Editing Camelot

{{Short description|Castle and court associated with King Arthur}}
{{About|the legendary castle}}
{{pp-move}}
{{Infobox fictional location
| name       = Camelot 
| image      = Idylls of the King 3.jpg 
| imagesize  = 
| ruler      = [[King Arthur]] 
| caption    = [[Gustave Doré]]'s illustration of Camelot from ''[[Idylls of the King]]'' (1867)
| source     = [[Matter of Britain]]
| people     = [[Guinevere]], [[Knights of the Round Table]], [[Morgan le Fay]]
| first      = ''[[Lancelot, the Knight of the Cart]]''
| creator    = [[Chrétien de Troyes]]
}}
'''Camelot''' is a legendary [[castle]] and [[Royal court|court]] associated with [[King Arthur]]. Absent in the early Arthurian material, Camelot first appeared in 12th-century French romances and, since the [[Lancelot-Grail]] cycle, eventually came to be described as the fantastic capital of Arthur's realm and a symbol of the Arthurian world.

Medieval texts locate it somewhere in [[Great Britain]] and sometimes associate it with real cities, though more usually its precise location is not revealed. Most scholars regard it as being entirely fictional, its unspecified geography being perfect for [[chivalric romance]] writers. Nevertheless, arguments about the location of the "real Camelot" have occurred since the 15th century and continue today in popular works and for tourism purposes.

== Etymology ==
The name's derivation is uncertain. It has numerous different spellings in medieval French Arthurian romances, including ''Camaalot'', ''Camalot'', ''Chamalot'', ''Camehelot'' (sometimes read as ''Camchilot''), ''Camaaloth'', ''Caamalot'', ''Camahaloth'', ''Camaelot'', ''Kamaalot'', ''Kamaaloth'', ''Kaamalot'', ''Kamahaloth'', ''Kameloth'', ''Kamaelot'', ''Kamelot'', ''Kaamelot'', ''Cameloth'', and ''Gamalaot''.<ref name="Loomis, Roger Sherman 1961, p. 480">Loomis, Roger Sherman, Arthurian tradition & Chrétien de Troyes, Columbia University Press, 1961, p. 480. {{ISBN|0-2318-7865-6}}</ref><ref>Sommer, Heinrich Oskar, The Vulgate Version of the Arthurian Romances: Lestoire de Merlin, Carnegie Institution, 1916, p. 19.{{ISBN missing}}</ref><ref name="Brugger, Ernst 1905, pp. 1-71">Brugger, Ernst, "Beiträge zur Erklärung der arthurischen Geographie", in: Zeitschrift für französische Sprache und Literatur, Volume 28, 1905, pp. 1–71.{{ISBN missing}}</ref> Arthurian scholar Ernst Brugger suggested that it was a corruption of the site of Arthur's final battle, the [[Battle of Camlann]], in Welsh tradition.<ref name="Brugger, Ernst 1905, pp. 1-71"/> [[Roger Sherman Loomis]] believed it was derived from ''Cavalon'', a place name that he suggested was a corruption of [[Avalon]] (under the influence of the Breton place name ''Cavallon''). He further suggested that Cavalon became Arthur's capital due to confusion with Arthur's other traditional court at [[Caerleon]] (''Caer Lleon'' in Welsh).<ref name="Loomis, Roger Sherman 1961, p. 480"/>

Others have suggested a derivation from the [[British Iron Age]] and [[Roman Britain|Romano-British]] place name [[Camulodunum]], one of the first capitals of [[Roman Britain]] and which would have significance in [[Romano-British culture]]. Indeed, [[John Morris (historian)|John Morris]], the English historian who specialized in the study of the institutions of the [[Roman Empire]] and the history of [[Sub-Roman Britain]], suggested in his book ''The Age of Arthur'' that as the descendants of Romanized Britons looked back to a golden age of peace and prosperity under Rome, the name "Camelot" of Arthurian legend may have referred to the capital of [[Britannia]] (Camulodunum) in Roman times. It is unclear, however, where [[Chrétien de Troyes]] would have encountered the name Camulodunum, or why he would render it as ''Camaalot'', though [[Urban T. Holmes Jr.|Urban T. Holmes]] argued Chrétien could have had access to Book 2 of [[Natural History (Pliny)|Pliny's ''Natural History'']], where it is rendered as ''Camaloduno''.<ref>Nitze, William A. et al. ''Le Haut Livre del Graal: Perlesvaus – Volume 2: Commentary and Notes'', p. 196. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1937.</ref>

== Medieval literature ==
Arthur's court at Camelot is mentioned for the first time in Chrétien's poem ''[[Lancelot, the Knight of the Cart]]'', dating to the 1170s, though it does not appear in all the manuscripts. In the C manuscript (Paris, Bibliothèque Nationale de France, fonds français 794, folio 27r), which might in fact contain the proper reading of Chretien's original text,<ref>Wolfgang, Lenora D., "[https://www.reading.ac.uk/web/files/GCMS/RMS-1991-01_L._D._Wolfgang,_Chretien's_Lancelot_Love_and_Philology.pdf Chretien's Lancelot: Love and Philology] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201206015028/https://www.reading.ac.uk/web/files/GCMS/RMS-1991-01_L._D._Wolfgang%2C_Chretien%27s_Lancelot_Love_and_Philology.pdf |date=2020-12-06 }}", Reading Medieval Studies, 17 (1991), pp. 3-17 (pp. 11-12), {{ISBN|978-0704904415}}.</ref> instead of the place name there is the [[Old French]] phrase ''con lui plot'', meaning "as he pleased". The other manuscripts spell the name variously as ''Chamalot'' (MS A, f. f. 196r), ''Camehelot'' (MS E, f. 1r), ''Chamaalot'' (MS G, f. 34f), and ''Camalot'' (MS T, f. 41v); the name is missing, along with the rest of the passage containing it, in MS V (Vatican, Biblioteca Vaticana, Regina 1725).<ref name="Lacy"/><ref>[http://www.lib.rochester.edu/camelot/cammenu.htm "Camelot"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070716015924/http://www.lib.rochester.edu/Camelot/cammenu.htm |date=2007-07-16 }}. From the Camelot Project. Retrieved October 9, 2008.</ref> Camelot is mentioned only in passing and is not described:

{{Blockquote|''A un jor d'une Acenssion / Fu venuz de vers Carlion / Li rois Artus et tenu ot / Cort molt riche a Camaalot, / Si riche com au jor estut.''<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.lib.uchicago.edu/efts/ARTFL/projects/charrette/mirror/lancelo2.html |title=Le Chevalier de la Charrette (Lancelot) |last=Uitti |first=K. D. |date=n.d. |website=The Charrette Project: Old French Version |publisher=The University of Chicago Library |page=vv. 31–35 |no-pp=yes |access-date=23 March 2018 |archive-date=1 January 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100101214014/http://www.lib.uchicago.edu/efts/ARTFL/projects/charrette/mirror/lancelo2.html |url-status=live }}</ref><br>King Arthur, one Ascension Day, had left Caerleon and held a most magnificent court at Camelot with all the splendour appropriate to the day.<ref>{{cite book |author=Chrétien de Troyes |translator-last=Owen |translator-first=D. D. R. |year=1987 |title=Arthurian Roamnces |location=London |publisher=Dent |page=[https://archive.org/details/arthurianromance00chre/page/185 185] |isbn=0460116983 |url=https://archive.org/details/arthurianromance00chre/page/185 }}</ref>}}

Nothing in Chrétien's poem suggests the level of importance Camelot would have in later romances. For Chrétien, Arthur's chief court was in [[Caerleon]] in [[Wales]]; this was the king's primary base in [[Geoffrey of Monmouth]]'s ''[[Historia Regum Britanniae]]'' and subsequent literature.<ref name="Lacy"/> Chrétien depicts Arthur, like a typical medieval monarch, holding court at a number of cities and castles.

It is not until the 13th-century French prose romances, including the [[Lancelot-Grail|Vulgate]] and [[Post-Vulgate Cycle|Post-Vulgate]] cycles, that Camelot began to supersede Caerleon, and even then, many descriptive details applied to Camelot derive from Geoffrey's earlier grand depiction of the Welsh town.<ref name="Lacy"/> Most Arthurian romances of this period produced in English or Welsh did not follow this trend; Camelot was referred to infrequently, and usually in translations from French. One exception is ''[[Sir Gawain and the Green Knight]]'', which locates Arthur's court at "Camelot";<ref>''Sir Gawain and the Green Knight'', line 37.</ref> however, in Britain, Arthur's court was generally located at Caerleon, or at [[Carlisle]], which is usually identified with the "Carduel" of the French romances.<ref>Ashley, pp. 612–613.</ref>

{{multiple image
| width = 
| align = right
| image1 = Siedlęcin Wieża Książęca Gotyckie malowidła ścienne Zamek Camelot i Królowa Ginewra.JPG
| image2 = Raimund von Wichera - Guinevere and the Court at Camelot.jpg
| footer = 
| direction = vertical
| caption1 = Guinevere at Camelot in a 14th-century fresco at [[Siedlęcin Tower]]
| caption2 = Raimund von Wichera's ''Guinevere and the Court at Camelot'' (1900)
}}
{{multiple image
| width = 
| align = left
| image1 = The Great Hall, Camelot, Act IV.png
| image2 = The Tournament at Camelot.png
| footer = 
| direction = vertical
| caption1 = The Great Hall of Camelot, a scene painting by [[Hawes Craven]] (1895)
| caption2 = A jousting tournament at Camelot, an ''[[Idylls of the King]]'' illustration by George and [[Louis Rhead]] (1898)
}}

The ''[[Lancelot-Grail]]'' cycle and the texts it influenced depict the city of Camelot as standing along a river, downstream from [[Astolat]]. It is surrounded by plains and forests, and its magnificent cathedral, [[Saint Stephen|St. Stephen's]], originally established by [[Josephus of Arimathea|Josephus]], the son of [[Joseph of Arimathea]],<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://d.lib.rochester.edu/camelot/text/frequently-asked-questions|title=Frequently Asked Questions about the Arthurian Legends {{!}} Robbins Library Digital Projects|website=d.lib.rochester.edu|access-date=2019-06-27|archive-date=2020-11-28|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201128200322/https://d.lib.rochester.edu/camelot/text/frequently-asked-questions|url-status=live}}</ref> is the religious centre for Arthur's [[Knights of the Round Table]]. There, Arthur and Guinevere are married and there are the tombs of many kings and knights. In a mighty castle stands the [[Round Table]], created by [[Merlin]] and [[Uther Pendragon]]; it is here that [[Galahad]] conquers the [[Siege Perilous]], and where the knights see a vision of the [[Holy Grail]] and swear to find it. [[Jousting|Jousts]] are often held in a meadow outside the city.

Its imprecise geography serves the romances well, as Camelot becomes less a literal place than a powerful symbol of Arthur's court and universe.<ref name="Lacy" /> There is also a Kamaalot featured as the home of [[Percival]]'s mother in the romance ''[[Perlesvaus]]''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.celtic-twilight.com/camelot/bruce_dictionary/index_k.htm|title=Arthurian Name Dictionary|website=www.celtic-twilight.com|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150102212201/http://www.celtic-twilight.com/camelot/bruce_dictionary/index_k.htm|archive-date=2015-01-02|url-status=deviated}}</ref> In [[Palamedes (romance)|''Palamedes'']] and some other works, including the Post-Vulgate cycle, King Arthur's Camelot is eventually razed to the ground by the treacherous King [[Mark of Cornwall]] (who had besieged it earlier) in his invasion of [[Logres]] after the Battle of Camlann.<ref name="Lacy" /> In the ''[[Tavola Ritonda]]'', Camelot is abandoned and falls to ruin after the death of Arthur.

From Geoffrey's grand description of Caerleon, Camelot gains its impressive architecture, its many churches and the [[chivalry]] and courtesy of its inhabitants.<ref name="Lacy" /> Geoffrey's description in turn drew on an already established tradition in Welsh oral tradition of the grandeur of Arthur's court. The tale ''[[Culhwch and Olwen]]'', associated with the ''[[Mabinogion]]'' and perhaps first written in the 11th century, draws a dramatic picture of Arthur's hall and his many powerful warriors who go from there on great adventures, placing it in [[Celliwig]], an uncertain locale in [[Cornwall]].

Although the court at Celliwig is the most prominent in remaining early Welsh manuscripts, the various versions of the [[Welsh Triads]] agree in giving Arthur multiple courts, one in each of the areas inhabited by the [[Celtic Britons]]: Cornwall, Wales and the [[Hen Ogledd]]. This perhaps reflects the influence of widespread oral traditions common by the 9th century which are recorded in various place names and features such as [[Arthur's Seat]], indicating Arthur was a hero known and associated with many locations across [[Brittonic languages|Brittonic]] areas of Britain as well as [[Brittany]]. Even at this stage Arthur could not be tied to one location.<ref name="Cadbury">[[Geoffrey Ashe|Ashe, Geoffrey]] (1991). "Topography and Local Legends". In Norris J. Lacy (Ed.), ''The New Arthurian Encyclopedia'', pp. 455–458. New York: Garland. {{ISBN|0-8240-4377-4}}.</ref> Many other places are listed as a location where Arthur holds court in the later romances, Carlisle and [[History of London|London]] perhaps being the most prominent.

In the 15th century, the English writer [[Thomas Malory]] created the image of Camelot most familiar today in his ''[[Le Morte d'Arthur]]'', a work based mostly on the French romances. He firmly identifies Camelot with [[Winchester]] in England, an identification that remained popular over the centuries, though it was rejected by Malory's own editor, [[William Caxton]], who preferred a Welsh location.<ref name="Caxton">Malory, ''Le Morte d'Arthur'', p. xvii.</ref> {{clear}}

== Identifications ==
[[File:The Great Hall, Winchester Castle - geograph.org.uk - 1540296.jpg|thumb|[[Winchester Castle]]'s Great Hall with a 13th-century prop [[Round Table]]]]

Arthurian scholar [[Norris J. Lacy]] commented that "Camelot, located nowhere in particular, can be anywhere."<ref name="Lacy">{{cite book|first1=Norris J.|last1=Lacy|author-link1=:Norris J. Lacy|first2=Geoffrey |last2=Ashe|editor-first=Norris J.|editor-last=Lacy|year=1991|title=The New Arthurian Encyclopedia|pages=66–67|chapter=Camelot|series=Garland Reference Library of the Humanities|volume=931|location=New York & London |publisher=Garland Publishing, Inc|isbn=0-8240-4377-4}}</ref> The romancers' versions of Camelot draw on earlier traditions of Arthur's fabulous court. The Celliwig of ''Culhwch and Olwen'' appears in the Welsh Triads as well; this early Welsh material places Wales' greatest leader outside its national boundaries. Geoffrey's description of Caerleon is probably based on his personal familiarity with the town and [[Isca Augusta|its Roman ruins]]; it is less clear that Caerleon was associated with Arthur before Geoffrey. Several French romances (''Perlesvaus'', the Didot ''Perceval'' attributed to [[Robert de Boron]], and even the early romances of Chrétien such as ''[[Erec and Enide]]'' and ''[[Yvain, the Knight of the Lion]]'') have Arthur hold court at "Carduel in Wales", a northern city based on the real Carlisle. Malory's identification of Camelot as Winchester was probably partially inspired by the latter city's history: it had been the capital of [[Wessex]] under [[Alfred the Great]], and boasted the [[Winchester Round Table]], an artefact constructed in the 13th century but widely believed to be the original by Malory's time. Caxton rejected the association, saying Camelot was in Wales and that its ruins could still be seen; this is a likely reference to the Roman ruins at [[Caerwent]].<ref name="Caxton"/>

[[File:Cadbury Castle (geograph 3884937).jpg|thumb|left|[[Cadbury Castle, Somerset|Cadbury Castle]] archaeological site]]

In 1542, [[John Leland (antiquary)|John Leland]] reported that the locals around [[Cadbury Castle, Somerset|Cadbury Castle]] (formerly known as Camalet)<ref name=rev>Phelps, W. [https://books.google.com/books?id=_vw1AQAAMAAJ&pg=RA1-PA118 ''The History and Antiquities of Somersetshire; Being a General and Parochial Survey of That Interesting County, to which is Prefixed an Historical Introduction, with a Brief View of Ecclesiastical History; and an Account of the Druidical, Belgic-British, Roman, Saxon, Danish, and Norman Antiquities, Now Extant'', Vol.&nbsp;II, Ch.&nbsp;VI, §1: "Camalet or Cadbury", p.&nbsp;118] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231110013218/https://books.google.com/books?id=_vw1AQAAMAAJ&pg=RA1-PA118#v=onepage&q&f=false |date=2023-11-10 }}. J.&nbsp;B. Nichols & Son (London), 1839.</ref> in [[Somerset]] considered it to be the original Camelot. This theory, which was repeated by later antiquaries, is bolstered, or may have derived from, Cadbury's proximity to the [[River Cam (Somerset)|River Cam]] and the villages of [[Queen Camel]] and [[West Camel]], and remained popular enough to help inspire a large-scale archaeological dig in the 20th century.<ref name="Cadbury"/> These excavations, led by archaeologist [[Leslie Alcock]] from 1966 to 1970, were titled "Cadbury-Camelot" and won much media attention.<ref name="Cadbury"/> The dig revealed that the site seems to have been occupied as early as the 4th millennium BC and to have been refortified and occupied by a major Brittonic ruler and his war band from {{c.|lk=no|470}}. This [[sub-Roman Britain|early medieval]] settlement continued until around 580.<ref name=nhle>{{NHLE|desc=Large multivallate hillfort and associated earthworks at South Cadbury|num=1011980|access-date=1 June 2013}}</ref> The works were by far the largest known fortification of the period, double the size of comparative ''[[caer]]s'' and with Mediterranean artefacts representing extensive trade<ref>{{cite book |last=Alcock |first=Leslie |author-link=Leslie Alcock |title="By South Cadbury is that Camelot...": Excavations at Cadbury Castle 1966–70 |year=1972 |publisher=Thames and Hudson |location=London |isbn=0-8128-1505-X |url=https://archive.org/details/wasthiscamelotex00alco }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Alcock |first=Leslie |author-link=Leslie Alcock |title=Arthur's Britain |year=1973 |publisher=Pelican |location=Harmondsworth |isbn=0-14-021396-1 |url=https://archive.org/details/arthursbritainhi00alco_0 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Tabor |first=Richard |title=Cadbury Castle: The hillfort and landscapes |year=2008 |publisher=The History Press |location=Stroud |pages=169–172|isbn=978-0-7524-4715-5}}</ref> and [[Saxons|Saxon]] ones showing possible conquest.<ref name="Cadbury"/> The use of the name Camelot and the support of [[Geoffrey Ashe]] helped ensure much publicity for the finds, but Alcock himself later grew embarrassed by the supposed Arthurian connection to the site. Following the arguments of [[David Dumville]], Alcock felt the site was too late and too uncertain to be a tenable Camelot.<ref>Alcock &&nbsp;al.</ref> Modern archaeologists follow him in rejecting the name, calling it instead Cadbury Castle hill fort. Despite this, Cadbury remains widely associated with Camelot.

The name of the Romano-British town of Camulodunum (modern [[Colchester]]) was derived from the Celtic god [[Camulus]]. However, it was located well within territory usually thought to have been conquered early in the 5th century by Saxons, so it is unlikely to have been the location of any "true" Camelot, as Arthur is traditionally dated to the late 5th and early 6th century. The town was definitely known as Colchester as early as the ''[[Anglo-Saxon Chronicle]]'' in 917. Even [[Colchester Castle|Colchester Museum]] argues strongly regarding the historical Arthur: "It would be impossible and inconceivable to link him to the Colchester area, or to Essex more generally," pointing out that the connection between the name Camulodunum and Colchester was unknown until the 18th century.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.camulos.com/arthur/official.htm |title=Official Response to linking Arthur and Colchester |access-date=2007-08-26 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071030005559/http://www.camulos.com/arthur/official.htm |archive-date=2007-10-30 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Arthurian scholar Peter Field has suggested that another Camulodunum, a former Roman fort, is a likely location of King Arthur's Camelot<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-wales-north-west-wales-38330272|title=Professor reveals 'the true Camelot'|work=BBC News |date=18 December 2016|access-date=21 June 2018|archive-date=28 June 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180628171641/https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-wales-north-west-wales-38330272|url-status=live}}</ref> and that "[[Slack Roman Fort|Slack]], on the outskirts of [[Huddersfield]] in [[West Yorkshire]]," is where Arthur would have held court. This is because of the name, and also regarding its strategic location: it is but a few miles from the extreme south-west of Hen Ogledd (also making close to [[North Wales]]), and would have been a flagship point in staving off attacks to the Celtic kingdoms from the [[Angles (tribe)|Angles]] and others.

Other places in Britain with names related to "Camel" have also been suggested, such as [[Camelford]] in Cornwall, located down the [[River Camel]] from where Geoffrey places Camlann, the scene of Arthur's final battle. The area's connections with Camelot and Camlann are merely speculative. Further north, [[Camelon]] and its connections with [[Arthur's O'on]] have been mentioned in relation to Camelot, but Camelon may be an antiquarian neologism coined after the 15th century, with its earlier name being ''Carmore'' or ''Carmure''.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Gibb|first1=Alexander|title=The Stirling Antiquary: Reprinted from "The Stirling Sentinel," 1888–[1906]|date=1904|publisher=Cook & Wylie|location=Stirling|pages=349–365|url=https://archive.org/stream/stirlingantiqua01unkngoog#page/n361/mode/2up/search/camelon|access-date=9 December 2017}}</ref> [[Graham Phillips (writer)|Graham Phillips]] rejected the word "Camelot" entirely as just Chrétien's invention and instead proposed the old Roman city of [[Viroconium]] (near [[Shrewsbury]] in modern England) as Arthur's capital, citing archaeological evidence of a grand palace having been in use around 500 AD.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.grahamphillips.net/arthur_tomb/arthur_tomb3.html|title=The Lost Tomb of King Arthur 3|website=www.grahamphillips.net|access-date=2022-06-28|archive-date=2022-06-28|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220628223509/http://www.grahamphillips.net/arthur_tomb/arthur_tomb3.html|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Alistair Moffat]] identified Camelot with [[Roxburgh]] in Scotland.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dn11DwAAQBAJ&pg=PA271|title=King Arthur: The Making of the Legend|first=Nicholas J.|last=Higham|date=November 20, 2018|publisher=Yale University Press|isbn=9780300240863|via=Google Books|access-date=June 28, 2022|archive-date=November 10, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231110013218/https://books.google.com/books?id=dn11DwAAQBAJ&pg=PA271#v=onepage&q&f=false|url-status=live}}</ref>

== Modern culture ==
Camelot has become a permanent fixture in modern interpretations of the Arthurian legend. The symbolism of Camelot so impressed [[Alfred, Lord Tennyson]] that he wrote up a prose sketch on the castle as one of his earliest attempts to treat the legend.<ref>Staines, David (1991). "Alfred, Lord Tennyson". In Norris J. Lacy (Ed.), ''The New Arthurian Encyclopedia'', pp. 446–449. New York: Garland. {{ISBN|0-8240-4377-4}}.</ref> Modern stories typically retain Camelot's lack of precise location and its status as a symbol of the Arthurian world, though they typically transform the castle itself into romantically lavish visions of a [[High Middle Ages]] palace.<ref name="Lacy" /> Some writers of the "realist" strain of modern Arthurian fiction have attempted a more sensible Camelot. Inspired by Alcock's Cadbury-Camelot excavation, some authors such as [[Marion Zimmer Bradley]] and [[Mary Stewart (novelist)|Mary Stewart]] place their Camelots in that place and describe it accordingly.<ref name="Cadbury" />

[[File:Tintagel DSC 7491.jpg|thumb|Camelot Castle Hotel featuring a replica of the Winchester Round Table<ref>{{Cite journal|title=Conjuring the Ghosts of Camelot: Tintagel and the Medievalism of Heritage Tourism|url=https://www.academia.edu/29915353|journal=Medieval Afterlives in Contemporary Culture|language=en|access-date=2019-06-27|archive-date=2023-11-10|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231110013219/https://www.academia.edu/29915353|url-status=live}}</ref> (a view from [[Tintagel Castle]])|alt=]]

Camelot lends its name to the musical ''[[Camelot (musical)|Camelot]]'', which was adapted into a [[Camelot (film)|film of the same title]], featuring the Castle of [[Coca, Segovia]] as Camelot. An Arthurian television series ''[[Camelot (TV series)|Camelot]]'' was also named after the castle, as were some other works including the video game ''[[Camelot (video game)|Camelot]]'' and the comic book series ''[[Camelot 3000]]''. French television series ''[[Kaamelott]]'' presents a humorous alternative version of the Arthurian legend; [[Camelot Theme Park]] is a now-abandoned Arthurian theme park resort located in the English county of [[Lancashire]]. The [[Camelot Group]] was the first operator of the [[UK National Lottery]]<ref>{{Cite web |last=Clarke |first=Josie |date=2024-02-01 |title=National Lottery changes hands as Allwyn replaces Camelot as operator |url=https://www.standard.co.uk/business/business-news/national-lottery-changes-hands-as-allwyn-replaces-camelot-as-operator-b1136239.html |access-date=2024-02-15 |website=Evening Standard |language=en}}</ref> with lottery machines named after characters, places, and objects in Arthurian legend.<ref name="storry">{{cite book|last1=Storry|first1=Mike|last2=Childs|first2=Peter|title=British Cultural Identities|date=25 November 2016|publisher=Routledge|isbn=9781315440583|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oMaVDQAAQBAJ&q=camelot%20lottery%20king%20arthur&pg=PT36|access-date=11 January 2017|language=en|archive-date=10 November 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231110013219/https://books.google.com/books?id=oMaVDQAAQBAJ&q=camelot%20lottery%20king%20arthur&pg=PT36#v=snippet&q=camelot%20lottery%20king%20arthur&f=false|url-status=live}}</ref> The vast cultural impact of Camelot can be seen in numerous works, products, and organisations. [https://rbscpexhibits.lib.rochester.edu/exhibits/show/visualizing_camelot/welcome Visualizing Camelot], a [[University of Rochester]] exhibit by Alan and [[Barbara Tepa Lupack]] offered a cross-section of 350 such items in 2024.<ref>https://www.medievalists.net/2024/12/visualizing-camelot-how-king-arthur-captured-popular-culture/</ref>

In strictly American contexts, [[Camelot era]] refers to the [[Presidency of John F. Kennedy|presidency]] of [[John F. Kennedy]]. In a 1963 ''[[Life (magazine)|Life]]'' interview, [[Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis|Jacqueline]], his widow, referenced a line from the Lerner and Loewe musical to describe the Kennedy era [[White House]]: "Don't let it be forgot, that once there was a spot, for one brief shining moment, that was known as Camelot." She indicated that it was one of Kennedy's favourite lyrics from the musical and added, "there'll be great Presidents again [...] but there'll never be another Camelot again."<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=T1IEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA159|title=For President Kennedy|author=[[Theodore H. White]]|magazine=[[Life (magazine)|Life]]|date=December 6, 1963|access-date=January 31, 2021|archive-date=November 10, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231110013218/https://books.google.com/books?id=T1IEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA159#v=onepage&q&f=false|url-status=live}}</ref>

== See also ==
* [[List of mythological places]]
* [[Locations associated with Arthurian legend]]

== References ==

=== Citations ===
{{Reflist}}

=== Bibliography ===
*[[Leslie Alcock|Alcock, Leslie]]; Stenvenson, S. J.; & Musson, C. R. (1995). ''Cadbury Castle, Somerset: The Early Medieval Archaeology''. University of Wales Press.
* Ashley, Mike (2005). ''The Mammoth Book of King Arthur''. London: Running Press. {{ISBN|0-7867-1566-9}}.
*[[Norris J. Lacy|Lacy, Norris J.]] (Ed.) (1991). ''The New Arthurian Encyclopedia''. New York: Garland. {{ISBN|0-8240-4377-4}}.

==External links==
{{Commons category}}
*[http://d.lib.rochester.edu/camelot/theme/camelot.html Camelot] at The Camelot Project

{{Arthurian Legend}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Fictional elements introduced in the 12th century]]
[[Category:Fictional fortifications]]
[[Category:Locations associated with Arthurian legend]]
[[Category:Mythological populated places]]
[[Category:Fictional buildings and structures originating in literature]]
[[Category:King Arthur]]