton, Linda A. Malcor From Scythia to Camelot: a radical reassessment of the legends of King Arthur, the Knights of the Round Table and the Holy Grail (New York, 1994)
To the Roman Colchester:
- Kai Brodersen : The Roman Britain . Scientific Book Society, Darmstadt 1998
- Klaus Grewe : Great Britain . Scientific Book Society, Darmstadt 1999