The Mammoth Book of King Arthur (93 page)

Pelles.
The son of Pellehan and father of Elaine. With the help of Brisen, Elaine’s handmaiden, Pelles administers to Lancelot a potion that makes him believe
Elaine is Guenevere, and as a result she conceives Galahad.
See
Fisher King.

Pellinore.
Variously cited as the brother or cousin of Pelles and at times (as in the
Livre D’Artus
) confused with both him and
Pellehan as the Fisher King. His wound arose because he doubted the wonders of the Grail and was punished by God. He becomes involved in the pointless pursuit of the Questing Beast. Pellinore is
the father of Tor and of Elaine, who may be confused with Pelles’s daughter. However, Pellinore fails to rescue Elaine while he is on a quest to find Nimuë, and as a result she dies. In
the rebellion of the kings Pellinore kills Lot and is eventually killed by Gawain.

Perceval
or
Percivale.
The original Grail knight.
See
Chapter 16 for full discussion.

Pertolepe,
see
Bertilak.

Ragnell, Dame.
The name given to the Loathly Damsel, an ugly woman who is really a beauty in disguise who tests knights’ loyalty and honesty. Gawain is usually on
the receiving end.
See
Chapter 14.

Rhufon/Rhun the Radiant,
see
Agravain.

Rhydderch
or
Ridderch Hael.
The king of Strathclyde whom some tales place at the battle of Arderydd.
See
Chapter 8 in particular.

Rience, Rion
or
Ryon.
A king of Norgales (North Wales) and various other locales, who has fought and defeated eleven kings, each time adding their beards to his
cloak. He intends to make Arthur’s his twelfth. In the original Celtic legend Arthur fights and kills Rience (here called Rhitta or Ritho) in Snowdonia (one legend) or the Berwyn Mountains.
Their struggle took place at Rhiw y Barfau (“Slope of Beards”). In Geoffrey’s
History
he is a giant, which usually denotes a Saxon or Dane. In Malory it is Balin and Balan
who capture Rience and deliver him to Arthur. There may be more to this story than first thought. The list of those at Arthur’s court in
Culhwch and Olwen
includes Gormant ap Rhica who
is Arthur’s maternal half-brother. This might well
have been a family squabble over inheritance. The town of Rhica,
Tref Rita,
was apparently in Gwent, north of
Caerwent, near Llandegfedd.

Riothamus.
A military leader and possibly king amongst the Bretons who may be the original Arthur.
See
Chapter 6.2 for discussion.

Safere
or
Saphire.
Brother of Palamedes (
see entry
).

Sagremor
or
Sacremors.
A knight related to the royal family of Constantinople although also called the son of the King of Hungary, or “Hongrie”, which
may be a pun on his insatiable hunger. Sagremor must have had an active metabolism as he is always leaping into action, seldom to great effect, and will throw himself into the heat of battle, and
eat ravenously afterwards. Failure to eat makes him ill, so Kay nicknames him “le Mort jeune” (“the young dead”). It may also be reflected in his name, “sacred
death”. Chrétien, who first introduces Sagremor, may have based him on the character of Tall Atrwm in
Culhwch and Olwen
who apparently could never stop eating or drinking.
Sagremor is killed in the final battle with Mordred. Curiously, in the Post-Vulgate
Merlin
Sagremor’s father, Nabur the Unruly, rears the infant Mordred.

Sanddef.
One of Arthur’s twenty-four knights and one of the few survivors of Camlann, according to
Culhwch and Olwen.
He was known as “Angel
Form” and no one dared attack him because he was so beautiful. He may be the equivalent of Chrétien’s “Handsome Coward”.

Taliesin.
The name of a sixth-century bard to whom are credited many poems that refer to Arthur or his contemporaries. He even takes part in some of the adventures. His
work is discussed in Chapter 8 and his main adventure in Chapter 12.

Terrican
or
Turquin.
The brother of Karados who also captures knights, though he does not seem to be in league with Morgan. He is killed by Lancelot.

Tor.
The illegitimate son of Pellinor, he is only young when he is brought by a cowherd to Arthur’s court, but Arthur sees his potential and
Tor soon proves himself. He is knighted and before long admitted to the Round Table, which annoys King Bagdemagus who thinks it is his turn. We only learn of a few of his adventures, the most
notable of which involves his search for a hound and which includes him despatching the villainous Abelleus. Tor is killed during Lancelot’s rescue of Guenevere. Chrétien almost
certainly took his name from the Welsh sources, probably Twrch ap Perif, who appears in
Culhwch and Olwen
and as one of Arthur’s counsellors in
Dream of Rhonabwy.
Twrch, of
course, means boar or hog, as in the Twrch Trwyth, and evidently reflects Tor’s lowly upbringing.

Tristan
or
Tristram.
The lover of Iseult.
See
Chapter 13 for full discussion.

Turquin,
see
Terrican.

Ugly Brave, The,
see
Morfran.

Urien.
A historical king of Rheged, and father of Owain. He lived at least two generations after Badon. Urien was famed for his battles against the Saxons, discussed in
Chapter 8, and it’s very likely that some of his battles were later grafted on to Arthur’s battle list. Urien was murdered at the instigation of another chieftain called Morcant, a name
that may have encouraged connections with both Mordred and Morgan. In the romances he is made king of Gorre.

Uther Pendragon.
The father of Arthur whose life is told by Geoffrey of Monmouth.
See
Chapter 9 for discussion.

Uwaine,
see
Yvaine.

Vivian
or
Viviene,
see
Lady of the Lake.

Vortigern.
The ruler of Britain who is accused of inviting the Saxons to Britain and of consorting with the enemy. His life is a
preamble to the
Arthurian story and, in Geoffrey’s
History,
introduces Merlin.
See
Chapters 5, 6 and 9.

Vortimer.
The son of Vortigern.
See
Chapters 5, 6 and 9.

Vortipor.
A king of Dyfed known as the Protector, and a contemporary of Arthur of Badon. He is one of the kings castigated by Gildas. His life and Arthurian associations
are discussed in Chapters 5 and 10.

Yder.
The hero of his own verse romance (
see
Chapter 18). He seems to be a prototype of Lancelot, because Guenevere confesses her love for him. He remained a
popular character, as he appears in several later romances. He dies during Arthur’s Roman campaign. A Cornish legend about Yder (maybe another of that name) tells how he hurries ahead of
Arthur to kill three giants on Brent Knoll in Somerset. He succeeds but dies of the effort. There is also a King Yder in the later romances, apparently a ruler of Cornouaille, who is one of the
rebels who refuses to accept Arthur at the outset but who later fights valiantly on Arthur’s behalf. It is easy to confuse the two.

Ygraine, Ygerne
or
Igraine.
The wife of Gorlois, who is seduced by Uther and becomes the mother of Arthur.
See
Chapter 9.

Yseult,
see
Iseult.

Yvain.
There are at least six knights by this name and possibly more, as not all identifications are obvious. The most famous of them was the legitimate son of Urien,
who is covered under Owain. His half-brother, the illegitimate son of Urien and his seneschal’s wife, is called Yvain li Avoutres (“the Bastard”). He appears in many of the key
battles and quests but is killed by Gawain (who does not recognise him) during the Grail Quest. The other four all seem to be cousins and are Yvain de Lionel, Yvain li Dains (or l’Esclain),
Yvain le Blanche Mains and Yvain du Cinel (or de Rivel).

24

LOST WORLDS – AN ARTHURIAN GAZETTEER

This is a quick guide to all sites in Britain with an Arthurian association, with a cross reference, where appropriate, to where that site may be discussed in more detail
elsewhere in this book. It does not include sites outside Britain. Sites known only by their Arthurian names, such as Camelot, are listed separately at the start, with cross-references to suggested
locales. All other sites are organized by county. I have only included those sites which have a direct link to the Arthurian legend so that many sites which have adopted such names as
Arthur’s Stone or Arthur’s Table for a local landmark but with no known Arthurian link have been excluded. All of the possible battle sites are listed, but for a detailed discussion
see
Chapter 7.

Anyone wishing for a more detailed guide should refer to
A Guidebook to Arthurian Britain
by Geoffrey Ashe (Longman, 1980), reprinted and revised as
The Traveller’s Guide to
Arthurian Britain
(Gothic Image, 1997), and
A Traveller’s Guide to the Kingdoms of Arthur
by Neil Fairbairn & Michael Cyprien (Evans, 1983), which also includes entries for
Brittany.

LEGENDARY OR ARCHAIC NAMES

Agned.
The site of Arthur’s eleventh battle, according to Nennius.
See
Edinburgh and Melrose.

Astolat.
Better known by its Tennysonian name Shalott, this place is variously called Ascalot or Escalot and was the home of Elaine, the Lady of Shalott. Malory placed it
at Guildford, but
only because he needed a site between Winchester and London. The oldest form of the name is Escalot which, if we remove the French prefix
Es,
becomes
Calot. In Welsh this would have been Gwlodd or Caer Gwlodd, a name which appears in the poem
Preideu Annwvyn
as one of the epithets of the fortress of Annwn, the fairy fortress Caer Sidhi.
Caer Gulodd, as it usually appears, means the Hidden Fortress, a suitable description for the Grail Castle. This suggests that the origins for both Astolat and Corbenic derive from the same source
location even though they became two separate places.
See
Avalon.

Avalon.
The Isle of Avalon was where, according to Geoffrey of Monmouth, Arthur’s sword Caliburn was forged and where Arthur was taken to be healed. Geoffrey also
tells us that Avalon was known as the Fortunate Isle or the Isle of Plenty. It is also known, according to William of Malmesbury, as the Isle of Apples, a translation of Ynys Afallach or Avallach.
It came to represent the Otherworld, perhaps the visible portion of Annwn which was the Underworld. The name corrupted in the Grail legend to that of the King, Evelach or Evelake, whilst in the
pedigrees Aballac was the son or grandson of Beli and ancestor of Coel and Cunedda. All of these names suggest an association with a halfway house to the Otherworld, a kind of portal to Heaven, and
thus similar to, and possibly the source of, the Grail Castle. The location of Avalon (if not the source of the name) is almost certainly the same as Annwn. The poem
Preideu Annwvyn,
or
“The Spoils of Annwn”, gives eight names for the fortress to which Arthur sails to rescue Gwair and steal the magic cauldron. It is called Caer Sidhe (“fairy fortress”),
Caer Pedryfan (“the four-cornered fortress”), Caer Feddyd (“Fort of the Gods”), Caer Rigor (“royal fortress”), Caer Wydr (“glass fort”), Caer Goludd
(“hidden fortress”), Caer Fandwy (“High Fort”), Caer Ochren (“Fort of the Sides”). All describe not only a castle of some significance in size and form, but a
castle of the gods. Annwn was the realm of the Celtic Gods which became Christianized as Avalon. It was evidently a place held as holy by the British.

Many places have been associated with Avalon, including Avallon in France, which may have helped cement the name, or the old Roman fort of Aballava (
see
Burgh by Sands). Of course
neither of these is an island, although Robert de Boron
in Joseph d’Aramathie
refers to the “Vales of Avalon”, suggesting Somerset, which by his day had
become associated with Glastonbury (
see entry
). Other islands suggested are Anglesey, Arran, Bardsey, Lundy, Isle of Man and Iona, plus two islands off the Breton coast, Sein and Ile Aval.
See also
the entry for Lydney (Gloucestershire).

Badon.
The site of Arthur’s twelfth and most decisive battle. Many locations have been suggested but none with great certainty. These are discussed in detail in
Chapter 7.

Bassas.
Arthur’s sixth battle, according to Nennius.
See
Baschurch (Shropshire), Falkirk (Scotland).

Bedegraine
and
Brandigan.
In Malory’s
Morte Darthur,
Arthur’s first major battle against the rebellious kings is at Bedegraine, which was a
castle friendly to Arthur but besieged by the rebels. Malory says that it is in Sherwood Forest but, as usual, he is probably confusing names. The centre of Sherwood Forest in Malory’s day
was not Nottingham but Ravenshead, the highest point, where the Forest Court sat. Nearby was Newstead Abbey on a promontory in the lake, just as Bedegraine Castle is described. Ravens are closely
associated with Arthurian legend and the British word for Raven was
bran.
In Chrétien’s
Erec et Enide,
the castle of Brandigan, built by King Evrain, is described as
almost impregnable, on an island fifteen leagues wide and self sufficient in every way. Brandigan is clearly a corruption of
Branogenium,
the name of the Roman fort at Leintwardine. The name
means literally “born of the raven”, which may be a euphemism for “born of the king”, Bran being the name of the early Celtic ruler. The name still exists in the areas as
Brandon Camp, south of Leintwardine, which is surrounded by river tributaries and thus may be regarded as an island. It would be easy for Malory to believe that Ravenshead might also once have been
called Brandigan, now further disguised as Bedegraine.