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King Arthur
Mail David
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Giraldus Cambrensis
Extract from his
"Speculum Ecclesiae" (1216)
In our own lifetime, when Henry II
was reigning in England, strenuous efforts were made in Glastonbury Abbey
to locate what must have once been the splendid tomb of Arthur. It was the
King himself who put them on to this, and Abbot Henry, who was later
elected Bishop of Worcester, gave them every encouragement.
With immense difficulty, Arthur's body was eventually dug up in the
churchyard dedicated by Saint Dunstan. It lay between two tall pyramids
with inscriptions on them, which pyramids had been erected many years
before in memory of Arthur. The body was reduced to dust, but it was
lifted up into the fresh air from the depths of the grave and carried with
the bones to a more seemly place of burial. In the same grave there was
found a tress of woman's hair, blond and lovely to look at, plaited and
coiled with consummate skill, and belonging, no doubt, to Arthur's wife,
who was buried there with her husband.
The moment that [he saw],this lock of hair, [one of the monks], who was
standing there in the crowd, jumped down into the deep grave in an attempt
to snatch hold of it before any of the others. It was a pretty shameless
thing to do and it showed little reverence for the dead. This monk, then,
of whom I have told you, a silly, rash and impudent fellow, who had come
to gawp at what was going on, dropped down into the hole, which was a sort
of symbol of the Abyss from which none of us can escape. He was determined
to seize hold of this tress of woman's hair before anyone else could do so
and to touch it with his hand. This was a fair indication of his wanton
thoughts, for female hair is a snare for the feeble-minded, although those
with any strength of purpose can resist it.
Hair is considered to be imperishable, in that it has no fleshy content
and no humidity of its own, but as he held it in his hand after picking it
up and stood gazing at it in rapture, it immediately disintegrated into
fine powder. All those who were watching were astounded by what had
happened. By some sort of miracle, not to say. . ., it just disappeared,
as if suddenly changed back into atoms, for it could never have been
uncoiled and examined closely. . .this showed that it was even more
perishable than most things, proving that all physical beauty is a
transitory thing for us to stare at with our vacant eyes or to grope for
in our lustful moments, empty and availing nothing. As the philosopher
says: 'Physical beauty is short-lived, it disappears so soon' it fades
more quickly than the flowers in springtime.
Many tales are told and many legends have been invented about King Arthur
and his mysterious ending. In their stupidity the British people maintain
that he is still alive. Now that the truth is known, I have taken the
trouble to add a few more details in this present chapter. The fairy-tales
have been snuffed out, and the true and indubitable facts are made known,
so that what really happened must be made crystal clear to all and
separated from the myths which have accumulated on the subject.
After the Battle of Camlann. . .killed his uncle. . .Arthur: the sequel
was that the body of Arthur, who had been mortally wounded, was carried
off by a certain noble matron, called Morgan, who was his cousin, to the
Isle of Avalon, which is now known as Glastonbury. Under Morgan's
supervision the corpse was buried in the churchyard there. As a result,
the credulous Britons and their bards invented the legend that a fantastic
sorceress called Morgan had removed Arthur's body to the Isle of Avalon,
so that she might cure his wounds there. According to them, once he has
recovered from his wounds this strong and all-powerful King will return to
rule over the Britons in the normal way. The result of all this is that
they really expect him to come back, just as the Jews, led astray by even
greater stupidity, misfortune and misplaced faith, really expect their
Messiah to return.
It is worth noting. . .just as, indeed. . .placed by all, as. . .are
called islands and are known to be situated in salt water, that is to say
in the sea. It is called Avalon, either from the Welsh word 'aval', which
means apple, because appletrees and apples are very common there, or from
the name of a certain Vallo who used to rule over the area long ago. In
remote times, the place used to be called 'Ynys Gutrin' in the Welsh
language, that is the Island of Glass, no doubt from the glassy colour of
the river which flows round it in the marshland. As a result, the Saxons
who occupied the area later on called it 'Glastonia' in their language,
for in Saxon or English 'glass' corresponds to the Latin word 'vitrum'.
From what I have said, you can see why it was called first 'the Isle of
Avalon' and then 'Glastonia'. It is also clear how this fantastic
sorceress came to be adopted by the story-tellers.
It is worthy of note that the Abbot called. . .also from the letters
inscribed on it, although they had been almost obliterated long ago by the
passing of the years, and he had the aforesaid King Henry to provide the
main evidence.
The King had told the Abbot on a number of occasions that he had learnt
from the historical accounts of the Britons and from their bards that
Arthur had been buried in the churchyard there between two pyramids which
had been erected subsequently, very deep in the ground for fear lest the
Saxons, who had striven to occupy the whole island after his death, might
ravage the dead body in their evil lust for vengeance. Arthur had attacked
them on a great number of occasions and had expelled them from the Island
of Britain, but his dastardly nephew Mordred had called them back again to
fight against him. To avoid such a frightful contingency, to a large stone
slab, found in the tomb by those who were digging it up, some seven feet.
. .a leaden cross had been fixed, not on top of the stone, but underneath
it, bearing this inscription:
HERE IN THE ISLE OF AVALON LIES
BURIED THE RENOWNED KING ARTHUR,
WITH GUINEVERE, HIS SECOND WIFE
They prised this cross away from the
stone, and Abbot Henry, about whom I have told you, showed it to me. I
examined it closely and I read the inscription. The cross had been
attached to the under side of the stone and, to make it even less easy to
find, the surface with the lettering had been turned towards the stone.
One can only wonder at the industry and the extraordinary prudence of the
men of that period, who were determined to protect at all costs and for
all time the body of this great man, their leader and the ruler of this
area, from the possibility of sudden desecration. At the same time they
ensured that at some moment in the future, when the troubles were over,
the evidence of the lettering cut into the cross might be discovered as an
indication of what they had done.
. . .it had indicated, so Arthur's body was discovered, not in a stone
sarcophagus, carved out of rock or of Parian marble, as would have been
seemly for so famous a King, but in wood, in an oak bole hollowed out for
this purpose and buried deep in the earth, sixteen feet or more down, for
the burial of so great a Prince, hurried, no doubt, rather than performed
with due pomp and ceremony, as this period of pressing disturbance made
only too necessary.
When the body was discovered from the indications provided by King Henry,
the Abbot whom I have named had a splendid marble tomb built for it, as
was only proper, for so distinguished a ruler of the area, who, moreover,
had shown more favour to this church than to any other in his kingdom, and
had endowed it with wide and extensive lands. By the judgement of God,
which is always just and which in this case was certainly not unjustified,
who rewards all good deeds not only in Heaven above but on this earth and
in our terrestrial Iife. . ., church. . .others of his kingdom. . .the
genuine [remains] and the body. . .of Arthur to be buried in a seemly
fashion. . .and gloriously. . .and. . .inhumed.
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