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Is Tintagel in Cornwall King Arthur's Birthplace?
Tintagel is a rugged headland, surrounded
by crashing waves, that stands at the end of a narrow isthmus on the
north Cornwall coast. It really has to be seen to be believed.
Most of the castle remains we can see today were built around 1240 AD by
Earl Richard of Cornwall. Earl Richard may have been inspired to build
upon this wild and windswept rocky headland by Geoffrey of Monmouth, who
was patronised by Earl Richard's brother.
Though it is always said that
King Arthur was born at Tintagel, early
literary sources only ever actually say that he was conceived there. But
there is no doubt in the minds of many that he was connected with the
castle.
Way back in 1139 AD
Geoffrey of Monmouth, in his Histories of the
Kings of Britain, tells us of King Arthur's association with
Tintagel Castle.
According to Geoffrey,
Duke Gorles of Tintagel lived at the castle. One Easter, Gorles took his young wife,
Igraine, to the court
of his high-king of Britain, Uther Pendragon, in London. Uther became
madly infatuated with the beautiful Igraine and determined to have her
for his own. Gorles noted warily the conspicuous attention paid by the
King to his wife, Igraine, and, when he could, he and his wife returned
to Cerniw or Cornwall.
But Uther was childless, and he had not
given up hope of capturing Igraine. So he summoned
Merlin, a man with
strange and secret powers of prophecy, to help him in his quest. Merlin
saw his opportunity to have begotten a king of his own choosing and who
would benefit from his wise counsel, so he made a deal with Uther.
Merlin promised to give Igraine to Uther, if Uther would give the son
that came from their union to Merlin. Uther consented and swore an oath
by the four Evangelists.
Upon being suddenly summoned back to court, Gorles refused
to return. Suddenly, to his dismay, his lands were being invaded by his
high-king. To
 safeguard his queen, he had Igraine locked away in the
impregnable fortress of Tintagel.
Gorles himself defended his nearby
stronghold of Dimilioc. Uther, meanwhile, persuaded his Merlin to
transform him into the likeness of Gorles. Using this disguise, he
slipped into Tintagel Castle without let or hindrance.
Deceived Igraine
was seduced by Uther that night in her bower. And upon that night, the future King Arthur was
conceived. The next day Gorles was killed in battle. Uther and Igraine
quickly became husband and wife. Soon Arthur would be born. The child
was given to Merlin. Merlin passed the baby in arms to Sir Ector, whose
wife took the youngster to her breast, and a holy man baptised him, and
they called him Arthur. Was Arthur born at Tintagel, and did he
live or stay at the Castle?
What is the historical and archaeological
evidence to suggest that Arthur was born at Tintagel?
What is the historical and archaeological
evidence to suggest that Arthur was born at Tintagel?
Of course,
Geoffrey of
Monmouth was writing in part to
please Reginald, who was the brother of his patron Robert. Reginald had
a castle at Tintagel, and the new found celebrity status of the castle
can have done him no harm. However, one could equally say that Geoffrey
became interested in Tintagel because of his patron's connections to the
place.
The majority of Tintagel Castle as we see it today was built by
Prince
Richard, Earl of Cornwall, in the 1230's. But an earlier castle was
constructed here by Earl Reginald around 1141. The reason this latter
Earl of Cornwall may have built the castle is that he was brother to
Geoffrey of Monmouth's patron, Prince Robert, Earl of Gloucester.
So
perhaps Geoffrey included this story of Arthur's conception at Tintagel
to win his patron's family's favour. However, Earl Reginald may just as
likely to have built the castle to capitalise on the prestige engendered
by Geoffrey's extremely popular book. Geoffrey sowed he idea that Arthur
was linked intimately to Tintagel. So in 1478, William of Worcester
first recorded that King Arthur was born at Tintagel.
It ought to be fairly straight-forward to date the origins of the
castle, and to see when it was built and occupied, but that has not been
the case. Extensive excavations undertaken by Radford and his team on Tintagel Island in the 1930's revealed that there was indeed Dark Age
monastic occupation around Tintagel Castle, which might support the
Arthurian legendary association with the place.
Just over twenty
rectangular stone buildings were uncovered along terraces on the eastern
slopes of this promontory, and on the plateau
 around the
Castle Chapel
(dedicated to St.Juliot).
The discovery of huge quantities of 5th and
6th century Mediterranean pottery amongst these ruins led to their being
dated to this period. There was more pottery than the total haul from
all other Dark Age sites in Britain: huge Tunisian oil jars,
Carthaginian dishes, Aegean amphorae and distinctive Byzantine jars.
The
enormous amount of expensive pottery imported to the site from the
Eastern Mediterranean indicates that it was ruled by an important chief
with access to large amounts of tradable commodities of his own,
probably Cornish tin. A man such as Duke Gorles or King Mark of Cornwall
would surely both fit the bill.
Such an extraordinary and extensive Dark
Age palace could have been the summer residence of the kings of
Cornwall
and Dumnonia. Though their main feasting hall has not yet been located,
it could possibly lay beneath the ruins of the later medieval castle.
The later chapel may originally have been a secular building, though the
early dedication to King Brychan of Brycheiniog's son, St. Juliot alias
Iltud probably indicates it was always the Dumnonian royal chapel.
So it
now seemed that this castle was occupied by a rich and powerful lord in
the age of Arthur, and this supports the story of Arthur's conception at
Tintagel.
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