Home > Caerleon

The name Caerleon is commonly thought to be from the Welsh for "fortress of the legion"; the Romans themselves called it Isca Silurum, "Usk of the Silures", after the Silures, the Celtic tribe that dwelt there.

Substantial excavated Roman remains can be seen, including the military amphitheatre, one of the most impressive in Britain, and the bath house, with a modern museum in situ above it. Both sites are administered by Cadw. There is a separate museum, part of the National Museums and Galleries of Wales complex, which exhibits finds from excavations throughout the village.

Caerleon is one of the sites most often connected with King Arthur's Camelot. There was no Camelot mentioned in the early Arthurian traditions recorded by Geoffrey of Monmouth, WaceWace (c. 1183) was an Anglo-Norman poet, who was born in Jersey and brought up in mainland Normandy (he tells us in the Roman de Rou that he was taken as a child to Caen), ending his career as Canon of Bayeux. His extant works include: Roman de Brut a ver and LayamonLayamon or Laamon (using the archaic letter yogh), was a poet of the early 13th century, whose Brut (c. 1215) is a history of England in verse written in early Middle English. Although based on the earlier Roman de Brut written in Anglo-Norman by Wace (in. These early Arthurian authors say that Arthur's capital was in Caerleon, and even the later recaster of Arthurian material, Sir Thomas MalorySir Thomas Malory (c. 1405 1471) was the author or compiler of Le Morte d'Arthur''. The antiquary John Leland believed him to be Welsh, but most modern scholarship and this article assumes that he was Sir Thomas Malory of Newbold Revel in Warwickshire., has Arthur recrowned at "Carlion" (Caerleon). It has been suggested that the still-visible Roman amphitheatre at Carleon is the source of the 'Round-Table' element of the tales, and was used for discussion and entertainment.(The "Camelot" reference originates with the French writer of courtly romance, Chretien de Troyes.)

Geoffrey of Monmouth writes of Caerleon in the mid 12th century:

For it was located in a delightful spot in GlamorganGlamorgan or Morgannwg is a maritime traditional county of Wales, UK, and was previously a medieval kingdom or principality. The county is bounded to the north by Brecknockshire, east by Monmouthshire, south by the Bristol Channel, and west by Carmarthens, on the River Usk, not far from the Severn Sea. Abounding in wealth more than other cities, it was suited for such a ceremony. For the noble river I have named flows along it on one side, upon which the kings and princes who would be coming from overseas could be carried by ship. But on the other side, protected by meadow and woods, it was remarkable for royal palaces, so that it imitated Rome in the golden roofs of its buildings... Famous for so many pleasant features, Caerleon was made ready for the announced feast.

Historia Regum BritanniaeGeoffrey of Monmouth's Historia Regum Britanni English The History of the Kings of Britain was written around 1136. It chronicles the lives of the kings of the Britons in a chronological narrative spanning a time of two thousand years. It begins with the "History of the Kings of Britain"