Battle of Camlann - Historicity

Historicity

The earliest known reference to the battle of Camlann is an entry in the 10th-century Annales Cambriae, recording the battle in the year 537 and mention Mordred (Medraut) but do not specify that he and Arthur fought on opposite sides.

Gueith camlann in qua Arthur et Medraut corruerunt.

(The Strife of Camlann in which Arthur and Medraut (Mordred) perished.)

The location of the battle is unknown but there are several possibilities. One is Queen Camel in Somerset, close to the hill fort near South Cadbury, identified by some, including Geoffrey Ashe, with King Arthur's Camelot, where the River Cam flows beneath Camel Hill and Annis Hill.

The site most consistent with a northern Arthur is the Roman fort called Camboglanna, once identified as Birdoswald, but since identified as the nearby Castlesteads. Other identifications have been offered, including the River Camel along the border of Cornwall, Camelon near Falkirk and the River Camlan in Eifionydd, now part of Gwynedd.