Tintagel, Where Arthur Began
On a wild headland in Cornwall, legend says, King Arthur was conceived by magic. Below the castle ruins is a sea cave known as Merlin's Cave.
What was reported
Tintagel is a rocky headland on the north coast of Cornwall, crowned by the ruins of a medieval castle. In the 1130s, the writer Geoffrey of Monmouth wrote that this was where Arthur was conceived: the wizard Merlin disguised King Uther Pendragon by magic, so he could enter the castle and the bedchamber of Igraine, the wife of the duke.
Beneath the headland, waves rush through a long tunnel-like cave known as Merlin's Cave. In 2016, a carving of a bearded face, representing Merlin, was carved into the rock nearby.
Explanations offered
The castle ruins date from the 1200s, long after Arthur's supposed time, built by a nobleman perhaps because of the legend. But archaeologists have found that Tintagel was a busy site in the 400s to 600s, with goods from the Mediterranean, and in 1998 a stone with a name carved in that period was found.
- When
- Legend from the 1130s
- Where
- Tintagel, Cornwall, England, UK
- Witnesses
- Medieval writers, and archaeologists
- Status
- Legend
Famous cases are real, widely reported events. Each file sets out what witnesses said and the explanations that have been offered, without taking a side.
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