I went here as part of a University organized trip. So a whole bunch of students being ferried around the country. The theme was Arthurian legends so we went to places associated with those tales. I've always loved the legend of King Arthur so it seemed like a good trip to go on. There are a lot of myths weaved around Arthur, many of them contradictory. The one place that has tried to associate itself with Arthur more than any other is Glastonbury.
In 1191 the monks at Glastonbury Abbey went so far as to claim they had found Arthur's grave. In reality they probably found a Dark Age tomb of some nobleman and his wife, but they claimed that upon it there was the inscription Hic jacet Arthurus, rex quondam rexque futurus. That's the line that gave T.H. White the title to his book The Once and Future King.which sounds rather better than the more literal translation "Here is buried Arthur, king once and king in future." The problem with it is that it was written in High Medieval Latin (Classical Latin has no J) and sketches of it (the original has disappeared) reveal it to be engraved in the then current style. It was during a time of great interest in the Arthurian story. Richard the Lionheart brought a sword supposed to be Excalibur with him on Crusade.
Arthur's tombstone is gone (unfortunately) but there is a little sign that says where he is supposed to be buried. The abbey where Arthur was reburied was abandoned after Henry VIII decommissioned all the monasteries in England. All that remains now is rather poetic ruins.
Legends seem to spring up like crazy at Glastonbury. The abbey is supposedly at the site where Joseph of Arimathea planted his staff in the ground and created the Glastonbury Thorn. The story behind that is somewhat ridiculous: Joseph of Arimathea was Jesus' uncle. He was a trader and used to come to Britain to trade for tin. On one journey he brought little Jesus with him (told ya!). Naturally he needed to go all that way inland in the wrong side of the country to get his tin. Anyways, years later after Jesus died Joseph came back to Glastonbury along with the Holy Grail and thrust his staff into the ground miraculously creating a thorn. The monks tended to the thorn until Cromwell's Roundheads came along and tore it down for being superstitious. Glastonbury seems to have that effect on people. Obviously the grail is another connection with Arthurian legend. The third is the Tor.
The Tor is one of the most identifiable parts of Glastonbury. A tor is just an archaic term for a large hill. This tor is very impressive. It's visible throughout Glastonbury and can be seen for miles around. The top of the Tor was a hill-fort during the Dark Ages when the surrounding area was mostly swamp. The reason that this is connected with Arthur is that the Tor is the favored spot for the location of Avalon. For those not familiar with Arthurian mythology Avalon was the home of Morgan La Fay and was where Arthur went when he was mortally wounded. Avalon is supposed to be an island but if it was surrounded by swampland then it might have been considered one. It does beggar the question of why Joseph of Arimathea was wading through the swamps with baby Jesus but we can skip over that.
The Tor is located about a mile from Glastonbury in the middle of some sheep fields. It is quite a walk up but the view from the top is worth it. At the top there are the remnants of St. Michael's Church. It also was destroyed when Henry dissolved the monasteries and all that remains is a tower. Apparently, the last abbot of the monastery was hung drawn and quartered up there. For those who don't know what that is think Braveheart: Hang you a bit to stretch you out (Hung), castrate you, cut open your chest and pull out your organs one by one burning them as they go until they reach your heart (Drawn). Then they tie each of your limbs to a separate horse and tear your body into four pieces (quartered). One of the more charming inventions of the British.
One of the strange things about the Tor is the series of ridged terraces that go up the sides.There hasn't been a convincing reason for their existence yet. They're needlessly complex for a path up since the modern path goes straight up the side and is perfectly walkable. One of the odder suggestions has been that the path was meant to be a labyrinth. That would sort of remove the need for a completely logical reason. The remains found at the top of the Tor were certainly pagan since they were buried facing north-south.
In 1191 the monks at Glastonbury Abbey went so far as to claim they had found Arthur's grave. In reality they probably found a Dark Age tomb of some nobleman and his wife, but they claimed that upon it there was the inscription Hic jacet Arthurus, rex quondam rexque futurus. That's the line that gave T.H. White the title to his book The Once and Future King.which sounds rather better than the more literal translation "Here is buried Arthur, king once and king in future." The problem with it is that it was written in High Medieval Latin (Classical Latin has no J) and sketches of it (the original has disappeared) reveal it to be engraved in the then current style. It was during a time of great interest in the Arthurian story. Richard the Lionheart brought a sword supposed to be Excalibur with him on Crusade.
Legends seem to spring up like crazy at Glastonbury. The abbey is supposedly at the site where Joseph of Arimathea planted his staff in the ground and created the Glastonbury Thorn. The story behind that is somewhat ridiculous: Joseph of Arimathea was Jesus' uncle. He was a trader and used to come to Britain to trade for tin. On one journey he brought little Jesus with him (told ya!). Naturally he needed to go all that way inland in the wrong side of the country to get his tin. Anyways, years later after Jesus died Joseph came back to Glastonbury along with the Holy Grail and thrust his staff into the ground miraculously creating a thorn. The monks tended to the thorn until Cromwell's Roundheads came along and tore it down for being superstitious. Glastonbury seems to have that effect on people. Obviously the grail is another connection with Arthurian legend. The third is the Tor.
The Tor is one of the most identifiable parts of Glastonbury. A tor is just an archaic term for a large hill. This tor is very impressive. It's visible throughout Glastonbury and can be seen for miles around. The top of the Tor was a hill-fort during the Dark Ages when the surrounding area was mostly swamp. The reason that this is connected with Arthur is that the Tor is the favored spot for the location of Avalon. For those not familiar with Arthurian mythology Avalon was the home of Morgan La Fay and was where Arthur went when he was mortally wounded. Avalon is supposed to be an island but if it was surrounded by swampland then it might have been considered one. It does beggar the question of why Joseph of Arimathea was wading through the swamps with baby Jesus but we can skip over that.
Supposedly the holy grail is buried somewhere on Avalon. This belief is helped out by the fact that the springs near the Tor have a lot of iron and come out red. That makes this the blood of Jesus Christ continuously being washed out of the grail by the wells. They sell the water in town and there are plenty of fountains around the Tor that are supposed to have a magical healing power. The one above is the best example. It's called the Chalice Well and it's just a fountain with a cup underneath it for people to drink out of. The area around it is also supposed to be King Arthur's court, which again seems to contradict the island of Avalon theory they're selling.
With all this cool mythology and history you'd think I liked Glastonbury, and I did like parts, but the town itself is appallingly New Agey. It feels like an entire hippy commune got up and relocated to this small town. The stores all sell magic crystals, the bookstores are filled with books on the occult and pseudohistory, there are people selling holy thorns on the street, and there are a depressingly large number of pagan holy sites, the worst of which is a large water temple just under the Tor. It's maintained by donations and filled with, as you might guess, water. It's completely dark inside with the only light coming from the candles floating on the water. That's actually a pretty cool effect but it is ruined by the paintings. The place has several paintings donated by people and they just look ridiculous. My favorite was one of this woman (a goddess) standing in a field holding a sheep. It just looks horrifically silly. I suppose it's supposed to symbolize her connection to nature but it just fails in every respect. I also think that it's ripped off of the painting from Silence of the Lambs. It belongs on a message board somewhere, not in what's reputed to be a holy place. The guys manning it take its holy status quite seriously too. You'd never guess the place is less than a decade old. They treat it as if it has been the sacred sanctuary of their family for generations.
Now I don't have a problem with people having different religions and I don't have a problem with polytheists, but if I went up to you and said I worshiped Apollo and the ancient Greek pantheon I'd expect to get a pretty odd look. This is the same sort of thing. Just because the Celtic pantheon is less well known than the Greek one doesn't make it less silly. The Celtic religion has been dead for 1500 years. They never wrote their stories down so the only references that we have come from the Romans who didn't like them and Dark Age Welsh poets who rarely mentioned their gods except in passing. The modern day druids are fake. Phonies. They make up what they think the Celts believed and then they act as if they are privy to some ancient secret. The druids might not have been priests anyways. It has been suggested that they were the nobles of the Celtic caste system and the religious functions were performed by a select few. The townspeople of Glastonbury seem to have always been a credulous lot judging from the legends, only now they've expanded beyond Christianity. On the plus side, if you ever decide you want a real magic wand they're available in the gift shop for under ₤80. Hooray!
With all this cool mythology and history you'd think I liked Glastonbury, and I did like parts, but the town itself is appallingly New Agey. It feels like an entire hippy commune got up and relocated to this small town. The stores all sell magic crystals, the bookstores are filled with books on the occult and pseudohistory, there are people selling holy thorns on the street, and there are a depressingly large number of pagan holy sites, the worst of which is a large water temple just under the Tor. It's maintained by donations and filled with, as you might guess, water. It's completely dark inside with the only light coming from the candles floating on the water. That's actually a pretty cool effect but it is ruined by the paintings. The place has several paintings donated by people and they just look ridiculous. My favorite was one of this woman (a goddess) standing in a field holding a sheep. It just looks horrifically silly. I suppose it's supposed to symbolize her connection to nature but it just fails in every respect. I also think that it's ripped off of the painting from Silence of the Lambs. It belongs on a message board somewhere, not in what's reputed to be a holy place. The guys manning it take its holy status quite seriously too. You'd never guess the place is less than a decade old. They treat it as if it has been the sacred sanctuary of their family for generations.
Now I don't have a problem with people having different religions and I don't have a problem with polytheists, but if I went up to you and said I worshiped Apollo and the ancient Greek pantheon I'd expect to get a pretty odd look. This is the same sort of thing. Just because the Celtic pantheon is less well known than the Greek one doesn't make it less silly. The Celtic religion has been dead for 1500 years. They never wrote their stories down so the only references that we have come from the Romans who didn't like them and Dark Age Welsh poets who rarely mentioned their gods except in passing. The modern day druids are fake. Phonies. They make up what they think the Celts believed and then they act as if they are privy to some ancient secret. The druids might not have been priests anyways. It has been suggested that they were the nobles of the Celtic caste system and the religious functions were performed by a select few. The townspeople of Glastonbury seem to have always been a credulous lot judging from the legends, only now they've expanded beyond Christianity. On the plus side, if you ever decide you want a real magic wand they're available in the gift shop for under ₤80. Hooray!
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