The Parochial History of Cornwall, Volume 1 (of 4)
History
The Parochial History of Cornwall, Volume 1 (of 4)
Cornwall (England : County) -- History; Geology -- England -- Cornwall (County)
When, after he had established peace in all those lands, and returned
into Britain, he instituted an honourable order of knighthood, called
the Knights of the Round Table, the most antient order of knighthood
in the world, chiefly to promote self-denial, and prevent differences
amongst his nobility and gentry or soldiers, who had well deserved of
him and his country, for their good services at home and abroad, that
so no occasion of dispute might arise about precedence, in merit,
antiquity, valour, wealth, honour, or nobility, amongst them, for that
all the knights of this his order were alike equal in those respects
in his esteem, and might sit down indifferently at the table, go in
and out of the house or church, field, or market, before each other as
they came without exception; being an allowed rule amongst them, that
the highest seat at the court, senate, church, or table, did no more
argue the worth, value, religion, valour, or prudent conduct of a man,
than the precedence of a military officer did prove him more valiant
than his soldiers. The place of meetings of those knights was at
Winchester aforesaid, where they assembled yearly at Pentecost or
Whitsuntide.
He gave the same religious Christian coat armour as was given by his
father, which I have blazoned before; and in testimony of his thirteen
victories over so many crowned heads, he bore also in a field Azure,
thirteen imperial crowns Or, as Upton tells us.
Lastly, after this prince had thus vanquished his enemies abroad and
at home, had restored the Christian Religion, eclipsed by the Saxons,
ordained this useful order of knighthood, and done all the good
offices a just, pious, and religious king could do to his subjects, he
was at last, as many others, ungratefully dealt with by his own
people, who at the instigation of his discontented cousin Mordred on
the Roman Pictish title, confederated with the Saxons as against a
bastard, and rose a great army in Cornwall in opposition to his power;
against whom King Arthur marched with his army, and gave them battle
at a place near Camelford. Where, though he obtained the victory, and
Mordred was slain, yet in that battle King Arthur received his mortal
wounds, so that, soon after, in order to a cure, he retired to the
vale of Avallan, id est, the apple valley, near Glastonbury, Somerset,
where he lies buried.
King Arthur’s usual place of residence, where he kept his court (as
Hennius the Briton tells us, who flourished anno Dom. 600), was at
East or West Camellot, near Cadbury, in Wiltshire.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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