Tintagel Castle
The dramatic, sea swept ruin of Tintagel Castle, on the Cornish coast, is steeped in the myths and legends of King Arthur and Merlin the magician.
The West Country and Wales are full of the legendary tales of King Arthur, his Knights of the Round Table and of course Merlin, with numerous locations supposedly pinpointed along this great saga. According to the legends, it all started here at Tintagel Castle.
Clinging precariously to the battered cliff edge, Tintagel Castle was the legendary birthplace of King Arthur, ‘the once and future King’. According to the tales, Uther Pendragon, Arthur’s father, was magically transformed into the body of a Cornish Prince so that he could enter Tintagel Castle and seduce the Prince’s wife. Arthur being the end product of the dubious deed went on to draw swords from stone, build Camelot (or Tintagel) his castle and establish the Knights of the Round Table, only to be mortally wounded by his evil stepson Mordred in the Battle of Camlan, by the River Camel in Bodmin. Arthur was then carried by Merlin to Avalon, or sailed to the Islands of the Blest, the Isles of Scilly and so the legend goes, will return again at Britain’s hour of need.
Most historians believe King Arthur was a 5th Century warrior who led the Celts of the West and Wales to victories against the Anglo-Saxon invaders. The current ruins of Tintagel Castle date from the 12th Century, built on the site of a 6th Century Celtic monastery. The stunning location of the ruins stretches across the mainland coastline and a steep rocky outcrop cut off and battered by the ocean, accessible only by bridge.
Bigger parts of the castle have fallen into the sea over the centuries as the nature forced its way into the stone. Speculations also say that Tintagel may have been a castle of the rulers of Dumnonia -a Brythonic kingdom of sub-Roman Britain consisting of what is nowadays known as Devon, Somerset and parts of Dorset. During this time a large defensive ditch was carved. This ditch is said to help Tintagle to its name - Din Tagell which can be translated as the fortress with a narrow entrance.
