Why Camelot considered a legendary kingdom?

Answer 1

Camelot is not considered a legendary kingdom, except in the writing of some modern novelists whom one may suppose to be ignorant.

In medieval Arthurian tales, Camelot is a city, not a kingdom, and in the late prose romances it is the city in which King Arthur most often holds court. As such it would appear to be an important city and as it is only mentioned in Arthurian romances or works which copy from them, it is sometimes used as a symbol of Arthur's reign.

It is considered legendary because it only appears in fantastical Arthurian tales and cannot be shown to be identical to any historic city within Britain. Sir Thomas Malory identifies Camelot with Winchester, but his sources distinguish the two cities. Some think it may have originally been either one of the two Roman cities in Britain known as Camulodinum, the at is Colchester and Slack in Yorkshire. Others try to identify it with Cadbury Castle in Somerset. Other make yet other identifications.

In the romances, Camelot is an inland city situated on the River of Camelot by the Forest of Camelot. Its main church is the Church of Saint Stephen.

It is possible that in some tales the author has identified it with Westminster, which in the 13th century was the main royal residence and place of parliament and was then not yet part of the City of London.

As a city of no historic location found only in fantastic tales, it must be considered at best as legendary, if not entirely fictitious.