Carlisle

by Brian Edward Rise

A Cumbrian city of Roman origin. It managed to exist for years after the retreat of the Empire. The old name, Luguvallum, is suggestive of a link to the Celtic god Lugh. The name abbreviated over time with the Welsh prefix for city, caer, added.

At the end of the sixth century, this area was the center for the kingdom of Rheged. Several bards emerged from this region whose heroic poetry and sagas celebrated northern warriors. Thanks to these works, Carlisle is found in Arthurian material. English stories of this city feature Gawain as the hero and it also the place, in Malory, where Lancelot rescues Guinevere from burning at the stake.

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