Canterbury

Canterbury is a location associated in the book’s index with the closing crisis of Arthur’s kingdom: Mordred is crowned there, its bishop defies him, and Arthur is buried there. The references place the city at the intersection of usurped authority, ecclesiastical resistance, and the fate of the former king, though the evidence supplied records these events only as index entries rather than narrating their circumstances.

Role in the Final Political Crisis

The index records Mordred’s coronation at Canterbury and, immediately after, the bishop of Canterbury’s defiance of him. Together, these entries associate the city with two opposed claims of authority: Mordred’s assumption of kingship and a churchman’s refusal to accept his position. The entries establish the location and the opposition, but do not specify the ceremony, the bishop’s words or actions, or the outcome of his defiance.

Burial and Commemoration

A further index entry states that the bishop of Canterbury buries Arthur. Canterbury is therefore linked not only to the struggle over who may rule, but also to the burial of the king whose reign has ended. The index gives no further details about the burial or its date; its significance here is the juxtaposition of the city’s political associations with its role in Arthur’s final commemoration.

The Evidence and Its Limits

The material identifies Canterbury through a sequence of short index references: Mordred is crowned there, the bishop defies him, and the bishop buries Arthur. It does not describe Canterbury’s physical setting, civic institutions, or broader history, and it supplies no account of how the coronation, defiance, or burial unfolds. Accordingly, the city’s supported significance is specific and narrative: it is a named setting for Mordred’s claim, the bishop’s resistance, and Arthur’s burial.