Glastonbury & King Arthur
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Glastonbury and its Abbey have long been associated with King Arthur.
Central to the story of Arthur and his devotion
to Christianity is the search for the Holy Grail
of Christ. This Chalice used by Christ at the last
supper was reputedly brought to England by Joseph
of Arimathea. Legend has it that the Chalice was
later buried on Glastonbury Tor.
Glastonbury's claim to be the original home of
Christianity in England are well justified. During
the early Roman period Glastonbury established strong
trade links with the
rest of the Roman Empire, the center of Christianity
at the time. It is very probable that Christianity
could have been brought to Glastonbury by traders
from abroad. Glastonbury was also a well established Celtic
religious centre and would be natural place
for Christian
missionaries to make their way to as a site revered
by pagans.
On Wirral Hill, Joseph of Arimathea is also supposed
to have driven his staff into the earth which miraculously
took root and blossomed. This was the famous Glastonbury
Thorn, the first of many which bloomed down the
centuries at Glastonbury Tor for pilgrims to see.
It is still possible to see the Glastonbury Thorn
today as it continues to thrive in the grounds of
the ruined Abbey.
Joseph is also said to have build a primitive
Chapel of mud and wattle on the site where he the buried
the Grail and that this was the shrine upon which
the great Norman Abbey of Glastonbury was built.
Archeologist have during numerous excavations
at the site uncovered signs of many buildings older
than the Abbey including the remains of an ancient
cemetery containing the graves of local chieftain's. Within
this cemetery were found the remains of the original
Christian Church. The evidence suggests that it
was made of wattle (true to the legend), and built
to a design more primitive than that found in many
Saxon Churches.
Dominating the landscape for miles around Glastonbury
is the Glastonbury Tor. A large hill once believed
to be an Island and fabled to be the famous
Isle of Avalon where Arthur was laid to rest. On top of the Tor is the
medieval Tower of the Chapel of St. Michael
and at its foot is the Chalice Well, an ancient
spring of water.
Excavations here have shown that the Tor may
well have been of important religious significance.
Large quantities of animal bones and possible signs
of protective barriers may on the other hand suggest
the site was used for military purposes. Possibly
one of Arthur's system of linked defences situated
in a circle around Cadbury (possible sight of Camelot).
King Arthur would have been naturally drawn to
Glastonbury. Its strong Christian roots being reason
enough for him to make it an important site in Arthur's
mind. The close proximity of the possible site of
Camelot and also the place where Joseph of Arimathea
was said to have brought the Chalice to would have
given Arthur even more reason to visit Glastonbury.
Glastonbury also lays claim to be the place where
King Arthur and his beautiful Queen were buried.
In the year 1191 the bodies of King Arthur and his
Queen were said to have been found on the south
side of the Lady Chapel. On 19th April, 1278, their
remains were removed in the presence of King Edward
1 of England and Queen Eleanor to a black marble
tomb in the heart of the Abbey. The tomb remained
until Henry VIII had the monastery dissolved in
1539. In 1931 parts of this tomb were found and
a rectangle is now marked out in the grass where
the discovery was made.
Is this the last resting place of the great King
Arthur and his wife or are the legends true that
on the Isle of Avalon (Glastonbury Tor) Arthur us
recovering from his wounds preparing to return as
King to save Britain once again.
Arthur "rex quondam, rex futurus" (the
past and future King) - The Red Book of Bath.
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