Arthur (lived 6th century)

Tintagel Castle, in Cornwall, was the legendary site of King Arthur's Court. In reality, the site's original buildings included a Celtic monastery, probably founded by St Juliot in about 500. The original house was built much later: from the mid-12th century it was a Norman stronghold. It was also the residence of the earls of Cornwall.

Semi-legendary Romano-British warleader who led British resistance against the Saxons, Picts, and Scots in the first half of the 6th century. He was probably a warlord rather than a king. He operated throughout Britain, commanding a small force of mobile warriors, reminiscent of the late Roman comitatenses (line units). Arthur is credited with a great victory over the Saxons at Mount Badon, possibly in Dorset.

Arthur is said to have been born in Tintagel, Cornwall, and buried in Glastonbury, Somerset, although his life is too shrouded in legend for any of the details to be certain. His legendary base, ‘Camelot’, has been tentatively identified as a hill fort at South Cadbury in Somerset.

The legends of Arthur and the knights of the Round Table were developed in the 12th century by Geoffrey of Monmouth, Chrétien de Troyes, and the Norman writer Wace. Later writers on the theme include the anonymous author of Sir Gawayne and the Greene Knight (1346), Thomas Malory, Tennyson, T H White, and Mark Twain.