Glastonbury, The legend of Avalon

4 Agosto 2014

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    Glastonbury, The legend of Avalon





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    Glastonbury Tor


    Rising like a beacon from the flat Somerset plain, the Tor seems to beckon the pilgrims who journey in their thousands to this remarkable spot, once described as 'this holiest earth'. People come in search of many things: the Grail;enlightenment; inspiration.

    Many claim to have found their goal, and remain in the peaceful market town to the bewilderment of the local inhabitants. Beneath the Tor is said to lie a subterranean kingdom ruled over by the Lord of the Wild Hunt, Gwynn ap Nud, a powerful other-worldly figure who was once banished by the Celtic St. Collen, but who is still believed to haunt the hills around Glastonbury.

    A recent theory claims the existence of a man-made, sevenfold maze, carved out of the Tor itself. This, it is said, was once a sacred processional way, used by priests and priestesses to reach the stone circle which then crowned the Tor. Modern pilgrims still trace its path to the summit and speak of visionary experiences when they have done so.


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    From the summit of the Tor, which rises some 500 feet above sea level, there is a panaromic view of the surrounding countryside. Cadbury Castle can be glimpsed away to the south, and Brent Knoll rises away to the west, near the Bristol Channel.

    The Tor was probably once an island, hence its identification with the mysterious Island of Avalon, a place between the worlds, where tradition says that Arthur came to be healed of his wounds and to await his recall in a time of great need.

    This is the most likely reason for the legend of his grave being found in the abbey ruins below the hill.


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    Glastonbury Abbey

    Crouched in the lee of three hills, most notably the Tor, the ruins of Glastonbury Abbey are all that remain of what was once the greatest monastic foundation and church in all of Britain, second only in wealth and size to Westminster. At the height of the Middle Ages it was a shrine second to none in Europe, considered by some to be as important as Rome itself.


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    Here, according to legend, came Joseph of Glastonbury Abbey Arimathea, the uncle of Jesus who gave up his tomb to house the body of his nephew. Later, Joseph was given the Holy Grail, the most mystical vessel which had been used to celebrate the Last Supper and the first Eucharist, and which caught some of the blood of the crucified Christ as he hung upon the cross.


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    After the Resurrection, Joseph fled to Britain with the cup and founded the first Christian church on the ancient island of Ynys Witrin, sometimes known as the Glass Isle, or Avalon, better known today as Glastonbury.


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    Arthur's body was brought here to be buried. Today, a plaque marks the spot where, in 1191, his tomb was apparently uncovered by builders working on the restoration of the abbey after it had been almost destroyed by fire in 1184.


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    Whether this was truly Arthur's grave or a complicated forgery perpetrated by the monks to raise funds to rebuild their half-burned church has been contested ever since. A lead cross, last seen by William Camden in the eighteen century, used to be displayed in the abbey. It read:

    Here lies buried the renowned King Arthur in the Isle of Avalon.

    There are those who believe it a forgery and those who think it was the genuine gravestone of Britain's greatest king.


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    Chalice Well Gardens

    Chalice Hill is the third and gentlest of the three hills which form the heart of Glastonbury's sacred landscape. It stands between the town and the Tor, effectively hiding the bulk of the taller hill from the town.


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    It has long been considered the most sacred of the hills, and it is believed by many to have been the final resting place of the Grail. A spring, rich in iron which turns the water red, rises here, and a peaceful garden has grown up around it in the past decade, owned and looked after by a local trust.


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    Within the garden, which is surrounded by medieval stonework and rises up the lower slopes of the hill, there are a number of sheltered spots in which the visitor may stop and meditate or dream of the Grail and Arthur.


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    The well-head is covered with an elaborate lid with a fine wrought-iron sculpture of the Vesica Pisces, a sign interpreted as representing the overlapping of the inner and outer worlds.


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    Lower down, the waters spill out of a carved ornate fountain-head and fill a series of stepped bowls which echo the shape of the well-cover design.

    The reddish tinge to the water resulted in its once being called the Blood Spring; in modern times, it has been mystically associated with the blood of Christ caught in the Grail.



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    Source: www.kingarthursknights.com/structures/default.asp
     
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