Our shared history is filled with tales of kings and queens from a Norman conqueror to a regal empress. Among them no British ruler is shrouded in as much mystery as King Arthur. We all
know the tales of Excalibur, Camelot and the Holy Grail. But did the fabled ruler REALLY exist?
Richard Earl of Cornwall was the younger brother of King Henry III and one of the wealthiest men in Europe. Around 1233 he eagerly exchanged three of his manors for a small seemingly
undesirable piece of land on the north Cornish coast. It was the island of Tintagel, a harsh rocky headland entirely unsuitable for building on. So why was the earl of Cornwall so keen
to own it? A century earlier in the 1130s a cleric named Geoffrey of Monmouth has written a book chronicling
2000 years of the nation's rulers. He called it the Historia Regum Britanniae or History of the Kings of Britain. One of the tome's most remarkable tales was about a king by
the name of Uther Pendragon who fell madly in love with Igraine, the most beautiful woman in Britain. To keep her from Uther's advances, her husband Gorlois Duke of Cornwall sent
Igraine away to Tintagel. Even two or three guards could hold this island against an entire army. But Uther Pendragon would not be stopped so easily.
He sought the help of the prophet Merlin who gave the king a magical potion so that he appeared to be Gorlois himself. In this disguise Uther travelled to Tintagel, fooled the guards
and won over his love. And so, says Geoffrey, King Arthur was conceived on Tintagel Island. According to legend, Arthur was crowned king at just fifteen and went on to lead the defence
