08 January 2011

Was Winchester Camelot?

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As mentioned yesterday here we have the legendary King Arthur's Round Table and it is thought that Winchester may infact have been the fabled Camelot, see here for more info. 

A great pull for the tourists, but unfortunately through testing of the wood it was discovered that the table was probably only created around 1270 (so modern!) and therefore is not old enough for King Arthur (if there ever was such a person).

It's believed that the table was repainted by Henry VIII, hence the Tudor rose in the centre and possible likeness of Henry as King Arthur.

5 comments:

  1. Old joke: first knight of the Round Table? Sir Cumference. Thanks for calling in to Jorvik. I haven't looked you up for a while and have enjoyed this visit. Your photos look brighter than mine - must experiment.

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  2. They're probably just over exposed or something technical like that! Photoshop is way to complicated for me. Occasionally use Picassa and that's all.

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  3. It's pretty impressive, even if it is just a 13th Century fake!

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  4. King Arthur has been a popular story for a very long time. True or false I am not sure it really matters any more, because it is a wonderful tale.

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