King Arthur – the Cumbrian Connection?
Everyone’s heard something of Arthurian legend. Brits usually encounter it young, likely through Disney’s The Sword in the Stone.
Well, who wouldn’t be fascinated by the last king of the Britons, now lost to legend? Throw in some magic, and you’ve got the foundations of British – including English – mythology.
England has Mythology?
Yep. It’s the mythology of those who live here. Along with the rest of the UK, England has invaded and been invaded by various countries. In peacetime, our islands have welcomed migrants longing to call this beautiful place home. This has happened over centuries – millennia, even. While some cultures are more prevalent – the modern year, for example, is structured around the Christian calendar – the result is a multicultural nation.
In the case of Arthurian-related mythology, we’re talking Celtic. Nowadays, we tend to think of British Celts in terms of each distinct nation: Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland. England is Saxon country, no?
No. Back in the Dark Ages – when Arthur is said to have lived – things were different. At this time, Celts were simply those Britons who already lived there, compared to people like the Romans and, later, the Anglo-Saxons. The very real Boudicca fought the former; centuries after her, the legendary Arthur dealt with the latter.
Celts lived throughout what we now know as the UK, in separate tribal lands with their own monarchs. Boudicca, for example, was a queen in southeast England. Arthur is said to have united all these kingdoms amid a history of internal squabbling; Mordred’s betrayal marks such unity’s final collapse. The Saxons conquered, founding England, having already forced Britons west by Arthur’s time. Crowned at Tintagel, ruling from Caerleon, buried in Glastonbury, our legendary king was a firm native of Wales/the West Country.
Or was he? These ‘confirmed’ places – Cornwall, Wales, Somerset – are in the south of the UK. I’ve been researching northern mythology for my (albeit non-Arthurian) novel. I did find Arthurian stories in a more… unexpected location: Cumbria, northern England. Where this county stands today was, in Arthur’s time, the Celtic kingdom of Rheged. Is the place connected to Arthur, then? It’s certainly possible.
Okay, so I’m biased here. I’m Cumbrian, myself. It’s just that… well, growing up watching Merlin made me wonder: if Arthur was supposed to be king of the Britons as a whole, was he ever in the north?
Le Morte d’…Arthur?
Arthurian literature is initially more legend than myth, since Arthur is thought to be a real historical figure. But there’s always some debate about this. Did he really exist? We can’t be sure. This is where legend turns into myth: Druid Myrddin becomes Merlin the Wizard. At least one sword is magical. A lady lives in a lake – yes, underwater.
She’s part of one particular story that many Cumbrian tales revolve around: Arthur’s final hours. The dying king commands his last remaining knight to throw Excalibur into the lake it came from. After false starts – Sir Bedivere is reluctant to lose such a beautiful item – the task is fulfilled. A hand rises from the water, catches the flying weapon by the hilt, and brandishes it three times. Then, hand and sword disappear into the water together, never to be seen until Arthur returns.
In Cumbria, this tale takes us into the heart of the Lake District, where a cairn marks the grave of Dunmail, one of the area’s final Celtic kings. He died in the tenth century, when the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle says he lost a battle against the combined invading Saxon and Scottish forces.
Dunmail’s surviving men took his crown and threw it into a nearby tarn. It was an honour thing. Dunmail’s last command was to keep this ultimate symbol of power safe from the enemy. The legend goes further. On his deathbed, the king added the immortal words: ‘until I come again to lead you.’
There’s nothing about anyone living in the tarn. Every year, though, the warriors are said to return, fetch the crown from its watery home and present it to the cairn. They strike the stones with their spears. From within, a voice says, ‘Not yet, not yet. Wait a while, my warriors.’
Sooooo. Was Arthur… Dunmail?
Probably not. Arthur’s from the fifth century. Perhaps Dunmail was attempting to cement his own legacy by connecting it to Arthur’s – and that’s if Dunmail existed. Again, because history was rarely written down in the Dark Ages, there is some debate about the truth.
The story is definitely Arthurian, though. There’s enough in it to make it part of Cumbrian identity. You can still see the cairn today, sitting by the mountain pass – itself named Dunmail Raise – between Thirlmere and Grasmere.
The Once and Future King
Let’s go around the county, where there are more Arthurian places to visit. Grasmere is best known as Wordsworth’s home and final resting place. He loved recording Cumbrian culture for the ages; Dunmail’s story is part of daily life in his poem, ‘The Waggoner’. Tennyson, too, apparently wrote his own version of ‘Le Morte d’Arthur’ while staying near Bassenthwaite. Clearly, being near a lake is the perfect inspiration for a watery tale.
Further east, near Penrith, sits the Round Table. It’s not an actual table. Like Stonehenge, it’s a Neolithic structure – predating Arthur, of course, but the knights could always have used it as a meeting place. Sir Walter Scott mentions the earthwork in his narrative poem, ‘The Bridal of Triermain’, thus connecting reality and fantasy forever. Stories say the knights jousted here for the hand of Arthur’s daughter, Gwyneth. There’s no word on the winner, though, or on her opinion.
Keep going east, and you’ll find Pendragon Castle: Norman, but with rumours of earlier foundations below. The story goes that the original structure belonged to Arthur’s father, Uther Pendragon, who once tried and failed to divert the River Eden for the castle’s moat. Another legend says that Uther died there, when the Saxons poisoned the castle’s well.
Finally, we turn north. If Uther was based in Cumbria, stories say, Arthur would’ve been trained in the county. The likeliest place, if true, is Hadrian’s Wall – by this time abandoned by its constructors, but an interesting theory given the 2004 film where our legendary king is himself Roman. The most common stories of Arthurian Cumbria, however, are about his death. If he did die in the north, it would have been easiest to bury him nearby. Move over, Glastonbury: Arthuret Church also has a claim to the king’s grave.
The Matter of Britain
There are more Cumbrian connections to discover than the ones I’ve mentioned, as well as in other English places. All this, however, proves nothing. You might as well say the legendary king was Scottish, because Arthur’s Seat is an Edinburgh volcano. Wales, too, has strong Arthurian traditions.
But that’s the point. Real or not, Arthur lived so long ago that it’s impossible to find out exactly where. Nothing can be confirmed. Anything is possible. As king of the Britons, everyone wants and has a claim to him, his corresponding mythology. These stories are so powerful, their legacy runs throughout Britain – even in places you wouldn’t first expect.
Written by E.A Colquitt
E.A Colquitt is based in the north of England. Currently working on her first novel, she is a graduate of Lancaster University and her favourite thing is being happy.
You can check out her blog HERE.
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