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[[File: King Arthur 2.jpg|250px|thumbnail|left|A 19th-century painting of the Death of Arthur]]The Arthurian legends have enthralled people from all over the world for centuries. These tales have inspired many books, poems, plays, television series, and movies. The characters from the cycle of Arthurian stories are well-known, such as Merlin. Camelot, the castle and the court associated with King Arthur, has become a by-word byword for a place of magic and enchantment. It was the capital of the realms governed by Arthur.
However, did Camelot actually exist? There is a long and on-going ongoing debate about the historicity of King Arthur and the Arthurian world. There is also a long-running debate about the original Camelot. Several theories about the location of the original court and castle, which inspired the story of Camelot, have been proposed down the centuries. This article examines some of the locations which may have been the original model for Arthur’s stronghold and court.
====The Arthurian Legend and Camelot====
The setting for King Arthur's stories is the period after the fall of the Western Roman Empire. Britain was invaded by pagan Anglo-Saxons who killed and enslaved the native Britons. Many Romano-British warlords emerged who fought the invaders and established kingdoms in the 6th and 7th century AD. It is believed by many that Arthur was one of these warlords who battled the pagan invaders or that he was a composite of several of these Brythonic leaders.<ref>Halsall, Guy Worlds of Arthur: Facts & Fictions of the Dark Ages (Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press, 2013), p 78</ref>
====The story of Camelot====
[[File: Camelot 3.jpg|200px250px|thumb|left| Some of the ruins of Tintagel Castle]]
Camelot was first mentioned in the ''Romance of Lancelot'' written by the French author Chretien de Troyes in the 1200s. The first mention of the location is the following ‘Upon a certain Ascension Day, King Arthur had come from Caerleon and had held a very magnificent court at Camelot as was fitting on such a day."<ref> de Troyes Chrétien Four Arthurian Romances (London, Gutenberg, 1914), p 56</ref>
====Tintagel====
[[File: Camelot one.jpg |200px|thumb|left| The hill where Cadbury Castle once stood]]
One of the most commonly cited locations for the real Camelot is Tintagel Castle. Since the earliest times this castle on the coast of Cornwall, in the south-west of England has been associated with the Arthurian cycle of stories.<ref> Field, P. J. C. "Searching for Camelot." Medium Aevum 87, no. 1 (2018): 1-22 </ref> The Welsh author Geoffrey of Monmouth in his history of the kings identifies Tintagel as the site of the conception of Arthur. Tintagel was occupied by the Britons during the Anglo-Saxon invasion and it was the capital of a small Brythonic kingdom and this could have been the basis of for Arthur’s kingdom of Logres.
Archaeological excavations have established that it was inhabited during the Dark Ages. Experts had found evidence that it was a center of trade and learning, which was remarkable for this period when civilization had almost collapsed. Evidence of writing and scholarship in the post-Roman period have been found here. This would indicate that it was like Camelot, a center of learning and religion.
In 1998, a stone bearing an intriguing inscription was unearthed by experts. This is the so-called Artognou stone, sometimes referred to as the Arthur stone. This is a stone that was taken from another building and used in the drains of Tintagel. The artifacts bear the inscription in Latin ‘Artognou’. Many scholars believed that this is very similar to the name ‘Arthur.’ However, many have rejected this and believe that Artognou was a common Celtic name. Despite the fact that Tintagel was a royal centre center in the Dark Ages and its associations with Arthur it seems unlikely that it was the original Camelot.
====Cadbury Castle====
Another possible candidate for the real Camelot is Cadbury Castle in Somerset, England. This was an Iron Age hill fort, and the Romans may have occupied it. In the Dark Ages, it was the stronghold of the local Britons, and it was the chief residence of a Brythonic ruler.<ref>Field, p 17</ref> Based on the archaeological evidence, a major Warband leader resided here, and he and his successors resisted the Anglo-Saxon invaders. Moreover, it was rich by the standards of the time, which could have given rise to Camelot's story.
Local tradition refers to the site as Camalat, possibly a reference to the River Cam. This persuaded writers from at least the 16th century that Cadbury Castle was the original Camelot. Some believe that Cadbury's site was ideal for the defense of south-west southwest England against the invading Germanic tribes. This, they believe, is strong evidence for it being the Camelot of the Arthurian legend.
However, there is no firm evidence that a monarch or warlord by the name of Arthur resided in the hill fort and could have been the original Camelot. Archaeologists who investigated the site believe that it was not occupied at the time when the owner of Excalibur may have lived and reigned.
It is widely argued that after the Romans abandoned Britons, the locals continued to live in towns and used them as fortresses in their desperate defense against the assaults of the Anglo-Saxons. Some scholars believe that the real Camelot was Camulodunum. This was a Romano-British city, and today it is the modern city of Colchester <ref>Field, p. 56</ref>. It has been established that Camulodunum was inhabited during the Dark Ages and may have been a Brythonic center. It is highly unlikely that this town was the real Camelot because of geography.
Camulodunum is located in the south-east southeast of England. The pagan invaders who descended on England after the last Roman legions left the island would have most likely landed on the east coast. Their homeland was Northern Germany and Denmark and Essex would have been one of the first areas they attacked. Based on the texts of the medieval English historian Bede, the south-east of England was conquered early on by the invaders. This means that it is highly unlikely that a British war-band leader or king could have ruled this part of England in the 6th century AD.<ref>Alcock, Leslie. "Excavations at Cadbury-Camelot, 1966–70." Antiquity, 46, no. 181 (1972): 29-38 </ref>
====Caerleon====
====Winchester Castle====
[[File: Camelot 2.jpg |200px|thumb|left| The great hall in Winchester Castle ]]
Winchester Castle is one of the finest medieval castles in all of the British Isles. Once a Roman fort was located on the site, William the Conqueror built a wooden castle. Henry II built a stone castle here and this was greatly expanded during the 13th and 14th centurycenturies. It was believed by writers such as Malory that the castle was the real Camelot. This was based on the existence of a Round Table in the Great Hall. However, this was an imitation of the fabled table that was built on the orders of Henry II <ref> Morris, Richard K. "The Architecture of Arthurian Enthusiasm: Castle Symbolism in the Reigns of Edward I and his Successors." Late Medieval Castles (2016): 349</ref>. There is no evidence for the claim that Winchester was the location for the fabled castle and court, that which has fascinated so many generations.
====Conclusion====
