Camelot: A City of Glory or Over-Romanticism?
Appeared in The Camelot Chronicle on October 5, 2009
Camelot, the city from which the kings of Britain ruled both fairly and justly, has always been painted as beautiful, prosperous, welcoming, and fair. When one thinks of Camelot, the first images in connection are of both King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table. Both led Camelot through a golden age- but was this a true golden age, or merely a picture presented by romantic authors?
The literature that Camelot appears in was all written during English Romanticism. During this era, works showed the glories of man, their creations, and everything else in a heavenly light. It is logical to draw the conclusion that Camelot's ideal description was simply some authors creating their own version of utopia while giving it a place in history. But how might we come to this conclusion? Let's look at the literature that Camelot has appeared in.
A French poet by the name of Chretien de Troyes was the first author to describe Camelot, and he did so in his tale of Lancelot. However, Camelot was never truly discussed in his poem; it was merely mentioned in passing and its status was never established. In later works by different authors, Camelot was again mentioned- but this time, it was made the capital of Britain and its splendor was completely detailed. These works of literature are what give us the common conception of Camelot- that being grand and powerful.
It seems that this change in Camelot's appearance is directly linked to romanticism, which drove the literature during this era. Authors wanted to show the goodness of humanity, and how better to do so then by showing the human race at its might? In Camelot, the people were both fair in their laws and punishment and strong in battle. Furthermore, Camelot had a booming economy. The rulers were good and true, unlike the modern day monarchs and politicians.
And finally, there is evidence for the over-romanticism of Camelot in its lack of documented history. To this day, the location of Camelot is unknown. There are currently thirteen castles that all have good cases for being the true Camelot. But without any documentation from the Arthurian time period, we will never know what Camelot was really like.