lore-of-the-land

[lore-of-the-land]

Camelot and King Arthur, Part 1

Or, more rightly, Where The Fuck Did King Arthur Actually Have Camelot

So there's a generally accepted theory that Arthur as a mythological figure is essentially a mishmash of lots of different leaders and kings of the period who all kind of coalesced into one guy, Arthur, High King of Britain.

The problem is that once you accept this, you have a whole lot of places who are all utterly convinced that Camelot/Excalibur/where he sleeps are all where they are. And they probably all had separate leaders or kings who are part of the Arthur mishmash. Which is understandable but also very confusing, which is why this is only part one!

In Gloucestershire/the Cotswolds/Severn area, three are lots of different Arthur myths. For example, one tale states that the legendary sword Excalibur was cast into the River Severn, and will be raised when Arthur returns. Another relates to a hill called Cam Longdown, under which Arthur supposedly sleeps, ready to be awakened when the need is dire. This is a common motif.

When exactly the need will become dire enough and what a guy waving a magic sword and archaic language is going to do to stop, say, a zombie apocalypse, I have no idea. (On second thoughts a magic sword might be useful in a zombie apocalypse.) There's also a hill fort called Uley Bury in Glos. that has probably been claimed as Camelot. Frankly if you find a hill fort in Britain and say it was thought to be Camelot you're probably not going to be wrong.

I think there's also something about the British Camp relating to Camelot, possibly due to the fact that there is a very cool but unfortunately man-made cave on it. However this might just be because from the age of five to eight I believed that Merlin used to live in that cave.

[lore-of-the-land]

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[lore-of-the-land]

The Ghosts of Hampton Court

There are several ghosts at Hampton Court. One of the most well known is the ghost of Katherine Howard, fifth wife of Henry the Eighth, who runs down a gallery screaming and foaming at the mouth. It is said that she follows the same path she took when she ran through the Palace desperate to escape execution, begging the King. He would not have heard her. He had gone hunting.

Another is Jane Seymour, who walks down a corridor dressed in white holding a candle, completely silent.

Other tales of the six wives include a tale that when Anne Boleyn's head left her body, all the tapers around Catherine of Aragon's tomb lit simultaneously. And that every year on the day Anne Boleyn died hares run through the countryside. Hares, of course, are associated with witches.