Yahoo News The little UK village that has links to Camelot and castle ruins
Across the UK, numerous locations lay claim to being the site of Arthurian legend's Camelot, with Tintagel on Cornwall's coast being one of them.
Tintagel thrived as a port town from 450 AD until about 650 AD, and Mediterranean pottery fragments from this era can still be discovered in the area today.
After trade in the region declined, Tintagel's historical record becomes sparse until Geoffrey of Monmouth identified it as King Arthur's conception site in his historical work The History of the Kings of Britain, around 1136.
The tale tells of Uther Pendragon seducing Igraine, Duke Gorlois of Cornwall's wife, with the assistance of wizard Merlin.
In 1233, about a hundred years after Tintagel was mentioned in this text, Richard, Duke of Cornwall and Henry III's younger brother, traded three of his manors for 'the island of Tyntagel', which remains connected to the mainland by a narrow land bridge.
Upon acquiring the land, Richard began building the castle, which now stands in ruins nearly 800 years later. Although he is known to have entertained guests at the castle, it's unlikely he spent much time there, as he embarked on a crusade in 1240 and was elected King of the Romans in 1257.
By 1337, the castle's great hall had already crumbled into ruin. Edward the Black Prince transformed the hall into smaller buildings, but Tintagel Castle remained largely abandoned throughout history, with only a small chaplain maintaining the castle.
Despite the castle's desolation, Tintagel was once again associated with King Arthur when William Worcestre identified it as the place of Arthur's birth and conception in his writings from 1480.
While Tintagel Castle itself was certainly not the legendary Camelot, having been built long after the era of Arthurian legend, the mythology of the area persists.
The legend of King Arthur's conception and birth, and the tale of Camelot, aren't the only myths tied to Tintagel. The legend of Tristan and Iseult, or Tristan and Isolde, also unfolds in the village in several poems from the 12th century.
