Battle of Camlann

Battle of Camlann
Part of the Sovereignty of Britain by legend; local feud by other traditions
"How Mordred was Slain by Arthur, and How by Him Arthur was Hurt to the Death", by Arthur Rackham
Date 537 (traditional date) Location Unknown Result Arthurian victory, but indecisive; no effective succession.
Commanders and leaders
King Arthur †	Mordred †
Strength
Unknown	Unknown
Casualties and losses
all but seven	all

The Battle of Camlann (Welsh: Cad Camlan or Brwydr Camlan) is best known as the final battle of King Arthur, where he either died in battle, or was fatally wounded fighting his enemy (and, in some later versions of the tale, his son) Mordred.

Historicity

The earliest known reference to the Battle of Camlann is the entry in the 10th-century Annales Cambriae. The Annales date the battle to the year 537, and mention Mordred (Medraut) but do not specify that he and Arthur fought on opposite sides.

Gueith camlann in qua Arthur et Medraut corruerunt.

(The Strife of Camlann in which Arthur and Medraut (Mordred) perished.)

Later accounts of this battle are in Geoffrey of Monmouth's Historia Regum Britanniae, the Alliterative Morte Arthure, and in the 13th century Welsh tale The Dream of Rhonabwy.

The location of the battle is unknown, but several candidates exist. One possible site is Queen Camel in Somerset which is close to the hill fort near South Cadbury (identified by some, including Geoffrey Ashe, with King Arthur's Camelot), where the River Cam flows beneath Camel Hill and Annis Hill. The site most consistent with the theory of a northern Arthur is the Roman fort called, in Latin, Camboglanna. When this theory was first put forward, this was identified as Birdoswald, but has since been accepted as nearby Castlesteads. Other identifications have been offered, the River Camel along the border of Cornwall, Camelon near Falkirk and the River Camlan in Eifionydd, now part of Gwynedd.

Etymology

The name may be derived from either a Brittonic *Cambo-glanna "Crooked bank (of a river)" (as found in the name of the Roman fort of Camboglanna) or *Cambo-landa "Crooked-enclosure".

Legendary versions

Welsh triads offer clues as to the alleged cause of the Battle of Camlann in Welsh folklore. Triad 51 mirrors (and is most likely derived from) the plot of Geoffrey of Monmouth's Historia Regum Britanniae, in which Medrawd (Mordred) rebels against Arthur while the latter is campaigning on the Continent and usurps the throne, instigating the battle of Camlann. Triad 53 lists as one of the "Three Harmful Blows of the Island of Britain" the slap Gwenhwyvach gave to her sister Gwenhwyfar, wife of Arthur, causing the Strife of Camlann. In calling Camlann one of Britain's "Three Futile Battles", Triad 84 mentions it was started because of a dispute between the sisters. Triad 54 describes Medrawd (Mordred) raiding Arthur's court and throwing Gwenhwyfar to the ground and beating her. Other Triads in which Camlann is mentioned include numbers 30 ("Three Faithless War Bands"), 59 ("Three Unfortunate Counsels"), 84 ("Three Futile Battles").

Modern fiction

Sometimes Camlann is identified as Camelot itself in newer retellings of the Arthurian saga, such as Elizabeth Wein's The Winter Prince.^{[citation needed]}

Sources

• Alistair Moffat, The Faded Map - Lost Kingdoms of Scotland. Birlinn, Edinburgh 2011.