The Quest at Glastonbury Abbey

Glastonbury Abbey holds a special place in popular culture; the site possesses a long history embellished with a rich mythology and inspired esotericism that brought the Somerset town to the spiritual centre of the New Age. It is very easy to become entangled in this mystical web and struggle to see the slim threads of truth at Glastonbury.

It is claimed that this is the site of the earliest Christian Church in Britain, founded by Joseph of Arimathea and the reputed burial place of the legendary King Arthur. But, alas, it seems science can shatter any myth and here archaeology has failed to find evidence to support the claims of the Abbey's Medieval monks.

Eight different directors have lead thirty six seasons of archaeological investigations between 1904 and 1979 but little in the way of archaeological reports has been documented from these 20th century excavations.

The Glastonbury Abbey Archaeological Archive Project, a joint venture by the University of Reading and Glastonbury Abbey, has revisited the archaeological archives and artefact collections of Glastonbury Abbey and came to the conclusion that the myths surrounding the abbey were made up by the monks to make Glastonbury one of the richest monasteries in the country.

In 1125 William of Malmesbury completed “De Antiquitate Glastonie Ecclesie” after Abbot Henry of Blois had invited him to write the history of the Abbey. William pronounced it was indeed the oldest church he knew and repeated the Glastonbury claim that the first church on the site was established by missionaries in AD 166, or possibly even earlier, dating back to the time of Christ’s apostles, although he seemed to doubt this assertion himself and did not mention Joseph of Arimathea. William also failed to connect Arthur's grave with Glastonbury; in his history of the English kings he stated that “Arthur's grave is nowhere seen”.

Later versions of William's work were considerably altered by the Abbey monks to add foundation to the Glastonbury Legend. In the 14th century John of Glastonbury wrote his chronicle (Cronica Sive Antiquitates Glastoniensis Ecclesie) of the Abbey history continuing the work of Adam of Damerham and drawing heavily on William's book. It is in John's Cronica that the 'Prophecy of Melkin' appears for the first time, claiming that Joseph of Arimathea sleeps in the Isle of Avalon.

The Project team of 31 experts assert that the medieval monks deliberately designed the layout of the rebuilding in the 12th century to emphasise the ‘earliest church’ story, supplementing the Glastonbury Legend, and providing the abbey with a mystical feel; these myths appear to have clouded the judgement of the twentieth century archaeologists.

The Project re-examined the work of Ralegh Radford who excavated the Abbey site in the 1950s and 1960s and proclaimed to have discovered the site of King Arthur’s grave, as exhumed by the monks in 1191.

Radford had used Medieval sources such as Gerald of Wales: The Discovery of the Tomb of King Arthur, from 'Liber de Principis Instructione' (On the Instruction of Princes) c. 1223, to locate Arthur's grave:

“Although legends had fabricated something fantastical about his demise (that he had not suffered death, and was conveyed, as if by a spirit, to a distant place), his body was discovered at Glastonbury, in our own times, hidden very deep in the earth in an oak-hollow, between two stone pyramids that were erected long ago in that holy place. The tomb was sealed up with astonishing tokens, like some sort of miracle. The body was then conveyed into the church with honor, and properly committed to a marble tomb. A lead cross was placed under the stone, not above as is usual in our times, but instead fastened to the underside. I have seen this cross, and have traced the engraved letters — not visible and facing outward, but rather turned inwardly toward the stone. It read: 'Here lies entombed King Arthur, with Guenevere his second wife, on the Isle of Avalon'.” [The Camelot Project ]

Project leader Roberta Gilchrist states that the monks were desperate for funds for restoration works following the devastating fire of 1184; “The monks also deliberately designed the rebuilt church to look older in order to demonstrate its ancient heritage and pre-eminent place in monastic history, using archaic architecture style and reused material to emphasise the Abbey's mythical feel. This swelled pilgrim numbers and the Abbey's coffers.”

The strategy paid off; by the end of the Middle Ages, Glastonbury Abbey was the second richest monastery in England.

The following posts will look at the work at Glastonbury carried out by the foremost archaeologists in the history of the Abbey excavations; Frederick Bligh Bond and CA Ralegh Radford in their respective searches for King Arthur's Tomb.



Copyright © 2018 Edward Watson
http://clasmerdin.blogspot.co.uk

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The Post-Roman origins of Glastonbury

Archaeology at the Abbey
Archaeology has revealed the remains of the succession of churches which have stood on the Glastonbury Abbey site since the Anglo-Saxon period when in the 7th Century the ancient county of Somerset came under the rule of King Ine of Wessex who granted lands and promoted the status of the Abbey. It was during this period that the first stone church was constructed on the site.

Hence, Philip Rahtz concluded that the Abbey site was a secondary development to the monastic sites at Glastonbury Tor and Beckery where he unearthed evidence of early religious activity during excavations in the 1960s.

The first Christian community at Glastonbury

Yet the Glastonbury monks had claimed a much earlier origin of the Abbey. The Glastonbury legend claims that Joseph of Arimathea had established the first Christian community in Britain here shortly after the crucifixion. Then in the 5th century St Patrick re-discovered the site, and then a British church was established on the site.

In the 10th century Dunstan became Abbot and extended Ine's church while establishing the Benedictine Rule. In the early 12th century Abbot Henry of Blois invited William of Malmesbury to write the history of the Abbey. In 1125 William completed “De Antiquitate Glastonie Ecclesie” and pronounced it was indeed the oldest church he knew and repeated the Glastonbury claim that the first church on the site was established by missionaries in AD 166, or possibly even earlier, dating back to the time of Christ’s apostles, although he seemed to doubt this assertion himself and did not mention Joseph of Arimathea.

The Old Church

In 1184 a disastrous great fire at the abbey destroyed many buildings including the Old Church. The Lady Chapel was built on the site of the Old Church and shortly after in 1191 the monks claimed to have discovered the tombs of King Arthur and Guinevere found in the cemetery. The period of rebuilding the Abbey continued to the east of the older church and away from the ancient cemetery, through the Norman period producing the largest Abbey church  in England.

In the 14th century the Joseph of Arimathea legend was promoted through the work of John of Glastonbury, then, around 1500, under the Abbacy of Richard Beere, St Joseph's Chapel was created below the Lady Chapel destroying any archaeological evidence of the first church on the site.

In 1539 the Abbey was closed during the Dissolution of the Monasteries and the last Abbot Richard Whiting was hanged on Glastonbury Tor. The Abbey became derelict over the centuries and in a ruinous state when it was purchased for the Church of England in 1908.

Minor archaeological excavations had been carried out at the Abbey during the 19th century but formal investigations started with the appointment of Frederick Bligh Bond. But after revealing that he had used occult practices to guide his excavations Bond was dismissed by the Church of England in 1922. Further excavations were carried out by Peers, Clapham & Horne in the late 1920s and 1930s.

From 1951-63 Dr CA Ralegh Radford was Director of Excavations at the Abbey. Radford was known for his special interest in the early Christianity of Britain, and particularly attracted to sites connected with the Arthurian legends of his native West Country, such as Castle Dore, Cadbury Castle and Tintagel which he (incorrectly) identified as an early Christian monastic site. Subsequently, his personal agenda at Glastonbury was to continue Bond's work and locate the site of King Arthur's tomb. Indeed, in 1963 Radford discovered a pit in the cemetery which he believed to be evidence of where the monks had exhumed the remains of Arthur and Guinevere in the 12th century.

Plan of Glastonbury Abbey from the Gate of Remembrance, by Frederick Bligh Bond

A Post-Roman Celtic Monastery?
Rhatz interpretation that Glastonbury Abbey was a secondary development to the monastic sites at Glastonbury Tor and Beckery endured until until recent re-examination of the Glastonbury archaeological archive.

Following thirty-six seasons of archaeological excavations from 1904–79, we have no definite information on the origins of the Abbey, with little in the way of archaeological reports produced by the 20th century excavators. For example, in 1981Radford released his interim findings for the Saxon and Anglo-Norman phases but virtually nothing since. When Radford died in 1999 his archive passed to Historic England making it available for analysis.

For the last ten years Roberta Gilchrist from the University of Reading has led the Glastonbury Abbey Archaeological Archive Project to conduct a comprehensive study of the archaeological archives and artefact collections of Glastonbury Abbey, and carry out a new geophysical survey of the site in an effort to separate archaeological fact from the rich mythology surrounding the Abbey.

Gilchrist set out to answer the key question of the date of the earliest settlement on the Glastonbury Abbey site. Reassessment of the archive and associated finds has revealed new evidence for earlier occupation on the Abbey site.

Sherds of pottery were noted indicating the presence of amphorae imported from the eastern Mediterranean, essentially storage jars that would have contained wine and oil. This small assemblage of Late Roman Amphora 1 (LRA1) has been dated from finds elsewhere in the southwest of Britain to around 450 – 550 AD.

Plan of the post Roman timber structure and associated late Roman amphorae [Liz Gardner]

Fourteen of these sherds of LRA1were associated with a roughly trodden floor and post-pits (recorded beneath the medieval west cloister walk) connected with timber structures situated in the early cemetery in the Abbey precinct. Their condition suggesting that this floor represents an undisturbed Post-Roman context, possibly associated with one or more timber halls, although Radford failed to recognise it as such. One of the post-pits returned a radiocarbon date suggesting a destruction date for the timber structure of the 8th or 9th centuries, indicating that the hall may have been in use for several centuries.

This confirms that long before the first monastic foundation was documented in 7th century Anglo Saxon charters there was high-status Post-Roman occupation at Glastonbury in the 5th or 6th centuries, refuting earlier claims that the development at Glastonbury Abbey was secondary to the monastic sites at Glastonbury Tor and Beckery.

Significantly, recent excavations at the royal monastery of Lyminge in Kent have also revealed a high-status hall complex as the precursor to the Anglo-Saxon monastery.

However, the presence of LRA1 pottery and timber structures at the Glastonbury Abbey site raises further questions on whether this early occupation was secular or religious; perhaps indicating the existence of a ‘Celtic monastery’ prior to the foundation of the Saxon monastery.



Sources:
The Glastonbury Abbey Archaeological Archive Project
Digital Glastonbury Abbey - University of Reading
Roberta Gilchrist & Cheryl Green, Glastonbury Abbey: Archaeological Investigations 1904–79, Society of Antiquaries of London, 2015.

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Madoc and the Discovery of America

Horn Gwennan, brought to the Gele,
To be given a square mast,
Was turned back to Afon Ganol’s quay
For Madog’s famous voyage

Madoc's Lost Harbour
Odstone House, Rhos on Sea, was designed and built by Manchester architect, Henry Goldsmith in 1912. Odstone had stood empty for the last ten years and became derelict with no interest from potential buyers for this colonial style house at Penrhyn Bay on the North Wales coast. Sadly the only interest came from a property developer Madock Development Ltd who planned to demolish Odstone and replace it with a dozen luxury apartments situated next to the golf course.

Odstone House

The driveway at Odstone is said to be formed from an old pier wall where legend has it that Prince Madoc set sail in 1170, crossed the Atlantic and landed at what is now Mobile, Alabama in the Americas. Madoc's legendary voyage was commemorated on a bronze plaque outside the house.

Madoc plaque at Odstone House

The Afon Conwy did not always follow its current course and the present day estuary is a more recent development; thousands of years ago the Conwy flowed through the site of the Rhos on Sea golf course and into the sea at Penrhyn Bay, possibly the old river delta. It is thought the prehistoric Conwy flowed through the course of the Afon Ganol down the Mochdre valley and discharged at Penrhyn Bay.

The course of the Conwy abandoned the Mochdre valley when it became blocked at its northern end by Irish Sea Ice. During the glacial retreat the valley remained in a state of constant saturation for a long period forming a boggy, marsh environment. Subsequent silting blocked off most of the Conwy’s old course with the much reduced flow following the ancient course which survives as Afon Ganol. For a long period the mouth of this river formed a navigable inlet; ancient documents record it use by ships of between “20 or 30 tun”.

Old maps of Penrhyn Bay show a large meandering marshy area across Morfa Rhyd with a stream forking towards Rhos on Sea. The main flow continued over the present golf links, passed through the grounds of Odstone House and out to sea.

When a new sewer was being constructed opposite the site of Odstone House in 1907, a stone wall about 12 foot thick, with holes said to be for iron stanchions, was discovered about 700 yards from the shore. Then during rebuilding of the sea wall in 1954 stone blocks were unearthed in the form of two walls about seven feet apart splaying to nine feet apart; 30 yards of the ancient quay formed part of a rockery in the Odstone House garden, with the drive passing over the top of it. The former owner of Odstone House that had lived there for some 50 years said that her father had told her that Prince Madoc had set sail for America from an old stone pier in the garden.

A 15th century poem by Cynric ap Gronow records how Madoc's legendary ship Gwennan Gorn set sail from Gele (Abergele) but turned back to Afon Ganal's quay after being caught in a storm. However, another account claims Madoc sailed from the Glaslyn estuary on the west coast of Wales. Before William Madocks damned the outflow and the estuary silted up there was an island there called Ynys Fadog which it is claimed was named after Prince Madoc who set sail from this point. William Madocks built a village on the land he reclaimed from the sea and called it Tremadog, not after himself as many thought, but after the Prince who sailed for America. More than one departure point for Prince Madoc does not contradict the legend which claims that he returned from his initial voyage, gathered a larger fleet then left Wales, this time never to be seen again.

The Legend
This well known persistent Welsh legend claims that America had been discovered by Prince Madoc ap Gwain Gwynedd some 300 years before Columbus. Prince Madoc, a son of Owain 12th century ruler of Gwynedd, sailed out of Rhos on Sea on the North Wales Coast, in 1170 to find a new place to live across the western ocean. Some years later he returned with news of a 'new abundant country', gathered a fleet of ships and hundreds of expectant settlers and sailed west again, never to return.

Legend tells that they landed somewhere in the area of what is now Alabama, and settled with a native American tribe known as the Mandans. In the 17th century as America was colonised reports filtered back to Britain of contact with Welsh speaking American Indians. In 1669 Reverend Morgan Jones reported that his life was spared by a tribe of North American Indians because they were Welsh speaking; in 1810, Major Amos Stoddard, first Governor of Tennessee, discovered that Indian history believed that ancient forts close to the Alabama River were built by the Welsh whose leader was called “Modok”. However, on their expeditions across North America during 1804-1806, Lewis and Clark reported that they had not found any evidence of Welsh speaking Indians. The Mandan tribe are said to have been wiped out by a smallpox epidemic introduced by traders in 1837.

Back in the late 16th century John Dee, occult philosopher and advisor to Queen Elizabeth I of England, used the story of Prince Madoc's discovery of America prior to Columbus to assert British claims to “all the Coasts and Islands beginning at or about Terra Florida......unto Atlantis going Northerly.” Dee claimed to have drawn his information from an 'ancient Welsh chronicle'. Without doubt Madoc's story had been in oral circulation for some years but it wasn't until Sir George Peckham's 'True Reporte of the late Discoveries of the Newfound Landes' of 1583 that the tale appeared in print for the first time. Peckham also pointed to the 'ancient Welsh chronicles' as his source. Dee had also cited King Arthur as conqueror of Frisland in the north polar regions and therefore his heir Queen Elizabeth had a legitimate claim there.

However, there is just the faintest hint that knowledge of Madoc's discovery was known before Columbus 'discovered' the New World when he landed in the West Indies in 1492.

Richard Hakluyt in his 'Principal Navigations' (1600) cites a poem by Maredudd ap Rhys, dated to around 1440, which suggests there was a Welsh tradition extant in the 15th century of a seafarer by the name of Madoc, although the poem does not specifically mention the discovery of America. David Powel published an edition of Humphrey Llwyd's 1599 translation of the ancient Welsh Chronicles (Cronica Walliae) to which Powel added details of Madoc's second voyage, referring to Gutyn Owain who wrote between 1470 and 1490 that Madoc “went thither againe with ten sailes”. This now appears to be a lost source as Madoc is not mentioned in any of Gutyn Owain's surviving manuscripts.

John Cabot discovers Newfoundland

Yet, Columbus was certainly aware of the discovery of Newfoundland off the North American coast by the Men of Bristol in 1480 who had claimed to be searching for the legendary island of Hy-Brasil. Later in 1497 the Venetian explorer John Cabot made the 'official discovery' of the coast of North America under the commission of King Henry VII of England.

Odstone House Demolished
In 2016, some 800 years after Madoc set sail from Penrhyn Bay, more than 2,000 signatures were gathered in an attempt to save Odstone House after a planning application was submitted by agent Cadnant Planning on behalf of Madock Development to demolish the property and build 12 apartments. Campaigners argued the landmark property was built in the “Arts and Crafts” style and an important part of local heritage.

Odstone House, derelict just prior to demolition in 2016

Later that year, Madock Developments withdrew the application to permit Cadw to assess the historic value of the building. Following a review and site visit, Cadw, the Welsh Government’s department to conserve Wales’s heritage, confirmed Odstone did not represent a building of any special architectural interest and presumably there was no evidence of the ancient quay.

Subsequently, Madock Developments resubmitted their planning application and by September 2017 Odstone House had been demolished and any remains of Madoc's quay with it.

But they couldn't demolish the legend of Prince Madoc's discovery of America; in 1953, on the other side of the Atlantic, the Daughters of the American Revolution erected a plaque at Mobile Bay:

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Concept of a Legend

Read a book for World Book Day 

Concepts of Arthur
Thomas Green 
Tempus, 2007 (The History Press, 2008)
ISBN: 978-0752444611

This is a detailed study of the origins of Arthur and the nature and development of the early Arthurian legend under the former nom de plume of Caitlin R. Green.

Here Green argues for a concept of Arthur as a figure of legend, not history.

Green asserts that the case for a historical Arthur rests entirely on two sources; the Historia Brittonum (The History of the Britons) and the Annales Cambriae (Welsh Annals). These two texts are the starting point for any argument presented for a historical Arthur.

At first glance both texts appear to present a concept of Arthur that is historical. The History of the Britons contains a complete section (usually referred to as Chapter 56) which presents Arthur as a leader of battles, not a king, and lists twelve successful conflicts culminating in the Battle of Badon, also referenced in a contemporary source, De Excidio Britanniae of AD 540 (although Gildas does not mention Arthur by name). Green sees the History of the Britons as presenting a concept of Arthur as a warrior who fought against Germanic invaders in the late 5th century.

Green suggests the History of the Britons could simply represent a mythical or folkloric figure drawn into history and far from being a 'heap', as descibed in the prologue of Nennius, sees the text as a carefully constructed work in ‘Biblical style’ with explicit political aims expressly written for Merfyn, King of Gwynedd 829-30 AD.

The Badon entry in the Welsh Annals is clearly influenced by Arthur's eighth battle at Guinnon in chapter 56 of the The History of the Britons. Whereas, the battle of Camlann, Green sees as a creation of the mid to late 10th century, and treated very differently by the ‘guardians of Welsh tradition’ possessing an 'Otherworldy' context and just one of several legendary versions of Arthur’s demise circulating in early medieval Wales.

Green concludes that the The History of the Britons is of dubious historical value and questions the confidence we can hold in its Arthurian reference, seeing the text as part of the process of historicizing a legend.

This an important work in the search for Arthur in which Green examines the earliest level of the Arthurian legend prior to Geoffrey of Monmouth, unravelling the world of a superhero battling monstrous supernatural beasts, witches and giants.


Concepts of Arthur
Table of Contents:

Chapter 1 The Arthur of History: The Evidence and Its Critics
Chapter 2 The Earliest Stratum of the Arthurian Legend
Chapter 3 The Nature of Arthur: ‘A Mighty Defender'?
Chapter 4 The Nature of Arthur's War-Band and Family
Chapter 5 The Origins of ‘Arthur'
Chapter 6 The Historicization of Arthur
Chapter 7 The Arthur of the British: A Maximum View

From May 2017, Concepts of Arthur has been unavailable in all editions for well over a year and the rights have now reverted to the author who has made the original 2007 version of the book available as a free PDF download on her website: Dr Caitlin R. Green Arthuriana: Studies in Early Medieval History & Legend

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Top Ten Arthurian Locations

"......men hold opinion that there was no such Arthur and that all such books as been made of him been but feigned and fables...[yet] there were many evidences of the contrary.

First, ye may see his sepulture in the monastery of Glastonbury; and also in Polychronicon, in the fifth book, the sixth chapter, and in the seventh book, the twenty-third chapter, where his body was buried, and after founden and translated into the said monastery. Ye shall see also in th’istory of Bochas, in his book De Casu Principum, part of his noble acts, and also of his fall. Also Galfridus, in his British book, recounteth his life. And in divers places of England many remembrances been yet of him and shall remain perpetually, and also of his knights: first, in the abbey of Westminster, at Saint Edward’s shrine, remaineth the print of his seal in red wax, closed in beryl, in which is written patricius arthurus britannie gallie germanie dacie imperator; item, in the castle of Dover ye may see Gawain’s skull and Cradok’s mantle; at Winchester, the Round Table; in other places Lancelot’s sword and many other things." [William Caxton, Preface to Malory's Morte d'Arthur]

1. Glastonbury: Ancient Avalon
    The site of the tomb of King Arthur

2. Tintagel: Arthur's Castle?
    Was there a Dark Age fortress here?

3. King Arthur lives in Merrie Carlisle
    Arthurian sites in Northern Cumbria

4. The Winchester Round Table
    The wooden table at Winchester that was once believed to King Arthur's Round Table

5. On the Trail of the Dragons of Emrys
    The beginnings of the Merlin legend on a hill in Snowdonia

6. Arthur and the  Dogheads of Eidin
    An ancient Welsh poem recounts Arthur fighting dogheads 

7. Cadbury Castle: Visions of Camelot
    Was this Dark Age hillfort in Somerset King Arthur's fortress?

8. Arthur, Stonehenge and the Solstice
    Was King Arthur buried within the Giants Dance along with his relatives?

9. Dover Castle: Gawain's Skull
    Gawain, the greatest knight, is said to be interred at the castle

10. Dozmary Pool: Nothing but Waves.....
      Is this isolated pool on Bodmin Moor the home of the Lady of the Lake?

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Glastonbury: Ancient Avalon

Top Ten Arthurian Locations: No 1

"It was there we took Arthur after the battle of Camlan, where he had been wounded. Barinthus was the steersman because of his knowledge of the seas and the stars of heaven. With him at the tiller of the ship, we arrived there with the prince; and Morgen received us with due honour. She put the king in her chamber on a golden bed, uncovered his wound with her noble hand and looked long at it. At length she said he could be cured if only he stayed with her a long while and accepted her treatment. We therefore happily committed the king to her care and spread our sails to favourable winds on our return journey." - Vita Merlini by Geoffrey of Monmouth (1148) 

Ancient Avalon
Number One in the Top Ten Arthurian locations just has to be Glastonbury and the Abbey that played such a significant role in the development of Arthurian legend; where else can you visit the site where the monks actually dug for King Arthur's grave in the 12th century? Considered by many today as a hoax the legend of Arthur's burial at Glastonbury has endured for over 800 years.

Unlike most monasteries which are located in remote places of solitude, the Somerset town of Glastonbury grew up around the abbey precinct. Where else can you walk through a high street with shops with an abundance of books on the Abbey and the legendary King Arthur, shops selling crystals and gemstones, delights for vegans and Glastonbury pasties from Burns the Bread for those who are not, shops selling pagan artefacts galore next door to the Christian church of St John custodian of the fabled tomb of Joseph of Arimathea.

The 'JA' tomb in St John's church

From the top of the High Street turn right and walk along Chilkwell Street. Soon you arrive at the gateway to Abbey House, a later construction in the 19th century set within the abbey walls. Take a step inside the gateway here, and looking back at the carvings on the masonry we see the shield of Joseph of Arimathea sporting the two cruets from Melkin's Prophecy.

Inside the gateway with Dod Lane opposite

Opposite this gateway is Dod Lane leading to a footpath to the Tor, this lane is on the same alignment as the axis of the Abbey church and said to continue all the way to Stonehenge in Wiltshire which John Michell considered to link the two sites through the sacred geography of the ancients.

Continuing along Chilkwell Street you soon arrive at Chalice Well gardens, home to the Red Spring of Glastonbury where the water is said to be so coloured as this is the site where Joseph of Arimathea hide the Holy Grail which he used to collect the blood of Jesus at the Crucifixion. This is a fascinating place with themed gardens and the famous cover to the Chalice Well sporting the vesica pisces design by Frederick Bligh Bond.

Chalice Well Gardens

Leaving Chalice Well you cross Wellhouse Lane to join a footpath to the Tor, but before climbing the hill walk a few yards up the lane to see Glastonbury's White Spring. This is a healing well with the waters often collected by people seen queuing with containers of all makes and sizes. The two springs is one of Glastonbury's greatest mysteries; two different healing springs, one red, the other white, rising within a few yards of each other from the caves below the Tor.

The Chalice Well

The journey to the top of this enigmatic hill is a steep climb but worth the effort. Rising up from the Somerset Levels the Tor with its distinctive St Michael's tower is a landmark for miles around, the terraces indicate the hand of man has been instrumental in shaping this mound. The Arthurian scholar Geoffrey Ashe sees the terraces as part of a ritual labyrinth. John Michell discovered the St Michael line from here, an alignment that stretches across the widest point of Southern England, linking the high places of St Michael from Cornwall to Norfolk along the path of the Beltane sunrise.

The Tor

Legends talk of this being a hollow hill containing a crystal cave; on midwinter night Arthur will ride out from the Tor along an ancient trackway toward South Cadbury Castle; this is the abode of Gwyn ap Nudd the King of the Fairies and gateway to Avalon, The Land Of The Dead. And not forgetting that the Tor was the site of the vile execution of the Abbey's last Abbot Richard Whiting.

St Michael's Tower

From the Tor there are magnificent views as you would expect; Brent Knoll and the Bristol Channel, The Mendips forming a backdrop to Wells Cathedral, nearer is the dome of Chalice Hill and Wearyall Hill where Joseph of Arimathea thrust his staff into the ground and it grew into the Holy Thorn, sadly vandalised in 2010. Return to the Abbey, claimed to be the earliest Christian monastic site in Britain established by Joseph of Arimathea and the disciples of Jesus.

Shortly before the Dissolution in 1539 seven monks are said the have left Glastonbury Abbey with the Holy Grail and made their way into Wales, however, the myth of the Welsh Grail, or the Nanteos Cup as it is known, is another story.

Elucidation
Perhaps the real history of the Abbey commences with King Ine of Wessex who is said to have constructed the first stone church there, the base of which forms the west end of the nave. In the 10th century this church was enlarged by St  Dunstan, then Abbot of Glastonbury, who became the Archbishop of Canterbury in 960.

With the arrival of the Normans in the 11th century the Abbey was expanded and improved so that by the time of the Domesday Book Glastonbury Abbey was recorded as the richest monastery in the country. These great Norman structures were destroyed by the fire on St Urban's Day in 1184. The fire left the Abbey in desperate need of funds for reconstruction which sceptics claim led to the discovery of the grave of King Arthur and Queen Guinevere between two pillars in the monks cemetery on the south side of the Lady Chapel in 1191. There can be no doubt the discovery did bring enormous wealth in to the Abbey, but that does not necessarily qualify it as a faked event.

William of Malmesbury had been invited to write the history of the Abbey around 1125 by the Abbot Henry of Blois. Wiilliam had unhindered access to the entire Abbey library but made no mention of Arthur being buried here.

Caradoc of Llancarfan's Life of St Gildas, written around 1120, contains the earliest known tale of the abduction of Guinevere. In the tale Gildas is the abbot of Glastonia who brokers peace between Arthur and Melvas, abductor and king of the summer country. The tale becomes a significant episode of later Arthurian Romance and plays a key part in Arthur's downfall. Caradoc tells us that Glastonia of old was called Ynisgutrin meaning 'The Isle of Glass'. Before the Somerset levels were extensively drained for agriculture Glastonbury would have appeared as an island during seasonal floods. The Isle of Glass interpretation suggests Glastonbury was at one time known as the Celtic Otherworld realm of Caer Wydyr (Fortress of Glass).

Writing around 1136, Geoffrey of Monmouth tells us that Arthur is mortally wounded at the battle of Camlann then taken to the Isle of Avalon without hinting at a location or linking it to Glastonbury. However, any doubt regarding Glastonbury's association with the Celtic Otherworld was removed in 1191 when the Glastonbury monks discovered the grave of King Arthur and his Queen Guinevere containing a leaden burial cross. The cross was inscribed:

"Here lies the famous King Arthur, buried in the isle of Avalon" 

The inscription varies slightly among the early sources but the version above is that given by John Leland who is said to have handled the cross on a visit to the Abbey between 1535 and 1539. William Camden provided a sketch of the cross bearing the same inscription in his 1607 edition of “Britannia”. The cross confirmed that Glastonbury was indeed the ancient Avalon.

The site of Arthur's tomb before the High Altar

King Richard I had reduced funding to Abbey as he poured his finances into the Crusades, yet the increase in pilgrims following the discovery of Arthur's grave very quickly restored its wealth. The Glastonbury Legend was enhanced with the addition of Joseph of Arimathea in the 14th century and the Abbey became the second wealthiest in the land.

Arthur's bones were reburied in 1278 in a black marble tomb before the High Altar within the Abbey Church in the presence of King Edward I. Here they remained until the Dissolution in 1539 when it appears the tomb was smashed and the remains of Arthur and Guinevere scattered to the four winds.

Copyright © 2018 Edward Watson

http://clasmerdin.blogspot.co.uk/

Photographs copyright © Edward Watson

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Tintagel: Arthur's Castle?

Top Ten Arthurian Locations: No 2

"Now feast and festival in Arthur's hall:
Hark! stern Dundagel softens into song!
They meet for solemn severance, knight and king,
Where gate and bulwark darken o'er the sea."
- R S Hawker (1864)

Where History meets Legend
A ruined medieval castle on the Cornish coast, surrounded on three sides by azure blue sea, white sea-water spray crashing against the rocks, the birthplace of King Arthur: with such a dramatic setting how can one fail to be impressed with Tintagel?

Gallos

No, English Heritage have not ruined the island – yet! Under immense financial pressure to become self sufficient as government (tax payers) money is withdrawn English Heritage must increase revenue from top draw attractions such as Tintagel. The so-called guardians of this rare piece of Cornish heritage have been accused of 'Disneyfication' of the site with the so-called Merlin carving on the rocks by the entrance to Merlin's Cave in The Haven and the bronze sculpture named Gallos, inspired by the Arthurian legend.

The face of Merlin causes the biggest concern, as a rock carving, at once it became a permanent feature. But it is unobtrusive and can't be found unless one gets down to Merlin's Cave. Whereas Gallos is clearly a modern sculpture and surprisingly does not feel out of place. Indeed, tourists queue up here to get their photograph taken by the bronze warlord. Only time will tell how this rare piece of Cornish heritage fares in the hands of its trusted guardians.

But next year (2019), English Heritage intend to build a bridge from the mainland to the island. This could be just too much; yes there are many steps to climb to the island but the effort is worthwhile and gives the feeling of remoteness. On achieving the climb you have left behind the mainland and the modern world and enter through a doorway into another realm; you have arrived at Arthur's Castle.

Arthur's Castle?
Geoffrey of Monmouth introduces Tintagel to the Arthurian legend in in his History of the Kings of Britain, c.1136, as the place of Arthur's conception after his father Uther Pendragon takes the form of Gorlois Duke of Cornwall by taking Merlin's potion. That night Uther enters Tintagel Castle and spends the night with Ugraine. In the 15th century William of Worcester toured Cornwall and recorded that King Arthur was born at Tintagel.

The ascent on to the island

The myth of King Arthur and his Tintagel castle has been firmly embedded in the public’s consciousness by successive generations of writers since Geoffrey, including Sir Thomas Malory, Lord Tennyson, and R S Hawker.

The eccentric clergyman, poet and antiquarian, Robert Stephen Hawker (1803 – 1875), known as the vicar of Morwenstow, was inspired to write The Quest of the Sangraal after spending his honeymoon at Tintagel in 1823. Twenty five years later in 1848 Alfred Tennyson, the Poet Laureate, visited Hawker at Morwenstow, and sharing a deep fascination with Arthurian legend, the two travelled to the ruined castle at Tintagel. On completion of The Quest for the Sangraal, Tennyson is said to have declared that “Hawker has beaten me on my own ground.”

The curtain wall of the 13th century Castle

Geoffrey Ashe (1997) mentions another legend of Tintagel, possibly no older than Tennyson, that recounts that when Arthur was mortally wounded at Slaughter Bridge (a contender for the site of the battle of Camlann), he was taken to Tintagel and died there. Ashe writes of strange wind-sighings and sea moanings that were said to have been heard around the headland immediately after and continued while Arthur's body was conveyed to Glastonbury for burial. Not until his body was laid in the grave did the eerie noises cease.

The birth of modern tourism in the Victorian period arrived in north Cornwall with the railway in Camelford and construction of the hotel overlooking the ruins of the medieval castle; Tintagel met the visitors' criteria of romantic wild landscape and fashionable coastal resort. The guide Florence Nightingale Richards, Keeper of the Castle Keys, would take visitors around the island pointing out such features as King Arthur's Seat, King Arthur's Cup and Saucers, King Arthur's Footprint. Tennyson's epic poem 'Idylls Of The King' (1859) inspired the Pre-Raphaelites leading to a re-discovery in the arts and crafts movement of the period and the Arthurian Revival.

The Arthurian association with Tintagel was accepted dogma until the 1920's when Henry Jenner the Grand Bard of Cornwall presented a paper in which he dismissed the Arthurian connections to Tintagel as a fraud. Jenner demolished the Arthurian connection and concluded that “historically and romantically, Tintagel Castle is rather a fraud” and argued for a religious function on the island. Jenner, who was responsible for the revival of the Cornish language, suggested that the name of the promontory was Norman-French, highlighting the similarity to a rock on the island of Sark which was known to the locals as “Tente d'Ageu”.

Tintagel was originally just the name of the headland promontory connected to the mainland by a thin isthmus now greatly eroded by the sea. The village was known, until comparatively recently, as Trevena, meaning 'farm on the hill'. Oliver Padel of the Institute of Cornish Studies has argued that the name may originate from the older Cornish language: 'Din', meaning a fort, and 'tagell', meaning a place where two currents of water meet.

Jenner argued that Geoffrey introduced Tintagel Castle into the Arthurian canon because of its dramatic setting high upon the cliffs of the north Cornish coast. Jenner asserted that the medieval castle was not built until about 1230, nearly a hundred years after Geoffrey wrote his story and therefore could not possibly be an Arthurian site and therefore all subsequent accounts relating to Tintagel as Arthur's birthplace were derived from Geoffrey. He considered the Arthurian association was pure invention by Geoffrey as his own research found no such connection. Jenner's theory that Tintagel was a religious establishment, rather than secular, influenced archaeological interpretations of the site for the next 50 years.

In 1930, C. A. Raleigh Radford was commissioned by the British Ministry of Works to investigate the Arthurian history of the Tintagel site. He carried out excavations at the site, on and off, for thirty years. Yet, Radford's interpretation of the site concurred with Jenner's earlier suggestion that Tintagel was indeed the site of a Celtic monastery.

A small group of Irish Saints 'Lives' make reference to a place called “Rosnat” (or “Rostat”), a place of religious learning outside Ireland where early saints received an education. Radford envisaged Tintagel as Rosnat, created by the holy man St. Julitta, who arrived in the south west of England shortly before the year 500 with a group of disciples. Radford believed that Julitta equated with St. Juliana, one of the 'children of Brychan', a large family of siblings who became Celtic saints and have left their names in church dedications all over Cornwall. Today the low walls of a 12th century chapel, identified by Ralegh Radford as St Julitta's chapel, still stand on the highest part of the island.

Henry VIII's antiquary John Leland visited Tintagel twice, in the late 1530's and early 1540's, following an itinerary similar to that of William of Worcester. Leland records that the chapel of “Ulette or Ulaine still stands within the dungeon”, while the remainder of the castle is in ruins. But Arthur is notably absent from Leland's record of his two visits to Tintagel.

The Chapel

If we can believe Arthurian Romance as being based on fact then a chapel was standing here at least thirty years before Richard Earl of Cornwall constructed his castle in the 13th century. "Perlesvaus or The High History Of The Holy Graal" was originally written in Old French in the first decade of the 13th Century A.D., as a continuation of Chretien DeTroyes' unfinished work "Perceval, or the Story of the Grail". The unknown author is rumoured to have been a monk of Glastonbury and may have possessed first hand knowledge of the site. The account of Tintagel therein would appear to be adhering to Geoffrey's account in which Uther is transformed into the shape of Gorlois by Merlin:

“[Lancelot and Gawain] ….. rode right busily on their journeys until they came into a very different land, scarce inhabited of any folk, and found a little castle in a combe. They came thitherward and saw that the enclosure of the castle was fallen down into an abysm, so that none might approach it on that side, but it had a right fair gateway and a door tall and wide whereby one entered. They beheld a chapel that was right fair and rich, and below was a great ancient hall. They saw a priest appear in the midst of the castle, bald and old, that had come forth of the chapel. They are come thither and alighted, and asked the priest what the castle was, and he told them that it was the great Tintagel.

"And how is this ground all caved in about the castle?"

"Sir," saith the priest, "I will tell you. Sir," saith he, "King Uther Pendragon, that was father of King Arthur, held a great court and summoned all his barons. The King of this castle that then was here was named Gorlois. He went to the court and took his wife with him, that was named Ygerne, and she was the fairest dame in any kingdom. King Uther sought acquaintance of her for her great beauty, and regarded her and honoured her more than all the others of his court. King Gorlois departed thence and made the Queen come back to this castle for the dread that he had of King Uther Pendragon. King Uther was very wroth with him, and commanded him to send back the Queen his wife. King Gorlois said that he would not. Thereupon King Uther Pendragon defied him, and then laid siege about this castle where the Queen was. King Gorlois was gone to seek for succour. King Uther Pendragon had Merlin with him of whom you have heard tell, that was so crafty. He made him be changed into the semblance of King Gorlois, so that he entered there within by Merlin's art and lay that night with the Queen, and so begat King Arthur in a great hall that was next to the enclosure there where this abysm is. And for this sin hath the ground sunken in on this wise."

He cometh with them toward the chapel that was right fair, and had a right rich sepulchre therein.

"Lords, in this sepulchre was placed the body of Merlin, but never mought it be set inside the chapel, wherefore perforce it remained outside. And know of a very truth that the body lieth not within the sepulchre, for, so soon as it was set therein, it was taken out and snatched away, either on God's behalf or the Enemy's, but which we know not." [Trans. Sebastian Evans, 1898]

The account of Tintagel in The High History diverges from Geoffrey in recording a chapel standing in the ruins of a castle in much the same as that of Leland. Yet, The High History was written down at least three hundred years before Leland's account and thirty years before the medieval castle of Richard Earl of Cornwall was constructed; does The High History contain evidence of an Early Medieval stronghold on the island of which the remains were present in Geoffrey's day?

The island courtyard

A Royal Palace
A grass fire swept across the island in 1983 revealing many small dwellings which lead to the questioning of Radford's monastic interpretation. Subsequently, more recent interpretations of the Tintagel site have come to a very different conclusion and favour a secular trading post.

A re-evaluation of the site was carried out by the Cornish archaeologist Charles Thomas who closely studied the pottery sherds uncovered by Radford. Thomas noted that the pottery, mainly amphorae used to transport wine and oil, represented material evidence of imported luxury goods and concluded that the site had been used by high status or royal individuals and dismissed the monastic interpretation.

In medieval literature Tintagel was always referred to as a 'royal palace' and a dwelling of the rulers of Cornwall, notably the palace of King Mark in the legend of Tristan and Iseult. In the earliest Arthurian tales (such as Culhwch and Olwen) Arthur's camp, Celliwig, is always in Cornwall. However, this does not qualify as providing any sort of evidence for proof of Geoffrey of Monmouth's account of the conception of King Arthur at Tintagel Castle.

The history of Tintagel, as with much of Britain, starts in the Roman period. Two Roman honorific markers from the area, one now in Tintagel church and one at Trethevy, a mile and a half to the east, suggest an Imperial presence in the area in the 3rd and 4th centuries. Small amounts of pottery and some Roman coins found on the island appear to confirm limited Roman activity.

In 1998 English Heritage announced the discovery of an inscribed slate which swung the pendulum firmly back in Arthur's favour. Known as The Artognou Stone, the slate found at Site C on the Eastern terrace, bears the inscription:

PATER COLIAVIFICIT / ARTOGNOV / COLI FICIT

The name “Artognou” was proposed as a variant of Arthur and immediately led to speculation that it was confirmation of King Arthur's presence at Tintagel. English Heritage's chief archaeologist at the time, Dr Geoffrey Wainwright, seemingly carried away in the euphoria, described the discovery as "the find of a lifetime".

A display replica of the Artognou Slate

Charles Thomas translated this as "Artognou, father of a descendant of Coll, has had this built". This inscription has been dated to a 6th century hand, found in a sealed layer containing fragments of 6th century Mediterranean pottery. However, it is often ignored that the slate bears two inscriptions in different hands from different periods. The letters 'AXE' appears to be the tailend of a Classical Roman inscription from the Late 4th century, which Thomas suggests may be an inscription to the Emperor Honorius, Augustus from 393 to 423 AD. The slate appears to have been re-used later for some 6th century graffiti, such as a practise inscription. Thomas speculated that the slate may originally have hung on the wall of a public building, perhaps a tax office, in the late 4th century before being used as a drain cover in the 6th century at the post-Roman buildings at Site C. The Romans could have used Tintagel as a trading post, exchanging Mediterranean goods for Cornish tin.

Further archaeological investigations, sponsored by English Heritage, confirmed Tintagel was indeed a post-Roman palace, possibly the seasonal seat of the kings of ancient Dumnonia (modern Cornwall and Devon). Sceptics may argue that archaeologists always seem to find what they want to find, especially when English Heritage are hoping to raise the Arthurian profile of Tintagel and visitor numbers.

2017 excavations on the island

A new program of archaeological investigations at Tintagel has already declared the discovery of a 'Dark Age' high status building on the Headland in July 2016. The media circus that followed declared it as the discovery of King Arthur's palace. However, as with the inscribed 'Artognou' slate, this is not evidence for Arthur. The excavations go on.

"I yearn that men I know not, men unborn,

Should find, amid these fields, King Arthur's fame!

Here let them say, by proud Dundagel's walls--

'They brought the Sangraal back by his command,

They touched these rugged rocks with hues of God:'

So shall my name have worship, and my land."

- R S Hawker (1864)

Copyright © 2018 Edward Watson
http://clasmerdin.blogspot.co.uk/



Sources:
Geoffrey Ashe, The Traveller's Guide to Arthurian Britain, Gothic Image, 1997.
Robert Stephen Hawker, The Quest of the Sangraal, 1864.
The High History Of The Holy Graal - Branch XX, Translation by Sebastian Evans, 1898.
Charles Thomas, Tintagel - Arthur and Archaeology, Batsford, 1993.
Rachel C. Barrowman and Colleen E. Batey, Excavations at Tintagel Castle, Cornwall, 1990-1999 (Reports of the Research Committee of the Society of Antiquaries of London), Society of Antiquaries of London, 2007.
C A Ralegh Radford, Tintagel Castle, Cornwall : Official Guide, HMSO, Reprint edition, 1969.
Ronald Youlton, King Arthur. Tintagel Castle and Celtic Monastery, Tintagel Parish Council, 13th Edition edition, 1976.
Henry Jenner & J.Hambley Rowe, Tintagel Castle: Its History and Romance (1926), Oakmagic Publications edition 1999.

Photographs copyright © Edward Watson

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