Caerleon - The Castle of the Legions

The Founding of Caerleon ("car-LEE-un")

Sir Galahad met Sir Gareth and traveled with him to a port on the upper Usk River in Wales, which flows down into the Severn Sea. They had intended to travel by boat downriver to the ancient Roman site of Isca, where they planned to establish a fortress as a home for King Arthur’s court. However, they discovered that the Usk was filled with many ships, and they feared that there might be spies among the vessels who would send word to an adversary of Arthur’s court. Not wanting their quest to be revealed too soon, they chose instead to make their way downriver by land. This route proved to be perilous too, as it passed through the treacherous foothills of the Black Mountains. At last, at the borders of the Welsh district of Glamorganshire, they came to the top of a steep cliff, overlooking the Usk, and looking downstream they could see the ruins of Isca.

The cliff was steep, and fell away many hundred feet to the rocks below, at the river’s edge. Neither Galahad nor Gareth had brought with them ropes for climbing, and the cliff was too steep and barren to attempt without the aid of a rope. In despair at the thought of needing to retrace their steps, thus delaying their urgent quest, they sat at the cliff edge and rested, while they pondered their predicament. Galahad thought about the peasant’s hut they had passed not long before, and remembered seeing clothing strung out between two trees to dry – on a cord! He returned to the hut and borrowed the cord, in the name of King Arthur.

The knights attached the cord to a tree at the top of the cliff, and began their descent. The stone proved to be loose and crumbling, and the cord they had borrowed was smooth and difficult to grip, so that more than once the knights nearly lost their hold and plunged to the rocks below. At last the cliff became less steep and they were able to scramble down the rocky slope to the shore of the river.

They followed alongside the river – which was much less traveled in those parts than it had been further upstream – down to the ancient ruins. They left many of their supplies there, and continued downstream to explore. As they came around a bend in the river, they saw in the distance a figure sitting upon a rock in the middle of the water. It seemed to be in the form of a human woman, but as it moved they noticed a glimmer, the reflection of the sun from her body, and realized that she was no human but a mermaid, journeyed upstream from the ocean.

     I sing to thee, oh mortals,
     I call to your hearts,
     And weave my thoughts
     Into your souls.

     I hear your calling,
     Hear the haunting melody,
     I long to come to you
     To hold you in my arms.

     Come closer, mortals,
     Do not be afraid,
     Let the cold, swift waters
     Carry you to me.

     I come, and yet I fear,
     The water churns and pulls,
     And you, so far away,
     What if you let me drown?

     To drown, dear mortals,
     Is no worthy fear,
     The watery depths hold mysteries
     That living mortals cannot see.

     The water swift,
     The river cold,
     I long to come to thee,
     And yet I turn around.

     Your fear, oh mortals,
     Holds you from your fate;
     No truth on earth there is
     That matches my embrace.

     Farewell, oh endless beauty
     In your watery estate,
     Farewell, I cannot stay here
     To meet an early grave.

The two knights returned up the river to where they had left their supplies, and began to search through the ruins for a suitable place to build the meeting hall to house the Arthurian court. At last they chose a spot, amidst the collapsed ruin of an old Roman fortification, of which a few pieces of wall were still standing. The main entrance would open up onto a mossy landing near the water, where boats could be docked. The site had a clear view of the river, and was already substantially fortified. The fallen stones from the Roman fortress of old were still strewn about, making the task of repair much easier, because they would not need to search far to find stones with which to build, and the stones had already been hewn into ideal blocks for building.

Galahad and Gareth began gathering stones from the surrounding area and bringing them to the site, although Gareth soon became weary and simply stood watching Galahad carry rocks to and fro. They began to repair a section of the wall, and found that the rocks fit together surprisingly well, making it easy work. As Galahad was lifting a large stone up onto the wall, Gareth called to him from near the water, saying that a boat was approaching from upstream. Galahad put down the stone and walked over to where Gareth was standing. The boat approached, and pulled up beside the two knights. A strange-looking man stepped out, and greeted them. He was dressed in what appeared to be a thick, dark, skin-like garment, that covered his whole body except for his face, like soft armour. He was indeed an odd sight.

“What are you doing here, my good fellows,” the man asked.

Galahad was suspicious, and dared not reveal their full intentions. “We are exploring these ancient ruins, and imagining what they must have been like in their days of glory,” he replied.

“A strange task indeed,” the man laughed, clearly amused. “You seem as crazy as I, for not many people travel so far down the Usk these days. Have you encountered anyone else in the course of your journeys in these parts?”

“As a matter of fact, yes,” said Galahad. “Not long ago we traveled down alongside the river, and we came upon a mermaid sitting on a rock. She tried to lure us into the water, to drown, but we would not give in to her.”

“A mermaid!” the man whispered in a low voice, as a change came over his eyes, and he stepped closer to the knights. “Perhaps it is she whom I have long sought. This is news indeed… What luck that I have chanced to come here now!” He bade a quick farewell to the knights, and hurriedly set off downstream in his boat.

“What a strange man,” said Galahad as they watched his boat pass around a bend in the river.

“Indeed,” said Gareth.

They continued their work on the castle wall, until they had restored a fair-sized section of it, and decided that it was time to journey upstream again, for Gareth had pressing business to attend to on an island in the north of Wales.

They followed the river upstream until they reached the base of the cliff that they had descended with the help of the cord. However, some fishermen had come upon the cord at the top of the cliff, and had pulled it up to look at it, making it impossible for Gareth and Galahad to climb back up, not that they had been looking forward to hanging from a thin, slippery cord on that cliff again anyway. But they had left their boat at the top of the cliff, so they couldn’t boat back up the river. Weaker men would have been at a loss, but Galahad and Gareth, being hardy knights, swam and waded through the cold waters of the Usk for miles upstream, until they could travel on land once more.

Thus the castle of Caerleon was founded, and Galahad returned to King Arthur for counsel, and to obtain the help of many men to continue the construction of this new fortress and gathering place.