KING ARTHUR'S LAND 81 met. We have evidence which appears to be sufficient that Mordred was King of the Picts, or, as he is sometimes termed, King of Scotland, and the head of a confederacy of Picts, Scots and Saxons, or, as some authorities have it of Picts, Scots and renegade Britons. With this composite army he gave battle to Arthur and his faithful British force, in which the latter were defeated and Arthur slain. " It is worth noting as in favour of the Scottish location of the battle that Geoffrey [of Monmouth] who places it on the Camel states Mordred's force to have consisted of Picts and Scots. It is surely improbable that Arthur could have been confronted in Cornwall by a great army of these northern savages. ... It may be added that an earthwork with double lines of circumvallation in the neigh- bouring valley of the Tay now known as Barry Hill, is designated by tradition as Mordred's castle." Where Arthur was buried will ever remain an open question ; Glastonbury long claimed the honour but that has for some time been discredited by those who have gone into the evidence. The romantic account of his " passing," as given by Malory and Tennyson is very fine. It tells how Arthur, wounded to death, is carried down to the 11
