Sublime

Henge, 1 mile south of Penrith. Further afield, 40 miles south-east, lies Pendragon Castle, said to have been built by Arthur’s father Uther Pendragon.

Gildas’s silence on Arthur says one of three things: that he was unknown to Gildas (perhaps his orbit was local; perhaps he was not yet famous when Gildas wrote); that his story came with inconvenient baggage (a reputation for extreme brutality or licentiousness, perhaps, like Gildas’s tyranni); or that he is a poetic figment of later imagination.

Conchobar

Pompey has a good claim to be called the first Roman emperor.

It’s not a great kingly sword like Caliburn, with garnets cloisonned into the pommel; the blade is not emblazoned with the word of God; the crossguard isn’t inlaid with silver or fashioned like the True Cross. It’s just a well-balanced sword in the Roman style, good for spilling guts; a bit weighty in the hilt because he likes to be able to turn it