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Sites and places associated with Arthurian legend

The following is a list and assessment of sites and places associated with King Arthur and the Arthurian legend in general. Given the lack of concrete historical knowledge about one of the most potent mythological figures in British mythology, it is unlikely that any definitive conclusions about any of the claims for these places will ever be established, nevertheless it is both interesting and important to try and evaluate the body of evidence which does exist and examine it critically. The earliest reference to Arthur is in the Gododdin of the 6th century; while his fame may have mightily increased in the intervening years, the facts about his life have become increasingly less discernible.

Table of contents
1 Camelot
2 Avalon
3 Reputed Arthurian battle sites
4 Places with other associations to Arthurian legend

Camelot

Places which vie for contention as the location of Camelot include

Avalon

At Glastonbury on the queer,
They made Artourez toumbe there,
And wrote with latyn vers thus,
Hic jacet Arturus, rex quondam, rexque futurus
(Here lies Arthur, the once and future king).

Glastonbury is conceived of as the legendary island of Avalon, the word Avalon itself being an anglicised corruption of the Celtic "Annwn", the Celtic twilight world of faerie. An early Welsh story links Arthur to the Tor in an account of a conflict between Arthur and the Celtic king, Melwas, who was said to have kidnapped Arthur's wife Queen Guinevere. In 1191, monks at the Abbey claimed to have found the graves of Arthur and Guinevere to the south of the Lady Chapel of the Abbey church, which was visited by a number of contemporary historians including Giraldus Cambrensis. The remains were later moved, and lost during the Reformation. Many scholars suspect that this discovery was a pious forgery to substantiate the antiquity of Glastonbury's foundation, and increase its renown.

A cross was extant in Wells until the 18th century, not far from Glastonbury, on which were inscribed the Latin words HIC IACET SEPULTUS INCLITUS REX ARTURUS IN INSULA AVALONIA (trans. "Here lies interred the renowned King Arthur in the Isle of Avalon"). The fate of the cross is unknown.

Reputed Arthurian battle sites

(The first twelve are from a list preserved in the Historia Brittonum)

Places with other associations to Arthurian legend