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The fabled Castle where King Arthur held his court. Where was it? Claims have been made for Winchester, Caerleon, Colchester and, perhaps our own favourite site, Cadbury Castle in Somerset. First mentioned in Chrėtien de Troyes in Lancelot, Malory identified it with Winchester where our Society was founded in 1959 and where you may see King Arthur’s Round Table in the Great Hall of the Castle. Cadbury, an Iron Age hill fort was excavated for five years in the late 60s, largely through the persistence of Jess Foster the Founder/ Secretary and Geoffrey Ashe, the Chairman of the Pendragon Society. Geoffrey was appointed Hon. Secretary of the Camelot Research Committee, which was formed to sponsor the digs, Jess was invited to join the committee. A marquee was erected at the foot of the hill where Pendragon members provided shelter, hospitality, refreshments and leaflets to the crowds who came to visit the site, literally from all around the world. The scepticism of many academic critics was shattered by Leslie Alcock, the archaeologist in charge, reporting to the world that the Hall of a Dark Age Arthur-type chieftain had been discovered on the summit plateau. At the end of the final year he toasted the Pendragon Society for having acted as a prime force in the undertaking of the excavations. In the Arthurian stories King Arthur and his Knights assembled on the Holy Feasts at the Round/Table at Camelot where they caroused together, regaled each other with stories of valour and were often challenged by strange visitors: damsels in distress, dwarfs, hermits and, one Christmas, a fearsome Green knight, to prove their chivalry and their bravery by undertaking difficult and perilous Quests, the greatest of these being The Quest of the Holy Grail. Christopher Snyder has written, ‘Camelot has become, in the English vocabulary, a synonym for Utopia’ This Camelot section is intended to be a meeting place where we can share some of the activities of our Society with you by presenting short articles, creative writing, news, letters, reviews and reports which illustrate our exploration of the Matter of Britain over many years. We have an impressive record of achievement by our members and affiliates, a list of some of their names can be seen on our Society section. Our Round Table to be held in 2009 will be our Golden Anniversary
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