Caer Cadarn

The sacred place of the pagans where the kings of Dumnonia are acclaimed, Caer Cadarn with its great hall and high ramparts provides the novel's opening and is several times revisited. The High King Uther has decided that Caer Cadarn alone is appropriate for the birth of his grandson and badly-needed heir. The conflicting rituals of Christians and Druids to ensure a successful birth are carefully depicted here. The novel returns to Caer Cadarn for the baby King Mordred's acclamation and a council to decide who will care for him and his throne until he comes of age. Caer Cadarn is near the Roman villa at Lindinis, where Arthur and Guinevere normally live.

Dinnewrac

A fictional monastery in Powys, Dinnewrac is where the elderly pagan warrior Derfel Cadarn, the novel's narrator, has become a monk and is recording on parchments his eyewitness stories of Arthur. The...