In Celtic and British mythology, camelot has proved to be a central part of the Arthurian legend, as important in its way as Excalibur, Merlin or Arthur himself. Camelot has managed to capture the imagination of countless generations, and even today continues to be portrayed in the likes of the recent BBC series Merlin, as well as the film, the Last Legion. Known as the home of Arthur, Camelot is the heart of Britain, although there is a lot of complexity about its role and story.

Today Camelot is portrayed as the democratic centre of Britain, where the Knights of the Round Table hold council to determine laws and pass judgements. It was also the centre of Chivalry, where jousts were held and where knights would set off on their quests. It is also a religious centre for the kingdom, the knights are baptised, Arthur and Guinevere are wed there and it also houses the impressive St Stephen’s cathedral. The cathedral itself is said to be just one element of impressive architecture housed within a high defensive city wall. It is also a romantic setting, and the tales of forest, river, meadows and surrounding plain have enabled countless artists to paint their own interpretations of Camelot.

The history and lifeline of Camelot is actually a bit confused and depends a great deal on the source being read from. The earliest days of Camelot are said to be just after the death of Christ when King Agrestes was in power in the city. Agrestes though was not a good king like Arthur, and was punished by god for persecuting the son of Joseph of Arimathea. Prior to Arthur Camelot is also said to have belong to the father of Perceval, Alain le Gros. Alternative sources though also say how no other king held residence in Camelot and that it was used by Arthur alone, with no predecessors or successors taking residence there. Camelot is then said to have been destroyed after the Battle of Camlann by King Mark of Cornwall, the uncle to the knight Tristan.

There is though a slight problem with Camelot even being in British versions of the legend of King Arthur as the earliest tales do not mention Camelot at all, it only appears in French versions of the story. The first brief appearance is in the work of Chrretien de Troyes in 1170s when he undertakes a poem “Lancelot, the Knight of the Cart”. The thirteen century finally sees an uptake in popularity of Camelot in French manuscripts, a cause eventually taken up in 15th century Britain with the work of Thomas Malory, from which all subsequent works seem to take their lead.

The earliest British stories of King Arthur do not mention Camelot at all. The prominent British source for Arthurian legend is the work of Geoffrey of Monmouth as undertaken in his twelfth century works, “Historia Regum Britanniae” (The History of the Kings of Britain) and “Vita Merlini” Merlin’s Life). Geoffrey himself holds that Caerlon is Arthur’s seat of power, and also the site of Guinevere’s convent. Caerlon was the location of a Roman fort in a defendable site next to the River Usk in Gwent.

If Camelot though is the true home to Arthur there is still strong debate held into possible locations for the castle and town. An Italian poet Faxio degli Uberti claimed that he was able to visit the remains of Camelot in the 14th century, but fails to pinpoint where those ruins were, so others have made their best guesses. The guesses range from Winchester, an ancient Wessex capital, which did have its own Round Table, to the old Roman capital of Colchester. Colchester is actually a more plausible possibility as the Roman name for Colchester was Camulodunum, at least somewhat close to the name Camelot. Most people though look to the West of England for possible sites. Camelford, the Cornish town is put forward because of the close proximity of names, although this would have put it in the domain of King Mark of Cornwall. Further north though Cadbury Castle in Somerset has been a popular possibility since 1542. Cadbury Castle is close enough to the River Cam and the towns of West Camel and Queen Camel to give some credence to a link, although no archeologically remains date far enough back.

Is it necessary to find the site of Camelot? In my opinion Camelot may be a utopian place of law and order, and as such there is no need to prove its existence or exact location, myths survive because of the absence of fact not because they have been proved beyond all reasonable doubt.