Shelgrave summarizes to Cromwell the history of Glastonbury:
it is the heart of Britain;
Joseph of Arimathea came there with the Grail and his staff;
the latter still flowers every Christmas;
people see the ghosts of monks in the abbey ruins;
Glastonbury was Druid, then Celtic Christian, then Roman;
some say it was Avalon;
offerings are still made to Faeries;
Shelgrave fears to fight the Cavaliers there so close to equinox...
Knowing what kind of novel he is in, we judge that he is right to fear.
See Glastonbury Tor.
1 comment:
Kaor, Paul!
Glastonbury Abbey and the Tor might have become associated with Avalon in the Arthurian mythos, but other stories situate Avalon differently. I recently reread THREE HEARTS AND THREE LIONS, and Anderson used the idea of Avalon being a moving island in the Atlantic Ocean for that book.
Glastonbury Abbey was destroyed by Henry VIII and the last abbot, Richard Whiting, was hanged, drawn, and quartered at Henry's command in 1539 for remaining loyal to the Catholic Church. Whiting was beatified as a martyr by Leo XIII.
Ad astra! Sean
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