Gourt Home::Gourt :: Caerleon
Caerleon () is a suburban village situated on the River Usk on the northern outskirts of the city of Newport. It also forms a community (parish) and electoral district (ward) of the city.
The ward is bounded by the river Usk to the southwest, the A4042 to the west, the A449 to the east and Malthouse Road to the north. Caerleon is home to the Celtic Manor Resort, location of the 2010 Ryder Cup. It is also home to a large campus of the University of Wales, Newport.
Until the 19th century development of the downstream docks at Newport, Caerleon acted as the major port on the Usk river. The wharf was located on the right bank, to the west of today's river bridge which marked the limit of navigability for masted ships.
Caerleon also has a renown for its propensity to bibulousness. A straw poll survey in 1981 discovered 41 separate locations where alcohol was to be had (40 if one discounts the local Roman Catholic church).
Roman Caerleon
Caerleon is a site of considerable archaeological importance, being the site of a Roman legionary fortress (it was the headquarters for Legio II Augusta from about 75 to 300 AD) and an iron age hill fort.
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.
Because of its circular form, the unexcavated amphitheatre was known to locals as "King Arthur's Round Table", but there is no known connection. An initial investigation in 1909 showed the potential for a full-scale excavation of the structure, which began in 1926 and was supervised by Victor Nash-Williams. This revealed, among other things, that the amphitheatre had been built around 90AD, but had twice been partially reconstructed, once in the early part of the 2nd century AD, and again about a hundred years later. The arena is oval in shape, with eight entrances, and the stadium is thought to have had a capacity of around 6000.
Christian martyrdoms?
According to the Venerable Bede, Roman Caerleon may have been the site of several early Christian Martyrdoms in Britain, at the same time as that of St. Alban the first English martyr, who was killed in the Roman city of Verulamium (beside modern-day St Albans). He writes:- Passi sunt ea tempestate Aaron et Iulius Legionum urbis ciues, aliique utriusque sexus diuersis in locis perplures, qui diuersis cruciatibus torti, et inaudita membrorum discerptione lacerati, animas ad supernae ciuitatis gaudia perfecto agone miserunt.
- "At the same time suffered Aaron and Julius, inhabitants of the city of the legions, and many others of both sexes, in other places; who, having been tormented on the rack till their members were dislocated, and having endured various other unheard-of cruelties, yielded their souls, after the conflict was over, to the joys of the city above." - Historia ecclesiastica gentis Anglorum. Book One, Chapter Seven St Bede the Venerable.
This city of the legions may be identified with Chester, Caerleon, or Leicester.
Caerleon and Arthurian Legend
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, Wace, and Layamon. These early Arthurian authors say that Arthur's capital was in Caerleon, and even the later recaster of Arthurian material, Sir Thomas Malory, has Arthur re-crowned at "Carlion" (Caerleon). It has been suggested that the still-visible Roman amphitheatre at Caerleon 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, Chrétien de Troyes.)Geoffrey of Monmouth writes of Caerleon in the mid 12th century:
- "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 "History of the Kings of Britain")
Caerleon also has later Arthurian literary associations, as the birthplace of the writer Arthur Machen who often used it as a location in his work. Alfred Lord Tennyson also wrote his Idylls of the King overlooking the Usk in a bay window of what is now the saloon bar of the Hanbury Arms public house.
In Michael Morurgo's novel Arthur, High King if Britain, Caerleon is the castle where Arthur unknowingly commits incest with his half-sister Margause, resulting in the conception of his bastard son Mordred, who will later bring about his downfall.
External links
- Caerleon.net site containing details about the history of Caerleon
- Caerleon and Arthur
- Roman Legionary Museum NMGW's Caerleon Museum page
- Caerleon Castle castle description
- Celtic Manor Resort
- University of Wales, Newport
See also
Archaeological sites in Wales | Arthurian legend | Districts of Newport | Iron Age Britain | Roman forts in Wales | Roman amphitheatre buildings
"Caerleon"