Was Camelot in Scotland?

The Stirling Round Table, also known as the King's Knot, sits in a field below the western side of Stirling castle, in land that was once a royal garden. The ornate King's Knot is all that remains of those gardens. In the centre of the Knot is a flat-topped central mound that is about 45 feet in diameter and about 6 feet high. The Knot itself dates from the 1620's. The center mound, however, is thought to be older than the rest of the Knot.

  

William of Worcester said in 1478 that "King Arthur kept the Round Table at Stirling Castle" and Sir David Lindsay, the 16th century Scottish poet, said that Stirling Castle is the home of the "Chapell-royall, park, and Tabyll Round" (Geoffrey Ashe, Traveller's Guide). Where they obtained these assertations from is far from certain.
 

William of Worcester said in 1478 that "King Arthur kept the Round Table at Stirling Castle" and Sir David Lindsay, the 16th century Scottish poet, said that Stirling Castle is the home of the "Chapell-royall, park, and Tabyll Round" (Geoffrey Ashe, Traveller's Guide). Where they got their assertations from is not certain.

 
Arthur legends date back to the 6th Century. and the period of  historical Saint Kentigern. These legends have been handed down orally across the British mainland from Cornwall to the very northern tip of Scotland. So why go against popular and academic points of view and suggest Camelot was in Scotland rather than England or Wales? Because it is more likely that he did in fact come from Scotland.
 

Near the East End of the Old Town in Edinburgh, there is an extinct volcano. Legend has it that Camelot was built on its crest and slopes, and that the Elfdom kings lived within the hill. Certainly, it would have been a choice site for a royal court. From the top of the hill, one gets a panoramic view of the whole of the River Forth estuary, and across to Fife, south across the hills and on towards the border with England, and west over the rich farmlands of southern Scotland. One of the earliest Princes named Arthur, known to have lived in Britain, was one in Scotland in the 6th Century, around the time of the earliest records of settlements around Edinburgh.

 
According to legend, Merlin lies buried at the root of a thorn tree in a field beside the village of Drumelzier near the River Tweed, in the south of Scotland. The story goes that during a battle he had a vision that he would die a triple death that day. He asked St. Kentigern to give him the sacrament. Later that day he was seized by his enemies who beat him with stones and clubs, threw him in the river and stabbed him with a wooden stake. Hence the triple death by beating, drowning and stabbing.

  

Tantallon Castle, was once thought to be the original Camelot. It lies within a day's carriage ride from Edinburgh, so it may well have been one of the important sites of Arthurian history.
 

Southern approach to Tantallon Castle 

One of Scotland's prophets, Thomas the Rhymer (thought by some to be Michael Scot) gave this prophecy about Merlin's grave:
     

When Tweed and Powsail meet at Merlin's grave

Scotland and England, shall one Monarch have

 

This came true in 1603, when the river Tweed flowed over its banks and met the river Powsail at the legendary site of Merlin's Grave -- on the very same day that the crowns of Scotland and England were first united under James VI of Scotland (James I of England).

 

Thomas the Rhymer appears to a horse-dealer in the tale of the Fian warriors who showshim a secret cave in the Eildon hills where there sleeps an army of ancient ghostly warriors presided over by King Arthur. The horse dealer blows a horn that awakens the army; however, he flees in terror before blowing the second call to arms on the horn that would bring them out of the cave. Without a doubt, the legend that King Arthur sleeps to awaken at times of dire need to defend Britain again is well-known.

 

Some historical sources say Sir Lancelot came from the Lothian, near Edinburgh. Sir Gawain, son of  King Lot of Orkney, was one of the first of the knights of the Round Table along with Sir Kay and Sir Pellinore. Some years later Sir Gawain's brother Gareth became a knight also. Sir Pellinore, also from the same region around Orkney, and the father of Perceval,  spent many years in search of a mysterious monster hcalled "The Questing Beast", which some have thought was the origin of the possibly the Loch Ness Monster. The Questing Beast had the head and neck of a serpent and a huge belly  wile fitting the general descriptions given for the Loch Ness Monster. The sightings of this monster has has reported sightings going back hundreds of years.

 

Perth has long been known as the Bonnie Town because of its beautiful women. This reputation goes back to the time of King Arthur. When he first ascended to his throne, he dispatched heralds to summon the most beautiful maidens in the land to Camelot to attend the first Tournament of his Knights of the Round Table.  One of the legends says the fairest of all the girls that he saw there was Lady Guinevere from a castle near Perth. It is said that he fell in love with her almost at first sight and would not rest until she consented to become his bride. However, her father, Hamish, Laird of Mellin, set him a task to perform to prove his worthiness before he would consent to the marriage. Arthur was asked to swim across Loch Linnie in the cold of December. So on the appointed day, Arthur went to the shore of the  loch and stripped off his tunic along with hose and waded into the icy water. On Merlin's advice, he chose a part of the shore where the loch was narrow and succeeded in reaching the other side in less than a minute  thus avoiding freezing to death. There  is also  a children's rhyme that goes:

     Frae Perth came Guinevere, to make the King revere,

     He saw her face in the Loch of the north, and never went more forth".

Camelot Then?

If Arthur was a King of the North as so many connections indicate, surely we should look for Camelot here too? (Britannia)

 

 

 
If Arthur was a King of the north in Scotland as so many connections indicate, surely we should look for Camelot there too? (Britannia)


Camelot Then
    

Tradition: Chrétien De Troyes knew Carlisle as Carduel and stated it was in Wales, presumably meaning the Welsh-speaking region of Britain. It was the site of one of King Arthur's many palaces spread around the country. It was at Carduel that Perceval (Peredyr) first arrived at King Arthur's Court and, from here, Yvain (Owein) set out on his grand adventure. Erec (or Gereint) also hoped to track Arthur down at either his court at Caduel or Robais.

Carlisle is similarly mentioned, via its modern name, by Sir Thomas Malory. Arthur received a Roman delegation there, and it was at Carlisle Castle that Medrod and Agravain discovered Lancelot and Gwenhwyfar "in flagrante delicto". Lancelot escaped from the ensuing armed skirmish, but Gwenhwyfar remained to be sentenced to be burnt at the stake outside the city walls. Lancelot naturally returned to rescue her, but the resulting wars enabled Medrod to seize the British throne and inevitably led to the fateful Battle of Camlann.

 

Early ballads concerning Gawain's unfortunate marriage to the "Loathly Lady" and his encounter with the spellbound giant "Carl of Carlisle" are also centered on the town and claim that:

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

The Theory: Professor Norma Lorre Goodrich in her detailed book King Arthur uses many and varied arguments to establish High-King Arthur as a monarch entrenched in Northern Britain, particularly the Eastern Scottish border region. Leading on from this, she further suggests that Arthur's Camelot was the most recent Roman City to have been raised to the status of Ttibal capital, Luguvalium (Carlisle).

This appears to be based on the idea that the Caerleon of both Arthurian history and legend, was in fact merely a "City of the Legion" which should properly be identified with Carlisle. This is particularly indicated by Gildas' association of Saints Julius and Aaron with this latter city rather than, the more traditional, Caerleon. Added to this is a passage attached to some manuscripts of Nennius' Historia Brittonum which states that:

 

Arthur translated into Latin is "Terrible Bear" or "Iron Mallet", which destroyed the Molae Leonum".
 

This latter phrase, Molae Leonum, is sometimes translated as "Lion's Teeth," presumably referring to the Saxon menace. Professor Goodrich, however,  believes this to be Moles Llion which she translates as "Walls of the Waves". She suggests that this was an attempted translation of Caer-Ligualid, the British name for Carlisle, and that an alternative form would have been "Camelot" derived from Caer-Mallet or "Fort of the Hammerer," a name here recorded of Arthur.

 

Later Dark Age History: Bede recorded how St. Cuthbert visited Queen Lurminburg of Northumbria at a nunnery in Caer-Ligualid (Carlisle) in AD 685. The urban community there was controlled by a praepositus civitas. St. Cuthbert noted the city's high stone walls and he commented on a most remarkable fountain, indicating a functioning aqueduct existed at this date.

Modern Archaeology: Carlisle Castle stands just to the North of the city on high ground on the site of a probable Roman fort, and possible Dark Age stronghold. Archaeological investigation has revealed that timber structures, possibly of the 5th century, replaced Roman stone buildings on the same alignment at Blackfrairs Street. These were later abandoned in favour of a large hall-like building which cut across them.

 

Possible Interpretations and Criticism: The Carduel identification of Carlisle appears to be quite sound, despite attempts to associate it with Caerleon. Carlisle was the Roman Luguvalium, later Caer-Ligualid before contracting to Carluel - no doubt the form from which Chrétien's Carduel was taken. Despite the confusion over which city was the home-town of the British proto-martyrs, there is no evidence to suppose that all records of Caerleon really refer to Carlisle; and the late addition to Nennius is open to wide interpretation of which Professor Goodrich's is wholly convincing.

 

Caer-Ligualid (Carlisle) may well have become a major medieval city though, for it is also closely associated with the historical 6th century King Urien of North Rheged. Both archaeology and historical records indicate a thriving medieval community, possibly within the walled area of the old fort. It is possible that the town became an early Bishopric which survived the Anglo-Saxon transition. There are indications that St. Patrick's family later held positions in the Church nearby. Memories of these past glories would have led quite correctly to medieval Arthurian associations.

Conclusion: All Camelot's King Arthur's men need is Jordan Kavanaugh (Jill Hennessy, Queen of Buskers) singing with them.