Editing Caerleon (section)

=== Arthurian legend ===
In his 1191 ''[[Itinerarium Cambriae]]'', written about a tour of Wales in 1188 to recruit for the [[Third Crusade]], the author [[Gerald of Wales]] says of Caerleon, "the Roman ambassadors here received their audience at the court of the great king Arthur."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/travellers/Cambrensis_Tour/7 |series=Gerald of Wales |at=Book I, Ch. 5 |title=Usk and Caerleon |website=Vision of Britain |access-date=27 March 2016}}</ref>

Geoffrey makes Arthur's capital Caerleon and [[Thomas Malory]] has Arthur re-crowned there. The still extant [[amphitheatre]] at Caerleon has been associated with Arthur's '[[Round Table]];<ref>{{cite book |last1=Ottaway |first1=Patrick |first2=Michael |last2=Cyprian |title=A traveller's guide to Roman Britain |year=1987 |publisher=Historical Times |isbn=978-0-918678-19-5 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MtkOAAAAQAAJ&q=++%22round+table%22&pg=PA35 |page=35}}</ref> and has been suggested as a possible source for the legend.<ref>{{cite book |last=Castleden |first=Rodney |title=King Arthur: The truth behind the legend |year=1999 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-0-415-19575-1|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=F28cAoRntJwC&q=caerleon+%22round+table%22&pg=PA148 |page=148}}</ref>

<blockquote>For it was located in a delightful spot in [[Glamorgan]], 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 Britanniae]]'')</blockquote>

Though the huge scale of the ruins, along with Caerleon's importance as an urban centre in early medieval [[Kingdom of Gwent]], may have inspired Geoffrey, the main historical source for Arthur's link with "the camp of the legion" is the list of the [[Sites and places associated with Arthurian legend#Reputed Arthurian battle sites|twelve battles of Arthur]] in the 9th-century ''[[Historia Brittonum]]''. However the ''"urbs legionis"'' mentioned there may be [[Chester]] &ndash; or even [[York]].<ref>{{cite web |first=Keith |last=Fitzpatrick-Matthews |title=The Arthurian Battle List |url=https://www.scribd.com/doc/35181158/The-Arthurian-Battle-List-of-the-Historia-Brittonum-July-2010 }}{{dead link|date=March 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> "Camelot" first appears in [[Chrétien de Troyes]]' ''Lancelot'', though Chrétien also mentions Caerleon.

[[File:Machen plauque.jpg|thumb|upright|Plaque at birthplace of [[Arthur Machen]], The Square, High Street]]
Caerleon also has associations with later Arthurian literature as the birthplace of the writer [[Arthur Machen]] who often used it as a location in his work. [[Alfred Tennyson, 1st Baron Tennyson|Alfred Tennyson]] lodged at The Hanbury Arms while he wrote his ''Morte d'Arthur'' (later incorporated into his ''[[Idylls of the King]]'').<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.caerleon.net/history/arthur/page7.htm |title=King Arthur - Caerleon and the Legend |publisher=caerleon.net |access-date=15 December 2016}}</ref> Today Caerleon has a modern statue of a [[knight]], "The Hanbury Knight", in reflecting [[stainless steel]] by Belgian sculptor Thierry Lauwers.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.thierry-lauwers.net/cv_nederlands/cv_nederlands.html |title=cv nederlands |publisher=thierry-lauwers.net |access-date=15 December 2016 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20180412214953/http://www.thierry-lauwers.net/cv_nederlands/cv_nederlands.html |archive-date=12 April 2018 |url-status=usurped |df=dmy-all}}</ref> In [[Michael Morpurgo]]'s novel ''Arthur, High King of Britain'', Caerleon is the castle where Arthur unknowingly commits [[incest]] with his half-sister Morgaine, resulting in the conception of his son [[Mordred]] who will later bring about his downfall. [[Mary Stewart (novelist)|Mary Stewart]]'s account of the Arthurian legends also mentions Caerleon as a place where Arthur held court. In that telling, the incest took place at [[Luguvalium]].<ref>{{cite book |title=The Wicked Day |last=Stewart |first=Mary |year=1983 |location=USA |publisher=Ballantine Books |at=[https://archive.org/details/wickedday00stew_1/page/143 143, 147] |isbn=0-449-20519-3 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/wickedday00stew_1/page/143}}</ref>