The very name conjures up visions of chivalry and magic, romance and adventure. Back in the mists of time half way between history and myth there came man to lead his people to glory - Arthur.
Under the guidance of Merlin he drew the sword of destiny from the stone and won the crown.
In British legend, Camelot was the capital of the kingdom of King Arthur. Cadbury Castle in Somerset, an isolated Iron Age hill fort, is the site most often identified with Camelot. Archaeological evidence confirms that during the 6th century the fort was occupied by a powerful British warrior chieftain. However, local folklore advances alternative sites at Camelford in Cornwall and Winchester in Hampshire as the original Camelot.
Their stories have been recreated through centuries, from the poets and romancers of France and Germany through the poetry of Tennyson and the music drama of Wagner to successful stage and screen adaption.
Local tales and folklore are spread over a vast stretch of territory, from Scotland through Northern England and Wales to Cornwall, and extending also into Britanny, where a great part of the legend is thought to have originated.
Early chroniclers believed that the seat of Arthur's power was the famed town of Camelot, situated in the south-west. Modern research has shown that behind the figure of legend was a real person of considerable historical significance.
The south west of England possesses a powerful tradition of independence, a strain of mysticism taken from early Pagan times and modified by Christianity and a breathtaking combination of scenery and climate. This area was the home of a man of greatness and fighting prowess who became a folk-hero.
King Arthur is one of the greatest figures in English folklore. According to legend he lived in the late 5th and early 6th centuries at a time when Britain was the scene of the final bloody struggles for domination between the Romano-British Celts and the Saxon invaders. He is considered to have been the leader in the defence of the south-western homelands.
Arthur was a Christian warrior, and led a band of 28 knights, the legendary knights of the round table. One of these knights was Lancelot, whose love for the beautiful Guinevere, the wife of King Arthur is one of the best known Arthurian stories resulting in the break up of the round table.
A historian writes;
"In this time of winter and destruction, there were brave men among the Britons, who for many years held back the heathen Saxons, striving with might and wisdom to preserve their country, to maintain an orderly and decent system of government, to preserve town, church and villa, to rescue the beleaguered, and to bring peace to the land. Such a man was Arthur."
