Northern battle sites including High Rochester in Northumberland, as well as Arthur's great victory over the invading Saxons at Binchester, are certainly mentioned in Arthurian legend starting as early as the 9th century. One chronicle refers to the fight at Camlann, supposedly in AD 537, where 'Arthur and Mordred were killed', which has been taken by modern day scholars to mean Camboglanna (pictured below), a Roman fort along the Hadrian Wall.

Aside from Sir Thomas Malory, Tennyson, Swinburne, Mark Twain, T.H. White, and many others place Arthur's Camelot in the North, especially in Northumbria. The Hexham-born poet, Wilfrid Gibson, even goes so far as to place Joyous Gard, Lancelot's castle, at Dunstanburgh in an effectively atmospheric poem.

Like Elvis after him, Some believe that Arthur's death did not actually occur. Rather, he and his knights were enchanted by Mordred during Arthur's last battle and, in a deep sleep, placed in a cave in Northumbria. Click on the link to learn where The Sleeping Place of Arthur is!

Hunts and Tourneys were a big part of the life of a Knight of the Round Table. Sir. Thomas Mallory's "La Morte D'Arthur" is full of stories of jousts, boar and hart hunting and duels to the death. To learn more about how these events actually fit into life in the Medieval times, click here

Want to know who the Knights of the Round Table were? Click the link to learn more!

Northumbria is the northen most region in England, and it, along with neighboring Cambria, are bound along their northern borders by Hadrian's Wall. Hadrians Wall is a Roman fortification built to help keep out the Picts, Celts and Anglo-Saxons. After the Roman withdrawl, there was no one to man the wall and so the raging hordes sweapt down against the weak Britions.

As you can see from the above image, not only is Northumbria the northern most region, but it is also on the east side of the Island. Since most Arthurian scholars have decided that Arthur and his knights were fighting against the Anglo-Saxons who were invading from the Continent, it makes sense that their first waves of attack were places in the Northumbria region. Thus, many of Arthur's battles have been placed in the region by scholars.

If this is indeed the case, then Arthurís first battle would have been on the Northumbrian River Glen, since we are told by Nennius, the first person to write about Arthur in the 9th century, that, ëThe first battle was at the mouth of the river called Gleiní. Since Glein translates to Glen, it must have been at this river.

Nennius then goes on to reveal that: ëThe second, the third, the fourth and fifth (battles) were on another river, called the Dubglas (Douglas), in the region of Linnuisí. The word, ëLinnuisí translates simply into, ëThe Region of the Waterí, and in South Lancashire there used to be a River Dubglas. However, because it bordered a vast watery landscape called Martin Mere, the river was almost totally drained in the late 18th century. However, the particular placement of this river, adjacent to the mere-lands, definately fit Nennius's description of 'a River Dubglas in the Region of the Waterí.

This is just an example of how modern day scholars are using the writings of ancient sources to attempt to prove that Arthur was not only alive, but lived, fought and died in Northumbria.

King Arthur King Arthur is most known for his Kingly leadership, his loving rule, and even his ruthless judgment of Lancelot and Guinevere. But often a very important part of Arthur's

The Young Arthur pulls the sword from the stone. life is forgotten: his skills as a general and knight.

The name Arthur may be a form of Artorius, a Roman gens name, but according to J. D. Bruce, it is possibly of Celtic origin, coming from artos viros (bear man). Bruce also suggest the possibility of a connection with Irish art (stone).

King Arthur was the son of Uther Pendragon and defeated the barbarians in a dozen battles. Subsequently, he conquered a wide empire and eventually went to war with the Romans. He returned home on learning that his nephew Mordred had raised the standard of rebellion and taken Guinevere, the Queen. After landing, his final battle took place.

Tradition has it that after King Uther's death there was no king ruling all of England. Merlin had placed a sword in a stone, saying that whoever drew it out would be king. Arthur did not know his true status but had grown up living with Sir Ector and Sir Kay, his son. The young Arthur pulled the sword from the stone and Merlin had him crowned the King of Britain. This led to a rebellion by eleven rulers which Arthur put down. He married Guinevere, whose father gave him the round table as a dowry.

In the war against the Romans, Arthur defeated Emperor Lucius and became emperor himself. The last battle of Arthur took place between He and the forces of his evil nephew, Mordred. Arthur delivered the fatal blow to Mordred in the battle, but in the process Arthur was struck a mortal blow, himself. It was then that he commanded Sir Bedivere to throw Excalibur back into the Lake.

The date of Arthur's death is given by Geoffrey of Monmouth as AD 542. Malory places his life in the fifth century. Geoffrey Ashe puts forward the argument that Arthur is, at least to some extent, to be identified with the historical Celtic king Riothamus. Was Arthur fictitious or did he really live? Was he really a composite of a number of persons living at different times in British history? That is for all of us to decide for ourselves.

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