Arthurian Court

Some additional information concerning Arthur's courts and his household staff.

• Arthur's Residences

• Court Staff

• Christian Feasts

• Canonical Hours

Arthur's Residences

In medieval romances, Arthur didn't have just one castle. He resided in many, depending on the seasons. Some of these castles existed during a time when the Romans had built fortresses and towns throughout England, Wales, and Cornwall. Others are known to have existed only during the time of the Norman period.

Site	Welsh Name	Roman Name	Location
Caerleon on Usk, City of the Legions	Caer Llion ar Wysg	Isca Silurum, Isca	Monmouthshire, Wales
Camelot			near Caerleon, Wales?
Cardiff	Caerdydd, Caerdyv		Glamorgan (Morgannwg), Wales
Carmarthen	Caer Vyriddin	Moridunum	Gwynedd, Wales
Caernarvon, Caernarfon	Caer Seint yn Arvon	Segontium	Gwynedd, Wales
Cardigan	Keredigyawn, Aberteifi (modern)		Ceredigion (formerly Cardiganshire), Wales
Tintagel			Cornwall
Carlisle, Carduel	Caerleil	Luguvallium	Cumberland
Bath	Caer Vaddon, Baddon, Mons Badon?	Aquae Sulis	Somerset
Winchester		Venta Belgarum, Venta	Hampshire, Wessex
London	Caer Lludd, Caer Llundein, Lundein, Lwndrwys	Londinium Lurdenbryg (Saxon)
York		Eboracum	(North) Yorkshire, Northumbria
Chester		Deva	Cheshire

According to the Welsh traditions and early Arthurian authors like Geoffrey of Monmouth, the castle of Caerleon in Wales was his capital, not Camelot. The Welsh called it Caer Llion, while Geoffrey called it the City of Legions. Geoffrey said that when Arthur established an empire in western Europe, he made the City of Legions his plenary court, where he ruled this empire from. This was also the court, according to Wace, where Arthur constructed the Round Table.

According to several romances written by the French poet Chretien de Troyes (flourished in c. 1165-1182), Arthur's resided in the castles of Cardigan, Carlisle (Carduel in French) and Camelot.

The first appearance of Camelot in Arthurian literature came from Le Chevalier à la charrette ("Knight of the Cart" or "Lancelot"), a medieval romance created by Chretien de Troyes in c. 1175. According to Chretien, Camelot was located not too far from Caerleon. He didn't mention it as Arthur's capital, but it was one of the king's many residences (castles). Camelot didn't become Arthur's main castle until the later romances of the 13th century and afterwards, in such works as the Vulgate romances (1227-1235).

Scholars, historians and archaeologists have tried to establish the location of Camelot. Most modern experts are in favour of Winchester in Hampshire, though there are some who say it is Caerleon, or Cadbury Castle in Somerset. Because of the similarity in names, some would say it is located in Camelford in Cornwall or Queen Camel in Somerset. Personally, I think that Camelot was just an invention of Chretien de Troyes, which other writers had elaborated on.

The main importance of Tintagel, in Cornwall, was that Arthur was born in this castle. Fragments of luxury pottery dated to the 5th to 7th centuries AD have been discovered at Tintagel, showing that there was indeed some kind of fort and center of trade there during Arthur's day. There was also a Celtic abbey built in the late Roman or early post-Roman period.

Tintagel was the scene of Arthur's conception, where Merlin used his magic to allow King Uther Pendragon to seduce Igraine, wife of Duke Gorlois of Cornwall.

Carmarthen was best known as the place where Merlin was born. It seemed that this was castle Vortigern had tried to build, but kept falling down. Merlin established Carmarthen as his own residence, calling it Caer Myriddin or "Fortress of Myrddin" (Merlin).

Arthur also resided in Bath, Winchester, London, Cardiff (in Wales), and a whole lot of places throughout England. Some of writers even said that he lived in Brittany as well.

Below are other notable castles which were not residences of Arthur but do deserve mentioning. These sites were important in medieval times, and many also have connections to Roman Britain.

Site	Welsh Name	Roman Name	Location
Canterbury		Durdvernum	Kent
Rochester		Durobrivae	Kent
Colchester		Camulodunum	Essex
St. Albans		Verulamium	Hertfordshire
Lincoln		Lindum	Lincolnshire
Oxford		Oxnaford (Saxon)	Oxfordshire
Cambridge		Durolipons	Cambridgeshire
Gloucester		Glevum	Gloucestershire (capital of Mercia kingdom)
Silchester		Calleva	Hampshire
Leicester		Ratae	Leicestershire
Doncaster		Danum	South Yorkshire
Brough		Petuaria
Manchester		Mamucium	Greater Manchester
Carlisle		Luguvalium, Luguvallium	Cumbria
South Shield		Arbeia
Newcastle		Pons Aelius	Tyne and Wear; Northumberland
Exeter		Isca, Isca Dumnoniorum	Devon
Salisbury Plain?	Camlann		Wiltshire
Glastonbury			Somerset
St. Michael's Mount	Mynyw	Icitis	Cornwall
Neath		Nidum	West Glamorgan, Wales
Llandovery		Alabum	Wales
Llania		Bremia	Wales
Caer Sws		Mediomanum	Wales
Caerhun		Canovium	Wales
Anglesey	Môn		(Island)
Edinburgh	Dun Eideann (Gaelic)		Scotland
Glasgow	Glaschu (Gaelic)		Scotland
Inchthuthil		Pinnata Castra	Scotland

Court Staff

In any medieval kingdom, a ruler usually had a number of staff to serve him, some in the household and others in a military capacity. Arthur's court was no exception to this rule.

Below is a shot list of Arthur's personal staff. Most of these staff have titles of their own, and many of them also served as Arthur's knights.

Name	Position
Merlin	Adviser, sorcerer
Sir Kay	Seneschal
Sir Bedivere (Bedevere)	Cupbearer and constable
Sir Lucan	Butler and wine steward
Sir Ulfin (Ulfius)	Chamberlain (had also served Uther)
Sir Brastias	Warden (had also served Uther)
Sir Baudwin of Britain	Constable and viceroy
Bretel
Daguenet (Danguenes, Dagonet)	Fool
Niniane (Lady of the Lake)	Occasional adviser
Archbishop of Canterbury	Spiritual adviser and bishop

Among these staff, Ulfin or Ulfius and Sir Brastias actually first served Uther Pendragon, the father of Arthur, before they served Arthur himself.

Merlin and Niniane were not actually members of Arthur's staff, but they did act as his advisers on occasion.

Merlin came and went in Arthur's court, but when he wasn't needed, the wizard was never around. Merlin sometimes acted as an adviser or guide to Arthur's knights during their adventures. When Merlin was not around Arthur or any knights, he usually went to Blaise, his old friend, chronicler and master.

It was only in the Post-Vulgate Suite du Merlin ("Merlin Continuation", c. 1240) or Thomas Malory's Le Morte d'Arthur (1469) that Niniane or Nimue appeared as Arthur's adviser and protector, after she had confined Merlin. And that was only to disrupt the plots and enchantment of Morgan le Fay against her brother. Niniane saved Arthur's life twice.

Another person who was not actually a member of the staff, was the Archbishop of Canterbury. As far as I can tell, the Archbishop had no name.

Welsh Tradition

Arthur also appeared in a few pieces of Welsh literature, such as some tales from the Mabinogion and in the Welsh Triads, which supplied different names for the people who served in Arthur's household. There were actually a lot more names in this tradition. Most of the names found here come from various Welsh sources.

Welsh Name	English or French Name	Position
Caradawg Strong Arm		Chief adviser
Kei (Cei)	Sir Kay	Seneschal
Bedwyr	Sir Bedivere (Bedevere)	Cupbearer and constable
Gwrhyr		Interpreter of languages.
Kynddilig		Guide
Talyssin	Taliesin	Chief bard
Menw fab Teirgwaedd		Sorcerer or druid?
Morgan Tud		Chief physician
Cadyryeith		Chamberlain
Amren		Chamberlain
Amhar		Chamberlain
Goreu		Chamberlain
Glewlwyd Gaafaelfawr ("Strong Grip")		Chief gatekeeper.
Huandaw		Other gatekeepers of Arthur
Gogigwr		Other gatekeepers of Arthur
Llaesgymyn		Other gatekeepers of Arthur
Penpingyon		Other gatekeepers of Arthur
Gryn		Other gatekeepers of Arthur
Gogyvwlch		Other gatekeepers of Arthur
Gwrddnei Cat Eye		Other gatekeepers of Arthur
Drem		Other gatekeepers of Arthur
Clust		Other gatekeepers of Arthur
Madawg		Forester of Dean
Rhyverys		Master of the Hounds
Elivri		Head Groom
Gwyn Llogell Gwyr		Magistrate
Odyar the Frank		Court steward
Ysgyrdav & Ysgudydd		two servants of Gwenhwyfar

Christian Feasts

Often in Arthurian literature, any feast held at one of Arthur's castles was usually held on a particular Christian feast day.

Below is a list of Christian feasts that often occurred in the legends.

Feast	Date	Description
New Year	January 1
Candlemas	February 2	The purification of the Virgin Mary in the Temple, 40 days after giving birth to Jesus. The day is observed with lighted candles.
Lent	Between Ash Wednesday and Holy Saturday.	40-day period of fasting to commemorate the days Jesus spent in the wilderness. In the Western churches, it begins on Ash Wednesday and ends on Holy Saturday (or Easter Vigil).
Palm Sunday	Sunday before Easter.	Also known as Passion Sunday. Commemorates the day of Jesus' entry into Jerusalem.
Good Thursday	Thursday before Easter.	Day of the Last Supper, also known as Holy Communion or Eucharist.
Good Friday	Friday before Easter.	Day of Christ's crucifixion.
Holy Saturday	Day before Easter.	Also known as Easter Vigil. The last day of Lent. The day is celebrated by tolling bells and lighting fires.
Easter Sunday	1st Sunday on or after spring equinox.	Day of Christ's resurrection. Originally called Pascha.
Ascension	40th day after Easter.	Ascension of Christ to heaven.
Pentecost (Whitsunday)	50th day after Easter.	Descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles.
Christmas	December 25	Day of Jesus' birth.

Canonical Hours

The canonical hours were used frequently to distinguish the hours of the day in Arthurian literature. It was widely used in Western medieval Europe to mark the divisions of the day. Each of these canonical "hours" lasted for an interval of three hours.

matins	1st hour	before daybreak
prime	2nd hour	6 AM
terce	3rd hour	9 AM
sext	4th hour	noon
none	5th hour	3 PM
vespers (evensong)	6th hour	6 PM
compline	7th hour	before retiring for the night