Glossary
This is by no means a complete glossary but I have attempted to include all words that I may have used but not described.
Ambrosius Aurelianus
A fifth century Roman named in Gildas' account. Was likely to have been a war leader, although, in some accounts, he is referred to as a king. He has been linked to Arthur as a member of his family, related to him in some way.
Aurelius Ambrosius
Brother of Uther, uncle of Arthur. Mentioned by Geoffrey of Monmouth. Geoffrey uses the war leader Ambrosius Aurelianus as a base for this character.
Avalon
Said to be Arthur's last 'earthly destination'. Some believe it to be Glastonbury. Also known as part of the legend as an:
"Enchanted island where, according to Geoffrey of Monmouth, Arthur's sword was forged and where he was conveyed after his last battle for his wounds to be attended to" (Lacy et al 1997: 284)
Caliburn
Geoffrey of Monmouth's name for Arthur's sword. Later to be known as Excalibur. (See Excalibur)
Camelot
Arthur's 'capital'. Said to have been created by Arthur and it also served as the meeting place of the Knights of the Round Table. There has been much speculation as to where this castle and town could have been. The most recent publicised being that of Cadbury Castle.
Excalibur
The famous sword. This was the name given to the sword by romantic writers after Geoffrey of Monmouth first mentioned it as Caliburn. There are different stories surrounding the sword, as there are many variations on the legend itself. One tells of Arthur, as a young boy, removing the sword from a stone from which no other man was able to take it. The other tells of how Arthur received the sword from the lady in the lake. It is believed that the sword that Arthur drew from the stone was not Excalibur and that it was the sword that Merlin arranged for Arthur to receive from the lake was the famous sword.
Mordred
Geoffrey of Monmouth's traitorous nephew of Arthur. He is continually seen as a villain even in later literature. It is said that he lived in adultery with Guinevere when Arthur was away in Gaul although, in later versions, he has sexual desires for the Queen but they are unrequited. He was killed by Arthur by the River Camel in Cornwall. This is also considered to be Arthur's last battle where he was fatally wounded and then carried off to Avalon.
Morgan Le Fay
'The Lady of Avalon'. She tends to Arthur when he is wounded. He character is later blackened and she is seen, in some versions, as a woman with magical powers, trained by Merlin, but using her magic for bad rather than good. She is sometimes said to have a son, Yvain.
Riothamus
Fifth century 'King of the Britons'. It has been said that Geoffrey of Monmouth based his account of Arthur on this war like figure of the Fifth century. Some believe that this could have been Arthur as he has many links with the Arthurian stories. He campaigned in Gaul and some believe that there are links with Cadbury Castle, the supposed Camelot, because of its southern position, a position likely to have been held by Riothamus due to his travelling. However, there are no records of him until Gaul.
Vortigern
British king of the Fifth century. Is seen in some accounts as the 'evil' king, a usurper. He is seen as the king who 'opened the door' to the Saxons. His character is used by Geoffrey of Monmouth but it seems that Vortigern was actually a real ruler. He is mentioned by Gildas as well as other Saxon sources which appear unaffected by Welsh legend.
The Legend