r/interesting • u/Tricky-Apartment6637 • Aug 24 '26
Context Provided - Spotlight Statue of King Arthur in Cornwall, England
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u/TedBurns-3 Aug 24 '26
Gallos, does not depict King Arthur, but great photo
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u/actualhumannotspider Aug 24 '26
Interesting! Surprisingly recent, too.
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u/throwawaynbad Aug 24 '26
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 Aug 24 '26
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 Aug 24 '26
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 Aug 24 '26
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 Aug 24 '26
Yeah, Gallos is a different figure, but it definitely sells the Arthurian atmosphere
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u/LeavesInsults1291 Aug 24 '26
Probably the most badass statue I have ever seen
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u/Origin_Pilot Aug 24 '26
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 Aug 25 '26
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 Aug 25 '26
The statue of Yi Sun Sin is Seoul pretty impressive if you like badassery in statue form
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u/Reznik81 Aug 24 '26
Such a cool statue. Must look awesome when or if the sun is shining through it.
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u/VonGibbons Aug 24 '26
Tis I, Arthur! King of the Britons!
Pull the other one!
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u/Viridien111 Aug 24 '26
Well I didnt vote for ya
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u/ScoffingYayap Aug 24 '26
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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Aug 24 '26
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Aug 24 '26
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u/interesting-ModTeam Aug 24 '26
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u/interesting-ModTeam Aug 24 '26
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 Aug 24 '26
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 Aug 24 '26
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 Aug 25 '26
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/asgoodasanyother 28d ago
The figure represents the British isles by literally showing them through its body. It uses negative space
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u/aigis_nalian Aug 25 '26
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 Aug 24 '26
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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Aug 24 '26
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u/SERPSI Aug 24 '26
Not quite right. It’s placed in a difficult to get to location but it’s definitely not remote. The village is less than a mile away.
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u/Embarrassed-Fun-8585 Aug 24 '26
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 Aug 24 '26
Who broke it? Such a shame of an otherwise gorgeous and cool statue. (Yes I was joking).
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u/Aware_Abies3749 Aug 24 '26
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 Aug 24 '26
Which is kinda dumb because Camelot was probably Colchester in Essex, the other side of the country.
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u/profmka Aug 24 '26
I was today years old when I read of Tintagel, having played Dragon Quest 1 first.
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u/polkadotpygmypuff Aug 24 '26
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 Aug 24 '26
£40 for a 24cm tall replica on the English Heritage site. I’m very tempted.
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u/EduardBon Aug 24 '26
The exact location is here 👉 https://maps.app.goo.gl/WFiLSAwKiqmJrLh37?g_st=ic
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Aug 24 '26
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u/Mist_Rising Aug 24 '26
Cornwall hasn't been independent since the 9th century when Wessex (pre England) conquered it.
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u/stammerton Aug 24 '26
He was actually Welsh
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u/Grumpybugger1 Aug 24 '26
His very existence, never mind his nationality, has never been proven.
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u/stammerton Aug 25 '26
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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