Salisbury

Salisbury County is your home and will be for your children and your children's children. Your father and your grandfather lived here, as did their ancestors as far back as anyone has chronicled.

About Salisbury


Salisbury consists of the ancestral holdings of the Count/Earl of Salisbury. It roughly corresponds to modern day Wiltshire, though Wiltshire has many areas from surrounding medieval counties incorporated into it. One thing to bear in mind is that, even at peace, the borders are not distinct as they are in the present so places just outside Salisbury (though never settlements or manors) may sometimes be inside.

The fief consists primarily of the ancient city of Sarum and the large land area on Salisbury Plain around it. The fief is composed of good farmland and provides other good forms of income such as fisheries and toll bridges. In addition, it is one of the most densely populated areas in Logres which means a proportional increase in harvest income and (later) scutage duties.

The county includes one large city, Sarum, and three small walled cities: Wilton, Warminster and Tilshead. Dozens of smaller towns and villages are not shown on the map but tend to cluster in river valleys within trading distance of the main cities. The county also has five castles. The one in Sarum is very strong; the other four (Devizes, du Plain, Ebble and Vagon) are common motte and bailey castles.

Readers of Arthuriana will note that pivotal events of the saga will happen in and around Salisbury County. It is not by accident that it is the focus of the campaign.

Sarum
Sarum is the power center for Salisbury. Educated people call the city Sorbiodunum while those who remember the old Cymric know it as Caer Caradduc.

Sarum was settled centuries ago on the windswept Salisbury Plain in the days before iron was used regularly and the Sun was worshipped at Stonehenge. While those old ways are waning in 485 their echoes can still be heard in the ancient walls of Sarum and the landmarks surrounding the city.

The city itself is surrounded by a great curtain wall, 12 feet thick and 40 feet high. Battlements give its top a serrated shape; the walls are the top of the line for the 5th century. Two gates, to the east and west, pierce the walls. They are defended by portcullis, murderholes and drawbridges.

In the center of the city is a great motte, or mound, upon which sits the castle of the Earl. Four ditch and rampart spokes radiate from the castle almost to the outer wall, dividing the city into quarters. In the northwestern quarter is the cathedral and other church buildings. The cathedral is dedicated to Saint Mary, Mother of God.

Notable Landmarks
Salisbury, even to the modern day, is packed with old landmarks from Britain's distant past. Though that past is somewhat less distant in the time of the campaign many of these sites are still filled with wonder, mystery and sometimes dread.

Ambrosius' Dike
Aurelius Ambrosius, the first Pendragon and brother of Uther, built these massive earthworks as part of a defense system against the Saxons to the east. They mark the northern boundary of the county

Avon River
One of several rivers of the same name in Britain. It is the main drainage of Salisbury Plain and flows southward through the Camelot Forest and Dorset to the British Sea.

Bokerly Dike
This is a north facing bank and ditch built in Roman times to separate tribes that have, since then, become extinct. It now marks the boundary between Salisbury and Dorset.

Bourne River
A tributary of the Avon River.

Colingbourne Wood
This woodland is a favorite hunting place for both knights and commoners. Unlike many woods in Uther's Britain it is not a magical forest and no exotic animals or faeries have ever been spotted here.

Devizes
This is a market town with a motte and bailey castle

Du Plain Castle
One day's ride from Sarum, this town and castle mark the eastern boundary of the county

Ebble Castle
This is an old motte and bailey castle made mostly of wood but still used for defense. It is the southernmost settlement of the county.

Ebble River
A tributary of the Avon River, this river valley is not densely inhabited. It is infamous for the menaces, both mundane and magical, which arise out of the surrounding Camelot Forest to make their way up river.

Figsbury
This is one of numerous hill forts on the Salisbury Plain. It has been abandoned since ancient times. Sometimes on Midsummer's Eve, it is said, the sounds of groaning men and clanking chains can be heard coming from the ground beneath it.

Grovely Castle
Not really a castle, this is an ancient hill fort of great earthworks, overgrown with thorns and wild flowers.

Modron's Forest
This dense forest which lies just the to the west of the county is named ofter an ancient goddess of the Britons. It is rumored to be inhabited by many wicked faeries and beasts.

Nadde River
A tributary of the Avon River. The valley is heavily populated and consists of very rich farmland and fisheries.

Salisbury Plain
The Salisbury Plain is a gently undulating plain whose rivers are populated by many villages of farmers. It also hel many ancient bronze and iron age settlements, mostly long abandoned.

Sarum
The main county seat.

Savernak Forest.
This border forest is within either or both of the lands of the Earl of Salisbury and the Baron of Marlborough and has been the cause of dispute for years. The Countess Ellen claims to have once seen a unicorn here.

Stonehenge
This monumental structure was buily by giants in ancient times and dedicated to the sun, stars and ancestors. A generation ago a great betrayal occurred here when Vortigern the Traitor betrayed the nobles of Britain to the Saxons. Recently it was refurbished by Merlin the Enchanter who added some magical stones from Ireland. It is also the burial site for the first Pendragon, Aurelius Ambrosius, brother of Uther.

Tilshead
A fortified market city, one day's ride from Sarum.

Vagon
Vagon Castle is a reinforced motte and bailey.

Warminster
This is a foritified city which serves as the local market for the farms of the upper Wylye River. It is surrounded by the Modron Forest and defends the county from incursions from Somerset. The cathedral of the Bishop of Silchester is here.

Wilton
This fortified city is the local market for the lower Wylye River. More importantly, boats from the coast can sail upriver this far; this makes Wilton a wealthy trading port.

Wylye River
This river is a tributary of the Avon River.

Yarnbury
This is one of many ancient earthworks. It encloses almost 30 acres within its bank and ditch. Every Beltaine the local peasants bring their cattle here and drive them between two big fires in a pagan ritual.