Dover
Doure, Douvre, Dovre
An important port city, in the region of Kent on the shore of the English Channel, especially for travel between Britain and the Continent. Dover has a good battlefield, Barham Down, nearby.
It also boasts Dover Castle. Arthur used it for keeping at least one lifetime political prisoner, the duke of a Tuscan town. Dover was invaded by Saxons in the early days of Arthur’s reign. As the closest city to mainland Europe, it was the site of troop departures and arrivals in Arthur’s various wars. Arthur landed in Dover on the way back from his war with Lancelot, and Arthur’s forces encountered Mordred in the first of their various battles. Gawaine was slain in the combat, and was buried, according to Malory, in a chapel in the city.
Chrétien recognized Dover's importance: the messengers who brought Arthur, then in Brittany, news of Count Angrs' treachery came through Dover.
Dwfr is the modern Welsh for water, also spelt dwr. The name of Dover is a variation of this word. It can be compared with the Cornish dour, Gaelic and Irish dur and dohhar [pronounced doar], the Greek udor, and all probably cognate with the Celtic dubr.
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