Glastonbury

So let's move forward from the publication of Geoffrey's history in the late 1130s to 1184, so half a century on.

And in this year, a devastating fire breaks out at a four-hundred-year-old abbey at a place in Somerset called Glastonbury.

I wondered if we'd be into Glastonbury.

This abbey stands on elevated land above the Somerset Levels.

So one of the reasons why it's always so muddy at Glastonbury at the festival is because the whole area is naturally very wet.

And back in the, um, 12th century, the Somerset levels are a kind of stretch of fens and marshes that for much of the year turns Glastonbury into a kind of island.

And so it's this kind of setting that Glastonbury has amid these, these misty wetlands, which gives it a very haunting and otherworldly air.

And wherever you have a haunting and otherworldly air, you tend to have pilgrims arriving because, you know, it gives you a sense of the, well, the sacral, I guess.

In later years, the pious Jew left his home and, taking with him the precious vessel, sailed away on unknown seas until he came to the land of Britain.

In that country he landed, and at Glastonbury he built himself a hermitage where he treasured the sacred dish which came to be known as the Saint Grail.

After Joseph's death, the world grew more wicked, and so the Holy Grail disappeared from the sight of sinful men, although from time to time the vision of it was granted, as in the story, to the pure in heart.

In later days, legend said that where Joseph's hermitage had stood there grew up the famous monastery of Glastonbury, and it came to have a special importance of its own in the Arthurian romance.

In the reign of Henry II, by the king's orders, the monks of Glastonbury made search for the grave of King Arthur, and in due time they announced that they had found it.

nine feet below the soil the coffin covered with a stone in which inlaid a leaden cross bearing his inscription hic iace sepultus inclitus rex arthurius in insula avalonia some however suggested that the monks less honest and anxious to please the masterful king had first placed the stone in position and then found it one more feature of the tales remains to be mentioned their geography there is no atlas that will make it plain in all cases and this is hardly wonderful for so little was known of this subject that even in the reign of henry the eighth the learned lord byrners was quite satisfied that his hero should journey to babylon by the way of the nile some of the places mentioned in the stories are of course familiar and others less well known can with a little care be traced but to identify all is not possible carleon where king arthur so often held his court still bears the same name though its glory has sorely shrank since the days when it had a bishop of its own camelot where stood the marvellous palace built for the king by merlin is perhaps the village of quinn's camel in somersetshire if it is borne in mind that the french call wales pays de galles it is not difficult to see that north gallis may well be north wales gore is the peninsula of gower lyon probably the land south-west of cornwall now sunk beneath the sea and avalonia was the name given to one of the many small islands on the once marshy low-lying shore of the somersetshire which became afterwards better known as glastonbury happily it is neither on their history nor on their geography that the tales depend for their interest as long as a story of adventure thrills as long as gentleness courtesy and consideration for the weak excite respect so long will be read the tales of the brave times when every morning brought a noble chance and every chance brought out a noble knight's end of quote end of the introduction read by anna nomoska section one of stories from le mort d'arthur and the mabinogion retold by beatrice clay this librivox recording is in the public domain book one the coming of arthur chapter one of arthur's birth and how he became king long years ago there ruled over britain a king called uther pendragon a mighty prince was he and feared by all men yet when he sought the love of the fair igraine of cornwall she would have naught to do with him so that from grief and disappointment uther fell sick and at last seemed like to die now in those days there lived a famous magician named merlin so powerful that he could change his form at will or even make himself invisible nor was there any place so remote but that he could reach it at once merely by wishing himself there one day suddenly he stood at uther's bedside and said sir king i know thy grief and am ready to help thee only promise to give me at his birth the son that shall be born to thee and thou shalt have thy heart's desire to this the king agreed joyfully and merlin kept his word for he gave uther the form of one whom igraine had loved dearly and so she took him willingly for her husband

Forget whatever plans you have this weekend because you're staying at home and playing on SpinQuest.

There shalt thou find the Queen Guinevere dead, and it shall be for thee to bury her." Sir Lancelot arose at once, and calling his fellows to him, told them of his dream.

[fire crackling] [owl hooting] [dramatic music]

But in 1191, 600 years after Arthur's death, the monks of Glastonbury Abbey in the west of England made a stunning discovery.

They found King Arthur's grave.

This must have been one of the most celebrated discoveries, or was the most celebrated discovery, of the Middle Ages.

The grave contained a lead cross identifying the bones as King Arthur's.

Arthur's.When they came to look at the inscription on the lead cross, they read it as saying, "Here lies buried the famous King Arthur in the Isle of Avalon."

The monks of Glastonbury believed their own abbey was Avalon itself.

The mystery of King Arthur's death seemed to be solved.

I re- I'm so in love with England at the moment.

Probably next year, my next retreat will be in Glastonbury.

Um-

I love Glastonbury.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Um, Glastonbury-

[laughs]

I mean, did she come...

Is it like one of those stories about like... 'Cause you know, wasn't there, um, a story about s- someone came and planted a tree in Glastonbury?

Yes, Joseph of Arimathea.

Joseph of Arimathea.