What a beautiful place:- Tintagel Castle.
The birthplace of King Arthur, and the home of Merlin’s Cave.
Built half on the mainland and half on a jagged headland projecting into the Cornish sea, the castle is one of the most spectacular historic sites in Britain and its association with King Arthur make it one of the most famous.
Tintagel castle, otherwise known as, King Arthur’s Castle was built in the 1230’s by Richard, Earl of Cornwall. Having no real military value it seems that it was the location, that inspired him to build it there. As genealogy digs have unearthed many luxury pottery fragments, in the area, the site has been dated from the Dark Ages (5th & 7th centuries) as a Cornish stronghold.
It was Geoffrey of Monmouth, a 12th-century writer who associated the place as where King Arthur was conceived with the help of Merlin the Magician.
Uther Pendragon, ancient King of Britain, was blindly in love with Queen Ygerna, the wife of one of his barons, Duke Gorlois of Cornwall. Gorlois removed his wife to the Tintagel stronghold, which was surrounded by water, and only approachable from the mainland by a narrow isthmus of rock. With the help of Merlin, Uther was transformed into the exact likeness of Gorlois. This way he was allowed to cross the bridge into the castle and into Ygerna’s bed.
That night Arthur was conceived, a king who went on to be the most famous of men for his outstanding bravery.
Merlin’s cave situated just below the castle can be accessed from the beach – but at high tide the cave fills with water. Merlin both the son of the devil and the servant of God is said to have been Arthur’s tutor and mentor, and instrumental in the building of Camelot.
Unfortunately, Merlin’s powers led him to his untimely death. He fell in love with Nivane, daughter of the King of Northumberland and convinced Arthur to allow her to stay in the castle. Nivane only returned his love after Merlin taught her all the magic he knew.
They went for a visit to Northumberland and on their return stayed in a stone room, where it was said two lovers had died & were buried together. Once Merlin was asleep, Nivane cast a spell on him and trapped him into the stone tomb, where he died.
The castle is open every day of the year and costs 8.00 sterling pounds each adult admission.
It was such a magical place I would love to visit it again.
” So soon as he came on earth, elves took him, they enchanted the child with magic most strong, they gave him might to be the best of all knights; they gave him another thing, that he should be a rich king; they gave him the third, that he should live long; they gave to him the prince virtues most good, so that he was most generous of all men alive” 1190
