Explorations in Arthurian
History
The Importance of Geography
Part 3: Tintagel
We begin at the beginning, as
first styled by Geoffrey
of Monmouth. It was at
Tintagel
where Arthur was conceived (and, one tale says, where he later
died).
When Uther
Pendragon became king, he
fell under the enchanting spell of Ygerna
(Igraine), wife of Gorlois,
the duke of Cornwall. Now Gorlois it was who had suggested the
brilliant strategy that gave Uther a great victory over the Saxons
not too long before this. Still, desire is a powerful driving force.
Uther was smitten with Ygerna and he would have her. Gorlois, of
course, who was married to her, wanted her for himself (naturally).
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Insulted that the new
king was paying so much attention to her, he stormed out of
the gathering and retired to his castle, ignoring subsequent
summons to address his king. Uther considered this an act of
war and sallied forth to Cornwall. Gorlois ensonced his wife
in Tintagel Castle, which could be defended by a mere
handful of men, and banded himself up behind the walls of
Dimilioc Castle. Uther laid siege and settled down to wait.
However, his lust for Ygerna overcome his desire to wait,
and he charged Merlin
with finding a way for him to get to Ygerna. Merlin, being
the wise man that he was, made it possible. Geoffrey says
that Merlin used "drugs"; later writers have said Merlin
used magic. Whatever he did, it looked to the Tintagel
guards like their leader Gorlois was returning that night.
Uther passed into the castle and into the arms of Ygerna.
Did she know? Was she part of the plot? No one knows. Yet of
that coupling came Arthur.
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As for Gorlois himself, he made a
rather unwise decision to sally forth himself from his extremely
defensive position and got himself killed. When news of his death
(and especially the time and manner of it) reached Tintagel, all
within questioned what they had really seen. Uther wasted no time in
boasting that he had control of the situation and acted before anyone
could think twice: In no time at all, Ygerna was queen. She stayed at
Tintagel Castle for the birth. What happened next? Geoffrey doesn't
say; he skips ahead to Arthur the king at age 15. Other traditions
say that Merlin came to get the baby and kept him hidden from his
detractors until the time is right.
Tennyson
makes Tintagel the home of King
Mark and later his queen,
Isolde.
As the story ends tragically, Tintagel is also the burial place of
Tristan.
For Arthurian purposes, Tintagel
Castle has served its purpose. We hear more of it in passing several
times but almost always in reference to the story of Arthur's
begetting and birth. Supposedly, Cador took over the castle when he
took over Cornwall.
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The castle as described
by Geoffrey, of course, did not exist. It was just another
example of Geoffrey's applying his times to the story at
hand. A medieval castle was built on the site, but it wasn't
completed until three years after Geoffrey published the
Historia regum Brittanie. Where did Geoffrey get his
description? Good question. The tradition of Arthur in
Cornwall was ripe at the time. Places in the area today
include Arthur's Chair, Arthur's Cups and Saucers, and
Merlin's Cave. So the idea of an Arthurian connection to
Tintagel was apparently not a new one. Geoffrey also had
Celtic tradition to draw on--a tradition that made great
importance to the land of Cornwall as a whole. It is
tempting to conclude that Geoffrey made it up. And yet
...
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Excavations this century have
uncovered pottery consist with that found on the Cadbury
Castle site, suggesting that Tintagel does indeed have an Arthurian
connection based in fact.
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