Arthur, King -- Homes and haunts -- England -- Cornwall (County); Cornwall (England : County) -- Antiquities, Celtic
The letters are Roman, and as follow: _Cotin hic jacit filius magari_.
By the _i_ in _hic_ being joined to the _h_, by the _h_ wanting its
cross link, the bad line of the writing, the distorted leaning of the
letters, I conclude, that the monument cannot be so ancient as the
time of Arthur.’” It seems quite clear that what is now called King
Arthur’s tombstone was originally called, when in position, Slaughter
Bridge, a name which has been transferred to the modern structure. That
the stone once served actually as a funeral monument is also pretty
obvious, but whom it commemorates is a mystery. The engraved letters
belong to an era posterior to Arthur, and there are, as a fact, relics
indubitably of an earlier date in the locality.
“Graves” of King Arthur are so numerous as to make all claims more or
less ridiculous. Even Camelford, as if fearing that the evidence in
one case may not be strong enough, provides an alternative, and points
out that near at hand is Warbelow Barrow, an ancient fortification of
considerable extent, in the centre of which is a large mound reputed
also to be King Arthur’s burying-place. It would be easy to reduce
the whole subject to absurdity by saying that if there were a doubt
that King Arthur ever lived, his numerous “graves” conclusively prove
that he died many times, despite the tradition, too, that he did
not die at all. The jumble of foolishness and contradictions does
not of course affect the real story; it is the resultant of popular
superstitions and confusing traditions. Upon the smallest basis of
ancient fact superstition rears a stupendous edifice, and these many
claims to possess King Arthur’s “grave” arise from the eagerness of
a people to support the idea of their direct connection with a lost
hero, and from their readiness to attach his name to those places which
naturally suggest a possible or a poetic connection. That a very strong
and sincere belief exists that Arthur was buried near Camelford is,
however, not to be questioned, and there is perhaps a better reason for
conceding the point in this case than in all the others. All traditions
agree that the last battle was fought in the vicinity and that it was
fatal to Arthur, and his burial close at hand is the most natural of
conclusions. Mr. King, an antiquary, declared that on the bank of the
Camlan could be seen “a fallen maen of the later British era, having
the name of Arthur inscribed on its lower side,” but this seems to have
been conjecture rather than established proof. Yet it is flying in
the face of the most cherished of beliefs to admit that any grave of
Arthur exists--to say nothing of a multitude of them. If he passed into
the land of Faerie, if he did not die but only awaits a call to “come
again,” why do we expect to find the place of his sepulture?--why are
tombs discovered?--why are lovely spots called King Arthur’s graves?
What said the ancient triad?--
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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