THE CAMLAN OF SALISBURY PLAIN: A CASE FOR THE 'CROOKED BANK' OF THE AMESBURY AVON?

The French romance version of the death of Arthur does something strange: it places the last, fatal battle of Camlan on Salisbury Plain! [Weirder places in England are chosen, like the River Trent - doubtless because of the presence near that Staffordshire river of Moddershall, from OE Modred + halh, 'nook'.  The Humber is also used, probably because a different Trent River empties into it.]

Why Salisbury Plain?  Well, clearly, Stonehenge was here, as well as Amesbury - places famous in Arthurian lore.  Yet if Stonehenge or Amesbury were intended, why not say so?  Why rest content with referring only to Salisbury Plain?  

I've wondered about this, for there is no 'crooked bank' or 'crooked enclosure' name in that part of Wiltshire.  But then I decided to go take a look at the map for simple geographical  features.

The famous Amesbury next to Stonehenge (relocated in Welsh folk tradition to Dinas Emrys in Gwynedd) has a quite remarkable situation.  It is literally sitting inside a extremely pronounced loop of the River Avon.  The same Avon that passes through the town of Salisbury itself, and through Old Sarum, the site of the Roman-period settlement. 

Could it be that Camlan is not an actual place-name, but merely a descriptor, one designating the 'crooked bank' at Amesbury?

I know that long ago I had fun with the remainder of the Vulgate story.  After the battle on Salisbury Plain, the wounded Arthur rides west to the Black Chapel.   This is Glastonbury, named such because of its Benedictine Black Monks.  After praying there, he rides west to the sea, the lake and the hill where Excalibur is deposited.  Because an interpolation in William of Malmesbury links the king with Brent Knoll and Brent Marsh, it seemed reasonable to suggest that the place-name had been mistakenly or imaginatively associated with the word 'brand' for sword.  

The departure of Arthur from Brent Knoll to Morgan's Avalon is interesting, for Gildas of Glastonbury had spent time on the holy island of Steep Holm (see https://bpotto.github.io/Undusted-Texts/s_lives/gildas.html#ftn.7).  Another holy island is that of Barry (earlier Terthi), which was a part of Glamorgan (ancient Morgannwg; although cf. the several Morgan names placed in the Glastonbury pedigree in the Harleian Genealogy).  St. Cadoc's island was Flat Holm. 

Gildas of Glastonbury's Steep Holm

It is fascinating that the Old French author took Arthur well past Glastonbury, purportedly Avalon in medieval tradition.  Instead, the implication is that Arthur was taken to one of these holy islands, which are known to have been burial places from very early on.  

Years ago, I did some work on Amesbury's Vespasian's Camp as the model for the Welsh Dinas Emrys.  I also successfully came up with a better etymology for Amesbury (see 

https://mistshadows.blogspot.com/2018/06/ambirix-as-name-preserved-in-place-name.html) and sought to connect Ambrosius as viro modesto with Medraut/Moderatus 

(https://mistshadows.blogspot.com/2017/05/a-new-but-very-tentative-identification.html.  While mostly these blog posts were exploratory in nature, and presented no firm conclusions, it would be compelling if we could link Medraut to Amesbury.

Wouldn't it be amazing if the Vulgate author had this right?  That Arthur and Medraut fought and died at the river-bend of Amesbury, and then the king was taken via Glastonbury to Brent Knoll, where he was ferried off to the Otherworld Island that was Steep Holm?