Where did Arthur rule?

Answer 1

The presumed historic Arthur would have flourished somewhere in the former Roman province of Britannia, that is in the area now occupied by England, Wales, and southern Scotland.

It it is likely that he was more connected with some part of this area than others, but early sources don't indicate, except for some slight suggestions connecting Arthur to Cornwall. But some scholars reject this. Indeed, some scholars connect Arthur mainly with southern Scotland, and Arthur's main city in the earliest Arthurian romances is Carduel, which is generally believed to represent Carlisle.

In many of the medieval romances, Arthur is principally King of Logres. The name represents Welsh Loegyr, a Welsh name of unknown origin but used in historical sources to mean approximately England.

King Arthur is pictured as holding court at various different places, some of them historic and some of them unknown. In the earliest romances the cities where he most commonly holds court are Carduel/Carlisle and Caerleon. In the later prose romances King Arthur most often holds court at an inland city called Camelot, which has not been definitively identified with any historical site. Sites sometimes considered are Colchester in Essex (Latin Camulodunum), Slack in Yorkshire (also Latin Camulodunum), Cadbury Castle in Somerset, Winchester, Westminster, and Camelon in Falkirk in central Scotland. Some have said that Cornish legend also claims that Tintagel Castle in Cornwall was being the site of Camelot. However, this identification is found in no extant medieval text. Indeed, the two places are quite distinct.

The seacost town of Tintagel being close to the town of Camelford and the River Camel does not help this claim. Camelot is always in inland city when its geography is described.