The Mammoth Book of King Arthur (94 page)

Benwick
or
Benoic.
The kingdom of Lancelot’s father, Ban, in France. There is a Benwick in Britain, near March in Cambridgeshire, but that name was
originally
Beymwich,
which probably meant the “farm by the tree trunk”, and it is an unlikely site for Lancelot’s home. Another suggested site is Bannock near Stirling,
site of the battle of Bannockburn. This derives from the
Celtic
Bannog
, for the peaked hill from which the burn flows. This may indeed have attracted the eye of the
French, but the answer may be more prosaic than that. Littleton and Malcor make the point that Benwick or Banwick simply means the “wick” or farm/land of Ban, which is self-descriptive.
Loomis believed that Ban de Benoic is a French version of Bran le Benoit, meaning Bran the Blessed. Either way Benwick is simply a descriptive placename and not a territory at all. There was an
ancient castle at Banvou in Normandy that may have helped prompt the connection.
See also
Gannes.

Bregwyn.
The site of Arthur’s eleventh battle, possibly an alternative name for Agned.
See
High Rochester and Leintwardine.

Brocéliande.
The ancient forest of central Brittany, famous for being where Merlin spent his final days with Nimuë and where he now lies entombed. Lancelot
also spent his youth here at the lake at Comper. Wace, when writing his history, thought he ought to check out the forest but saw nothing. “A fool I returned; a fool I went,” he wrote.
All that now remains of the great old forest is the Forêt de Paimpont, between Rennes and Ploërmel. The Tomb of Merlin is on the north side near Comper.
See also
Forest of Dean
(Gloucester).

Cameliard.
The home of Guenevere and her father Leodegrance. Although this is usually placed in Cornwall (with links to the river Camel), Guenevere’s home was
traditionally in Wales at Knucklas (
see entry
). Just west of Knucklas is a mountainous region called Maelienydd and it has been suggested that the fortress at Knucklas may also have been
known as Caer Maelienydd, which became Cameliard.

Camelot.
The name of Arthur’s principle castle and perhaps the most famous name in all Arthuriana. It first appeared in Chrétien de Troyes’s story
about Lancelot,
Le Chevalier de la Charrete
, written around 1177. He stated that Arthur “had left Caerleon and held a most magnificent court at Camelot”, but otherwise gave no
location. Not all of the French or German romancers mention Camelot, preferring Carduel. Most British sources list Caerleon, Gelliwig or Carlisle as Arthur’s main courts. It was Malory who
popularised Camelot and he is specific that it was Winchester (Book
xii
, Chapter
x
, Caxton edition), but he was
only following the mood of the day when Edward IV
promoted Winchester’s Arthurian connections. Curiously Caxton, in his introduction to Malory’s text, said that Camelot was in Wales and that “divers now living hath seen”
its great stones and marvellous works. Since Chrétien had distinguished between Camelot and Caerleon, Caxton was probably referring to Caerwent, where the old Roman town was still visible.
Barber and Pykitt suggest that the town of Llanmelin, which is almost part of Caerwent, may originally have been called Caermelin, which could have corrupted into Camelot.

Sixty years after Caxton’s printing, John Leland identified Camelot with Cadbury Castle in Somerset, with its neighbouring villages of Queen Camel and West Camel. That has remained a
popular site ever since, with circumstantial support coming from Alcock’s archaeological survey in the late 1960s.

The name Camelot may have been derived from the Roman Camulodunum, modern-day Colchester. There is no evidence to suggest an Arthurian presence in Essex, least of all in any area close to the
Germanic settlements, though it does appear that a British enclave subsisted into the fifth century around London and Essex. Nevertheless sub-Roman Colchester was never as resplendent as Caerwent
or Wroxeter, the Roman Viriconium in Shropshire, which was the largest and most significant Roman town to see continued occupation throughout the fifth century. Both these towns, but especially
Wroxeter, could have been sufficiently splendid during these violent times to be remembered as something special.

Camelford in Cornwall and Camelon near Falkirk have both been suggested solely on the similarity of the name. Camelford has no known building to support the claim. At Camelon, the Roman town was
called Caermawr. No northern town was sufficiently beyond the battle zone to have been allowed to develop into a place of any appreciable luxury. If Camelot were meant to represent a specific place
(and not just Chrétien’s invention), it would need to be in the south and west, and not too far from Caerleon. Caerwent and Wroxeter would be the best possibilities, with Cadbury a
close third.

Camlann.
Arthur’s final battle. Several sites have been suggested, all of which are discussed in Chapter 7.
See
separate entries on River Cam (Somerset) and
Camlan (Gwynedd).

Carduel.
At the start of
Yvain
, Chrétien refers to Arthur’s court at “Carduel en Gales”. This is usually translated
as Carlisle, or
Caer Luel
, with Wales interpreted as covering all of the old British territories in western Britain. Marie de France also uses the name Carduel in her
lai
,
Lanval
, and it came to feature regularly in the French romances. The name may be related to Kerduel in Brittany, just north of Lannion, where there is an ancient château. It has been
suggested that the Breton name derives from the holy man Tudual, but this seems unlikely. Tudual’s monastery was at Tréguier, which is not too far from Kerduel, and there was no need
for Tudual to have a separate hermitage.

Castle of Maidens.
Another name for Mount Agned, according to Geoffrey of Monmouth; he was almost certainly referring to Edinburgh Castle.

Celidon.
In Nennius’s battle list the Forest of Celidon is noted as the site of Arthur’s seventh battle. This is usually interpreted as the Caledonian Forest
in the Scottish Borders, but there are other suggestions.

Celliwig, Gelliwig
or
Kelliwic.
See
Celliwic
under
Gwent.

Corbenic.
The best known of the many names for the Grail Castle. The name is derived from the Old French
Cor Benit
, meaning “blessed horn”, an allusion
to the Horn of Plenty, clearly linking the Grail legend to the old Celtic beliefs. Since the Grail Castle is really not of this world but a halfway house to the Otherworld, it does not have an
earthly counterpart and the castle meant something different to different romancers. Something that began as symbolic of Jerusalem later symbolised the Vatican but on a spiritual plane.
See
also
Avalon.

Dolorous Garde
or
Joyeuse Garde.
The name of Lancelot’s Castle. We are told in the Prose
Lancelot
that this is on the Humber, but that is most
unlikely. Malory suggested either Bamburgh or Alnwick, doubtless drawing upon tradition. Another suggestion is Edinburgh’s Castle Rock, which Geoffrey of Monmouth, who believed it to be the
site of the Castle of the Maidens, called Dolorous Mountain. Lancelot captures the castle from Brian/Brandin of the Isles, and there was a historical Brian of the Isles who held at different times
Peveril Castle
(see
Castleton) and Knaresborough Castle, both of which were major
castles at this time. Regardless of where the author intended it to be in Britain,
it’s possible that he had in mind a French castle. He may have used the Humber as the closest English equivalent to the great French estuary of the Gironde, just north of which, in the much
rockier Charonne valley, was the once-impregnable castle of Taillebourg, where Eleanor of Aquitaine and Louis VII spent their wedding night. Forty years later its lord, Geoffrey de Rançon,
was in rebellion against Richard, Duke of Aquitaine (the future Richard the Lionheart). Taillebourg was believed safe because it was hemmed in on three sides by mountains and the fourth side was
well defended, but in a siege of a little over a week in July 1179 Richard captured the castle. It could well have been this remarkable victory that the author reworked into his story, portraying
Richard as the new Lancelot. There is a Château de Joyeuse-Garde in Brittany along the Elorn Valley in la Forest-Landernau east of Brest. The buildings, of which only an arch and foundations
remain, date from the eleventh century; it was probably renamed after Lancelot’s castle.

Dubglas.
The site of four of Arthur’s battles, according to Nennius. There are many suggested sites under names the Douglas, Dulas or Blackwater.

Escalot,
see
Astolat.

Gannes.
The kingdom of Lancelot’s uncle Bors, and adjacent to Benwick. It is situated in France and most agree that Bors or Bohors of Gannes was a corruption of
Gohors of Galles, who appears in the earlier Breton
Lay de Corn.
Galles is Wales, but may have been mistaken for Gaul. So Gannes is really a corruption based on an error for Gaul/France.

Glein.
The site of Arthur’s first battle, according to Nennius. There are several suggested sites,
see
Lancaster, Doddington, Wootton and Spalding.

Gorre
or
Gore.
A kingdom ascribed to both Urien and Bagdemagus. It is also variously described as being surrounded by water, and accessible only by an underwater
bridge and a sword bridge, as being near Bath and as being on the borders of Scotland, and near Sugales. Clearly there is some confusion here as well as perhaps both a metaphysical association and
a geographical one. Loomis believed Gorre was symbolic of the Otherworld, but I suspect it was more prosaic than that. On the basis
that Sugales means South Wales, some have
suggested that Gorre is the Gower Peninsula in Glamorgan. The name is derived from
gwyr
, meaning hooked or curved. However, Urien’s kingdom was Rheged, but it also extended to the Isle
of Man. In Chrétien’s time the former ruler of Man, Godred, was known as Old Gorry and, by extension, the name included the Isle of Man.

Guinnion.
The site of Arthur’s eighth battle.
See
Stow (Borders), Binchester and Llanarmon.

Joyeuse Garde,
see
Dolorous Garde.

Kynke Kenadon.
The castle “upon the sands that marched nigh Wales”, according to Malory, who has Arthur hold court here in the story of Beaumains (Caxton
edition, book
vii
). It is usually identified with Caernarvon (Gwynedd), though it has been linked with Kyneton in Radnorshire even though that town has no shore.

Linnuis.
The region of four of Arthur’s battles at the River Dubglas, according to Nennius. The location is often interpreted as Lindsey in Lincolnshire, but there
are other interpretations, such as Ilchester.

Listinoise
or
Listineise.
The name of the Grail kingdom ruled by King Pellam, also called the Land of the Two Marches. Inasmuch as the Grail Castle, Corbenic, has
no earthly counterpart, then neither does Listinoise. The name is sometimes translated as
Llys-yn-Nord
, a strange Norman-Welsh version of “castle of the north”, but it could as
easily be
Llys-y-nos
, “Castle of the Night” or, allowing for a clever play on words,
Llys-y-Nesu.
“Nesu”, depending on its use, can mean to draw near or to
move further away, an ideal description for the Grail lands.

Lyonesse.
The kingdom of Tristan that was swallowed beneath the waves. Mordred is also alleged to have escaped here after Camlann. Tradition places it between the coast
of Cornwall and the Scilly Isles but other versions make the Scilly Isles the remnants of Lyonesse or make Lyonesse closer to home and submerged beneath Mounts Bay off Penzance, with St.
Michael’s Mount being all that remains. Lyonesse was of sufficient size that it had 140 churches. There is a story that a terrific storm on New Year’s Eve 1099 flooded lands off
Cornwall and there was only one survivor. It has been estimated that if the sea level dropped by 10m then the Scilly Isles of Tresco, Bryher and Samson would
become one island
again, but with current sea-level changes this level would have been four thousand years ago. There is apparently a record that in the time of the Emperor Magnus Maximus the Scillies were referred
to as one island. There are reports of other drowned lands around Britain’s coast, especially in Cardigan Bay, and, as discussed in Chapter 8, survivors from these lands were supposed to be
at Arthur’s Court. There is a similar legend about the lost land of Ker-Ys off the coast of Brittany.

Pen Rhionydd.
Identified in the first of the Welsh Triads as one of Arthur’s three tribal thrones. The other two, at Celliwic and St David’s, have been
identified but Pen Rhionydd has caused problems, especially as it is said to be “in the north”. Rachel Bromwich, in her translation of the Triads, suggests that it was the Rhinns of
Galloway, making the connection with St Kentigern, who is listed as the Chief Bishop of Pen Rhionydd. I suspect that the Triad had itself drawn upon corrupt data and that “in the north”
meant North Wales. I believe than Pen Rhionydd is the headland above Morfa Rhianedd, which are the sands (now a golf course) at Llandudno. Pen Rhionydd was the site of the court of Deganwy. The
matter is discussed in detail in Chapter 8.

Sarras.
Yet another version of the gateway to the Otherworld. Although described as a city of the Saracens (hence Sarras), it was from here that Galahad and the Grail
were received to heaven. It was really a spiritual counterpart of Jerusalem. The king of Sarras is Evelach or Evelake, the name being a corruption of Afallach, which later formed into Avalon.

Senauden
or
Sinadon.
This name occurs three times in different romances written in the 1190s. Firstly in
Le Bel Inconnu
, Renaud de Beaujeu has
Gawain’s son Guinglain come here after he has fought a knight and fallen in love with a fey on the Golden Isle. Here it is described as a Waste City and Guinglain has to fight a ghost. Later,
in one of the Continuations of Chrétien’s story of the Grail, Perceval states that he was born in Sinadon. In Chrétien’s story he was raised in the wilds of Wales but the
details of his birth are kept secret. Finally in Bèroul’s version of
Tristan
Iseult sends her squire Perinis to find King Arthur and he learns that he is at Sinadon, where the
Round Table “rotates like the Earth”. The last is all too frequently translated as Stirling (suggested by William of Worcester in the 15
^th
century), a most
unlikely site since Perinis travels there from Caerleon in a relatively short time. Renaud’s description of the Waste City admirably suits Segontium, the old Roman fort at
Caernarvon, which many have suggested is Sinadon because of the phonetic similarity to Snowdon and because Guinglain’s adventures reflect local folklore. The name Sinadon would have meant
something to the Crusaders, because it was the name of a Christian temple built at Epidavros on the Argolid coast of the Greek Peloponnese in the 12th/13th centuries. The name may have been picked
up by the Crusaders and adapted by the French romancers only remotely familiar with British sites. However, there is another site which may be more appropriate and link in with Renaud’s
reference to the Golden Isle. Just south of Dorchester in Oxfordshire is an Iron Age fort on an area known now as Wittenham Clumps but once called the Sinodun Hills. Dorchester had been a Roman
city, deserted in the fifth century but soon occupied by the Saxons. Some of the earliest Romano-British cemeteries are in the area. It was over a century, though, before a new Dorchester started
to rise from the ruins and there may have been orally transmitted memories of the ghost town of Dorchester. The French may have confused the Welsh
Dor
, which meant “walled town”
with the French
d’or
, meaning “of gold”. Dorchester was virtually an island in those days, ringed on three sides by the Thames and on the fourth by small streams, so it may
well have been a Golden Isle to the French.