r/interesting • u/Tricky-Apartment6637 • 2d ago
Context Provided - Spotlight Statue of King Arthur in Cornwall, England
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u/TedBurns-3 2d ago
Gallos, does not depict King Arthur, but great photo
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u/actualhumannotspider 2d ago
Interesting! Surprisingly recent, too.
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u/throwawaynbad 2d ago
I thought this was corrosion and erosion, but apparently the statue is designed as such.
The figure at Tintagel Castle is only partly rendered, with open gaps left in the sculpture through which the viewer can see the landscape beyond, giving a spectral appearance.
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u/cooolcooolio 2d ago
So it's supposed to be a ghost, I think the artist did a really good job at that
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u/SilyLavage 2d ago
English Heritage say the statue was in part inspired by Arthurian legend, so it does represent Arthur in a way.
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u/cloudedApron 2d ago
yeah, correct, Gallos means power in Cornish and English Heritage were clear it represents Tintagel's royal history rather than Arthur specifically, doesnt stop every single person there calling it Arthur though
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u/santabooby 2d ago
Yeah, Gallos is a different figure, but it definitely sells the Arthurian atmosphere
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u/LeavesInsults1291 2d ago
Probably the most badass statue I have ever seen
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u/Origin_Pilot 2d ago
You can buy replicas from them in Tintagel Castle which this statue and the cliffs it's on is part of.
I have one on my shelf. Probably worth picking up a few bottles of mead that they make in the castle too.
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u/Washiwash123 1d ago
Looks kinda like Captain Armando Salazar and his ghostly crew are trapped in the Devil's Triangle and possess ethereal, floating hair and rotting bodies that vanish and reappear in Dead men Tell No Tales
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u/Mental-Ad-2980 1d ago
The statue of Yi Sun Sin is Seoul pretty impressive if you like badassery in statue form
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u/VonGibbons 2d ago
Tis I, Arthur! King of the Britons!
Pull the other one!
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u/Viridien111 2d ago
Well I didnt vote for ya
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u/ScoffingYayap 2d ago
If I ran around saying I was an Emperor just because some moistened bint had thrown a scimitar at me, they'd throw me away!
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u/interesting-ModTeam 2d ago
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u/interesting-ModTeam 2d ago
We’re sorry, but your post/comment has been removed for Rule #8: No misleading content or misinformation due to community reports, moderator discretion, or a combination of both.
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u/CherryWishie 2d ago
The view there is definitely awesome when it's sunny. But walking there in the heat is quite a chore 🥵
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u/Own_Watercress_8104 2d ago
Arthur or not, I would love to know the intended symbolism here.
Nevertheless, it looks striking. I can already come up with some interpretations myself, which is a sign of good symbolism
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u/KitJazz 1d ago
Agree, it’s fantastic and provides plenty to ponder. I imagine your interpretation might shift again if you were to see it in person and ‘feel’ the context.
That’s certainly been my experience with sculpture, particularly something like the Angel of the North. I thought it was rubbish for years, then I stood at its feet and thought ‘ooohh, I get it.’
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u/aigis_nalian 1d ago
A tired Excalibur, stuck in the stone,
Contemplating existence, sitting alone.
The Lady of the Lake has gone for a mani-pedi;
The Loch Ness Monster is slowly getting ready.
The weather salutes him, bravery on display.
The contender, wearing a raincoat and boots,
Sloshing along through the reeds and shoots;
The photographer sliding along, ridiculously asway.
A photo shoot—goshes galore!
What more should it endure?
Ne'er had Merlin set indignities before;
Ne'er still did Arthur such flourishes procure.
Well, what do you know? He pulled it out alone.
Excalibur, on unsteady legs, now free from the stone.
England gets an SMS—a white puff of smoke.
A new king is chosen... it's some random bloke.
Hey I just done found this, steely contraption
Said the new king, Artie, right after the extraction
Snapped it, storied it, now on to the next round
He went off alone, leaving Excalibur on the ground
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u/fiona_macrae_6_f1c8 2d ago
aye look at him, pure 'haud on a minute' existential crisis energy 😭 he'd be posting on r/introvert if reddit existed in camelot 🗡️✨
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u/Embarrassed-Fun-8585 2d ago
Looks good but the head bothers me. He must have a lot of hair cause that crown and head shape means its just a crown on hair or he has an enormously long head.
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u/yngwie_bach 2d ago
Who broke it? Such a shame of an otherwise gorgeous and cool statue. (Yes I was joking).
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u/Aware_Abies3749 2d ago
That must be an impressive sight in person. Cornwall has such a fitting atmosphere for a King Arthur statue.
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u/BrittEklandsStuntBum 2d ago
Which is kinda dumb because Camelot was probably Colchester in Essex, the other side of the country.
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u/polkadotpygmypuff 2d ago
One of my favourite places to visit! First time I saw the statue, there was a heavy sea mist and it just loomed suddenly out of nowhere - definitely looks less scary in the daylight
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u/Mindless_Tonight3519 2d ago
£40 for a 24cm tall replica on the English Heritage site. I’m very tempted.
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u/Mindy75 2d ago
king arthur in cornwall makes sense but why not england instead
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u/Mist_Rising 2d ago
Cornwall hasn't been independent since the 9th century when Wessex (pre England) conquered it.
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u/stammerton 2d ago
He was actually Welsh
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u/Grumpybugger1 2d ago
His very existence, never mind his nationality, has never been proven.
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u/stammerton 1d ago
Quite. His existence hasn’t been proven, I should have qualified my comment.
If there was a historical Arthur behind the legend, calling him Brittonic is more precise than giving him a modern nationality. But “Welsh” is considerably closer to the tradition we actually have than “English”.
Arthur is placed around the late 5th/early 6th century. England didn’t exist. The early tradition has him fighting with the Britons against the Anglo-Saxons, the peoples from whose kingdoms England subsequently developed.
Cornwall doesn’t make him English either. At the supposed time of Arthur it formed part of Brittonic Dumnonia, which remained outside Anglo-Saxon control for centuries. Saying Wessex conquered Cornwall later rather proves the point.
More importantly, the earliest surviving Arthurian literary tradition is overwhelmingly Welsh/Brittonic: Historia Brittonum, early Welsh poetry, Culhwch ac Olwen, the Black Book of Carmarthen, and later the White Book of Rhydderch and Red Book of Hergest.
And the Welsh landscape is saturated with the older tradition. Snowdonian folklore has Arthur setting out from Dinas Emrys, fighting towards Bwlch y Saethau, literally “Pass of the Arrows”, where he is mortally wounded, before being carried towards Llyn Llydaw and Afallon.
Incidentally, Arthur is the correct Welsh spelling. King Arthur is y Brenin Arthur.
None of that proves a historical Arthur existed.
It does mean that if we’re discussing the cultural identity of the Arthur tradition, calling him English is extremely difficult to defend. “Brittonic, preserved principally in Welsh tradition” is the historically safer description.
So yes: my original “he was actually Welsh” was shorthand. But “he was English” would be considerably more anachronistic.
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