Battle of Camlann
The Battle of Camlann (Welsh: Gwaith Camlan or Brwydr Camlan) is the legendary final battle of King Arthur, in which Arthur either died or was fatally wounded while fighting either alongside or against Mordred, who also perished. The original legend of Camlann, inspired by a purportedly historical event said to have taken place in the early 6th-century Britain, appears only in vague mentions found in several medieval Welsh texts dating since around the 10th century. The battle's much more detailed depictions have emerged since the 12th century, generally based on that of a catastrophic conflict described in the pseudo-chronicle Historia Regum Britanniae. The further greatly embellished variants originate from the later French chivalric romance tradition, in which it became known as the Battle of Salisbury, and include the 15th-century telling in Le Morte d'Arthur that remains popular today.
Etymology
The name may derive from a Brittonic *Cambo-landa ("crooked/twisting-enclosure" or "crooked/twisting open land"),[1] or (less likely) *Cambo-glanna ("crooked/twisting bank (of a river)"), as found in the name of the Roman fort of Camboglanna (Castlesteads) in Cumbria.[2][3][4]
Historicity
The earliest dateable reference to the battle is found in the 10th-century Welsh annals Annales Cambriae. An entry for the year 537 mentions the "strife of Camlann, in which Arthur and Medraut fell, and there was great mortality in Britain and Ireland."[a] This is also the first written mention of Medraut (the later Mordred), but it does not specify whether he and Arthur fought on the same side or who won the battle.[6]
However, most historians regard Arthur and the Battle of Camlann as legendary.[9][10] Nick Higham argued that, as Camlann is not mentioned in the list of Arthur's battles in the ninth-century Historia Brittonum, the source of the Annales Cambriae entry was probably an Old Welsh elegy or lament about a different Arthur, perhaps one listed in the genealogy of the kings of Dyfed.[11]
Legendary versions
Medieval Welsh tradition
Besides the Annales Cambriae, one of the earliest mentions of Camlann is found in the circa 9th/10th-century
The
Camlann is mentioned in Peniarth MS.37, a 14th-century copy of the Gwentian code of the Cyfraith Hywel (Welsh law), which (according to Peter Bartrum) shows that it was a topic familiar to Welsh writers. The law states "when the queen shall will a song in the chamber, let the bard sing a song respecting Camlan, and that not loud, lest the hall be disturbed." The 15th/16th-century poet Tudur Aled says that the battle came about through the treachery of Medrod and happened "about two nuts".[20] In the 13th/14th-century Welsh tale The Dream of Rhonabwy,[21] the immediate cause of the battle is a deliberate provocation by Arthur's rogue peace envoy named Iddawg (Iddawc Cordd Prydain) who intentionally insulted Medrawd.[22]
Chronicle tradition
Geoffrey of Monmouth included the Battle of Camlann in his pseudo-historical chronicle Historia Regum Britanniae, written circa 1136. Geoffrey's version drew on existing Welsh tradition, but embellished the account with invented details. His focus was not on individuals but the 'character of the British nation'.[23] In Books X and IX, Arthur goes to war against the Roman leader Lucius Tiberius, leaving his nephew Modredus (Mordred) in charge of Britain. In Arthur's absence, Modredus secretly marries Arthur's wife Guenhuvara (Guinevere) and takes the throne for himself. Arthur returns and his army faces Modredus' at Camblana (the River Camel in Cornwall). Many are killed, including Modredus; Arthur is mortally wounded and taken to the Isle of Avalon to recover, passing the crown to his kinsman Constantine.[15][24]
Geoffrey's work was highly influential, and was adapted into various other languages, including Wace's Anglo-Norman Roman de Brut (c. 1155), Layamon's Middle English Brut (early 13th century), and the Welsh Brut y Brenhinedd (mid-13th century). Various later works are based fairly closely on Geoffrey, including the Middle English Alliterative Morte Arthure, written around 1400.[25] The chronicle tradition typically follows Geoffrey in placing Camlann on the Camel in Cornwall: Wace places it at "Camel, over against the entrance to Cornwall,"[26] and Layamon specifies the location as Camelford,[27] where John Aubrey reports that as signs of the battle "pieces of armour both for horse and man are many times found in digging of the ground" in his Monumenta Britannica (1663–1693).[28] In Layamon's telling, only Arthur and his two nameless knights are left alive after the battle. Wace wrote: "I neither know who lost, nor who gained that day. No man wists the name of overthrower or of overthrown. All alike are forgotten, the victor with him who died."[29]
Romance tradition
Further traditions about Arthur's final battle are developed in the Arthurian chivalric romances. These often follow Geoffrey's blueprint, but alter many of the details. The legend shifts to the 'character of individuals' and the proposed adultery between Guinevere and Lancelot is first mentioned.[23]
In the Vulgate
This account of Arthur's last battle was adapted into many subsequent works of the period from 13th to 15th century, including the Old French
Avalon stories
In a popular motif, introduced by Geoffrey in Historia and elaborated in his later Vita Merlini,[35] Arthur was then taken from the battlefield of Camlann to Avalon, an often otherworldly and magical isle, in hope that he could be saved. Geoffrey has Arthur delivered to Morgen (Morgan le Fay) in Avalon by Taliesin guided by Barinthus, replaced by two unnamed women in the Brut. Later authors of the prose cycles featured Morgan herself (usually with two or more other ladies with her) arriving in a fairy boat to take the king away, the scene made iconic through its inclusion in Le Morte d'Arthur.
Some accounts, such as the Stanzaic Morte Arthur and the Alliterative Morte Arthure, as well as the commentary by Gerald of Wales,[36] declare that Arthur died in Avalon (identifying it as Glastonbury Tor) and has been buried there. Geoffrey gives only a hopeful possibility (but not assurance) for Arthur's wounds to be healed eventually, but a successful revival of Arthur by Morgan is stated as a fact in the rewrite of Geoffrey in the Gesta Regum Britanniae; Wace and Layamon also tell this did happen, claiming that Arthur is about to return. Other versions, like the Vulgate Mort Artu[37] and Malory's Le Morte d'Arthur,[38] do not give a definitive answer to Arthur's ultimate fate.
See also
Notes
References
- ^ Matasovic, Ranko, Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Celtic, Brill, 2009, p. 186; 232.
- ^ Jones, Thomas, "Datblygiadau Cynnar Chwedl Arthur", in: Bulletin of the Board of Celtic Studies, Vol 15, 1958, pp. 235-251 (p. 238).
- ^ Lacy, Norris J., Ashe, Geoffrey, Mancoff, Debra N. The Arthurian Handbook, Edition 2, Taylor & Francis, 1997, p. 16
- ^ Bromwich, Rachel. Trioedd Ynys Prydein: The Welsh Triads, University of Wales Press, 1961, p. 160.
- ^ "Camlan | Robbins Library Digital Projects". Retrieved 31 July 2018.
- ISBN 978-0-300-21092-7.
- )
- ^ Johnson, Flint. "Camlann and 537". researchgate.net. Retrieved 19 April 2021.
- ^ Tom Shippey, "So Much Smoke", review of Nicholas J. Higham, King Arthur: The Making of the Legend, 2018, London Review of Books, 40:24:23 (20 December 2018)
- Project MUSE 734087
- ^ Higham, King Arthur: The Making of the Legend, p. 225.
- ^ a b c Bartrum, Peter C., A Welsh classical dictionary : people in history and legend up to about A.D. 1000, The National library of Wales, 1993, pp. 109-111.
- ^ Bromwich and Evans, pp. 8, 85.
- ISBN 070831127X.
- ^ ISBN 9781851094400.
- ISBN 978-0-7524-4461-1.
- ISBN 9780470672372.
- ^ "The Welsh Triads (Siân Echard, University of British Columbia)". faculty.arts.ubc.ca. Retrieved 7 June 2018.
- ISBN 9781317341833.
- ^ Bartrum, Peter C., A Welsh classical dictionary : people in history and legend up to about A.D. 1000, The National library of Wales, 1993, pp. 109-111.
- ^ "The Dream Of Rhonabwy | Robbins Library Digital Projects". Retrieved 31 July 2018.
- ^ "Mordred | Robbins Library Digital Projects". Retrieved 31 July 2018.
- ^ S2CID 161872051.
- ^ Geoffrey of Monmouth. "British History". History of the Kings of Britain.
- ^ "Alliterative Morte Arthure, Part IV | Robbins Library Digital Projects". Retrieved 31 July 2018.
- ^ "The Death of Arthur [by Wace] | Robbins Library Digital Projects". Retrieved 31 July 2018.
- ^ "The Death of Arthur [by Layamon] | Robbins Library Digital Projects". Retrieved 31 July 2018.
- ISBN 978-0-902129-50-4.
- JSTOR 27870222.
- ^ "Mort Artu I". www.ancienttexts.org. Retrieved 31 July 2018.
- ISBN 9781843842309.
- ^ "Stanzaic Morte Arthur, Part 3 | Robbins Library Digital Projects". Retrieved 31 July 2018.
- ^ "Le Morte D'Arthur, Vol. II (of II) by Sir Thomas Malory". www.gutenberg.org. Retrieved 31 July 2018.
- ^ "Frequently Asked Questions about the Arthurian Legends | Robbins Library Digital Projects". Retrieved 31 July 2018.
- ^ "Vita Merlini: The Life of Merlin". www.maryjones.us. Retrieved 31 July 2018.
- ^ "The Tomb of King Arthur | Robbins Library Digital Projects". Retrieved 31 July 2018.
- ISBN 9781843842248.
- ^ Lynch, Andrew. “‘… ‘IF INDEED I GO’: ARTHUR’S UNCERTAIN END IN MALORY AND TENNYSON.” Arthurian Literature XXVII, pp. 19–32.
External links
- Camlan at The Camelot Project