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Reliques of Arthur
1. Landscape.
history writ in the face of the land
*
* *
Alderley
Edge.
Cheshire.
In
the wood on this sheer sandstone cliff
rising
from the Cheshire plain
is
a wishing well formed by a natural spring
inscribed
by Merlin thus:
“Drink
of this and drink thy fill
for
the water falls by the wizards will.”
The
story goes that Merlin stopped
a
farmer on his way to Macclesfield market
with
a fine white mare for sale.
The
bearded old man made an offer
but
the farmer refused,
hoping
for a better price at market.
And
there, though the animal was greatly admired,
none
would buy it.
On
his way home the farmer
met
the wizard again,
and
the old man led horse and rider
through
the wood to a large rock.
He
struck upon the rock,
and
a pair of massive gates appeared,
flying
open with a noise like thunder.
In
the cavern beyond, said the wizard,
lay
King Arthur and his Knights,
sleeping
with their mounts until
Britain
needed them again.
but they
were one white horse short.
The
terrified farmer accepted a purse of gold
For
his horse and fled.
As
the gates crashed behind him
He
staggered into the daylight.
No
one has seen the cavern since.
*
* *
is
Joyous Garde
Lancelots
castle of fair renown.
***
Arthurs
Stone.
Dorstone,
Herefordshire.
This
stone on Merbach Hill,
Marks
the grave of a Giant that Arthur slew.
The
marks on the stones beside the grave
were
made by the elbows of the Giant.
*
* *
Badbury
Rings.
Dorset.
An
iron age hill fort
is
one of the proposed sites of the Battle of Badon,
other
candidates are Badbury Hill in Berkshire,
and
Badbury nr Swindon, Wiltshire.
*
* *
Bardsey
Island.
Caernarvonshire.
Called
Ynys Ennli by the welsh,
Merlin
is said to be sleeping in a cave,
Surrounded
by a mound of ancient treasures,
including
the Throne of Britain.
He
will wake from his sleep
only
when Arthur returns.
*
* *
Cadbury
Castle.
near
Yeovil, Somerset.
South
Cadbury is an isolated Iron Age hillfort.
Whose
earthwork ramparts enclose
an
area of almost 18 acres.
The
fort has been identified with Camelot
Since
the fifteenth century at least.
According
to tradition the hill is hollow
And
there Arthur and his Knights lie sleeping.
Every
seven years, on Midsummer Eve,
A
great door in the hillside opens
And
the gallant band rides down
to
water its horses at a spring
near
the Sutton Montis church.
Queen
Camel near the foot of Cadbury Hill
has
been suggested as the site of
the
battle of Camlann.
*
* *
Carlisle.
Cumberland.
It
was from Carlisle that Arthur was once
captured
by a Giant,
who
released him on the condition that
he
returned on New Years Day
with
the correct answer to the question:
“
What is it that all women most desire? “
The
King asked all the ladies of his Court,
but
they all gave different answers.
Then,
as the appointed day grew near
he
set off to keep his bond with the Giant.
While
on the journey he met
a
grotesquely ugly woman,
the
Loathly Lady,
who
gave him the true reply:
that all women most desire to have their own way.
and demanded in return that she be married
to
Arthurs nephew, Sir Gawain.
After
the wedding she told him
that
she was bewitched,
but
could be ugly by day
and
beautiful by night,
or
vice versa.
Gawain
gallantly told her to be beautiful by day,
so
that she could mingle with the ladies of the court.
Then
he kissed her, and with that
she
turned into a beautiful woman,
and
remained so always.
The
spell had been partly broken
by
Gawain’s loyalty to the King,
and
completely by his chivalry towards her.
*
* *
Carmarthen.
“when
Merlins tree shall tumble down,
then
shall fall Carmarthen town.”
Merlins
Oak still survives.
According
to one tradition
Merlin
is still alive in a cave
in
Bryn Merddyn, Merlins Cave.
Kept
there in bonds of enchantment
by
his beloved Vivien.
You
can hear his groans as
he
laments his folly in letting a woman
learn
his secret spells.
*
* *
Carn
Cafall.
Builth
Wells, Brecon.
Legend
says when Arthur was hunting
the
great boar upon the mountain
his
dog, Cafall, left a pawprint on a stone.
Arthur
built a cairn with the stone on top
and
named the mountain
the
Ridge of Cafalls Cairn.
If
the stone is moved
it
will always return.
*
* *
Castellmarch.
Aber-soch,
Caernarvenshire.
The
site of the castle of March Amheirchion,
one
of King Arthurs knights.
He
is reputed to have asses ears.
*
* *
Castle
Dore.
near
Fowey, Cornwall.
The
site of the castle of King Mark.
An
ancient cross marks Tristans grave.
*
* *
Coeten
Arthur. ( Arthurs Stone )
Reynoldstown,
Glamorgan.
This
boulder stands on Cefn Bryn Common.
It
is said to a ‘pebble’
that
King Arthur removed from his boot
on
his way to the battle of Camlan.
He
threw it over his shoulder
and
it landed on the common,
seven
miles away.
* * *
Craig
y Ddinas.
Near
Glyn Neath, Glamorganshire.
A
cave here is said to harbour the
sleeping
King Arthur and his Knights.
Legend
tells that a Wizard met a Welsh drover
carrying
a hazelwood staff.
He
asked the Welshman to take
him
to the tree from which the staff had been cut,
For
there they would find a great treasure.
When
they dug up the tree they
found
a secret passage leading to a cave.
At
the entrance was a bell, and inside they saw
King
Arthur and his warriors sleeping beside
a
mound of silver, and a mound of gold.
The
wizard told the Welshman to take
as
much silver and gold as he wanted.
But
he warned him to never touch the bell.
For,
if he did, the warriors would awake
and
ask: “Is it day?”
In
which case he should reply: “No,
sleep on.”
Twice
the drover became too greedy, and
overloaded
himself with riches
and
touched the bell accidentally,
but
he remembered to give the correct reply.
The
third time it happened, however
He
forgot the answer.
He
was beaten so badly by the knights
that
he was crippled for life,
and
could never find the cave again.
* * *
Drumelzier.
Peebles.
Merlin
the Magician is reputed to be buried here,
where
a burn called Powsail joins the Tweed.
Legend
says that the old sorcerer raised a pagan army
against
the Christians of Strathclyde,
but
he was defeated and his followers slaughtered.
For
this he was condemned to wander the forests
until
he died.
He
prophesied his own death.
To
some he said he would fall over a cliff,
others
he told that he would be hanged,
he
also foretold he would drown.
All
three came true.
One
day, chased by jeering shepherds,
he
leapt over the high bluffs above the Tweed
and
fell into the stakes supporting the salmon nets below.
He
died impaled and hanging by his feet,
with
his head underwater.
*
* *
Eamont Bridge.
Westmorland.
Giants
Cave, by the Eamont River
Was
said to be the lair of a man eating giant called Isir,
and
was sometimes known as Isir’s Parlour.
It
is also linked in legend with Tarquin,
a
giant knight who imprisoned 64 brave men in his cave.
He
was eventually slain by Sir Lancelot.
Some
people also claim that Uther Pendragon,
Arthurs
father, lived here, and that like Isir,
he
ate human flesh.
*
* *
Eildon
Hills.
near
Melrose, Roxburgh.
One
of the places where King Arthur and his knights
lie
sleeping, awaiting the recall in their countries need.
Canonbie
Dick was a horse dealer and one night,
riding
home with a pair of horses he had been unable to sell,
he
was stopped by a man in old fashioned clothes
who
asked to buy the horses.
After
some hard bargaining he paid Dick in antique gold pieces.
This
episode was repeated on several nights
until
Dick suggested a drink at the strangers house
to
seal the last bargain.
The
man agreed but warned Dick that if he lost his nerve
when
he saw the dwelling, he would be lost forever.
Dick
was not frightened of anything so he followed
his
host into a hummock called the Lucken Hare,
where
they entered a concealed door in the hill.
The
astonished Dick found himself in a huge cavern,
surrounded
by rows of sleeping horses and knights.
On
a table lay a sword and a horn
and
Dick was offered the choice of blowing the horn
or
drawing the sword first, for
‘King of all Britain will he be’
who made the right choice.
Dick
tried to blow the horn, the wrong choice.
A
strange voice told him it was cowardly
to
summon help before using the sword,
and
a mighty wind suddenly lifted Dick and
threw
him from the cave.
Next
morning he was found by some shepherds,
and
after telling his tale he died.
*
* *
Gilsland
Cumbria
A
Roman milecastle here
was
known as the King’s Stables
after
an old legend of the king.
*
* *
Glastonbury.
Somerset.
Long
identified as the site of Avalon.
The
pagan celts knew it as Ynys Witrin,
the
Island of Glass.
An
old legend says that Christ himself
visited
when a boy.
And
later Joseph of Arimathea arrived
with
the Holy Grail.
at
Weary-All Hill
he
thrust his staff into the ground
where
it took root and grew into a Holy Thorn,
which
flowers only at Christmas.
Joseph
built a wattle and daub chapel
on
the site of the Lady Chapel of the ruined abbey.
A
later chapel built on top of the tor
was
dedicated to St Michael, soldier of god,
and
victor over paganism.
Melwas,
Ruler of the Summer Land,
abducts
Guinevere and imprisons her
in
his fortress.
Arthur
can make no headway through the marshes,
Guinevere
remains a prisoner until
St
Gildas intervenes.
Arthur,
mortally wounded, is carried away
after
the Battle of Camlan
by
four Queens in a black draped barge to
the
mysterious Island of Avalon.
In
the 12th century the bones of a tall man
Were
discovered in an oak coffin
With
the bones and hair of a woman.
Also
in the grave a lead cross inscribed:
“Here
in the Isle of Avalon
the
famous King Arthur
lies
buried.”
or 'Here lies buried the famous King Arthur
with Guenevere his second wife in the island of Avalon.'
*
* *
Huails
Stone.
Ruthin,
Denbigh.
The
Maen Huail is a large block of limestone
standing
in the marketplace of Ruthin.
Legend
has it that in the sixth century
all
the sons of Caw, except Gildas,
constantly
rebelled against King Arthur.
Huail
the eldest was the ruler of Edeirnion,
and
proved to be the most troublesome of all.
When
Arthur held court in Caerwys in Flintshire,
he
used to visit a woman who lived in Ruthin.
Huail
learned of this
and
began to pursue the woman himself,
which
soon led to a fight between the two warriors.
Arthur
was wounded in the knee,
but
forgave Huail on the condition
that
he would never refer to the wound.
Shortly
thereafter Arthur disguised himself
as
a woman, and secretly went to Ruthin,
where
his sweetheart was attending a dance.
Huail
recognised Arthur by the limp, and said:
“
Your dancing would be fine
were
it not for the clumsy knee.”
Arthur
had him taken outside
where
he was beheaded on the stone.
*
* *
Llandderfel.
Merioneth.
A
shrine to St Derfel,
One
of King Arthurs warriors.
Formerly
had a full size mechanical wooden
Statue
of Derfel and his horse.
Only
the horse remains
*
* *
Llyn
Barfog, the Bearded Lake
Merioneth.
It is said that a terrible monster, the avanc,
lived in the lake, from where it would raid the surrounding countryside.
When Arthur came to hear of this, he went to the lake and threw a great chain around the avanc.
Then, with the help of his mighty horse (sometimes called Llamrei),
he hauled the creature from the lake and killed it.
Proof of this is found a short distance from Llyn Barfog
in the shape of a stone known as Carn March Arthur, the Stone of Arthur's Horse.
*
* *
Pendragon
Castle.
Nateby, Westmoreland.
(also
known as Mallerstang)
Legend
says that this was built by Uther Pendragon,
who
tried to divert the nearby Eden River
to
form a moat. But a local rhyme says:
“
let Uther Pendragon do what he can
Eden
will run where Eden ran.”
*
* *
Pen-marc.
Glamorgan.
In
King Arthurs time a prince of Gwynedd
owned
a strong and very swift horse which he used
to
send messages to the Kings court in Somerset.
On
one occasion the horse was galloping so fast
that
it slipped and in falling was decapitated,
at
a place now called Cefn March, the horses ridge.
But
its head travelled on until it fell,
and
this place became known as Pen March, the horses head.
*
* *
Richmond
Castle.
Yorkshire.
A
potter named Thompson
once
found a secret tunnel
under
the castle.
He
followed it into a deep cavern
where
he discovered
King
Arthur and his Knights
lying
asleep.
A
Horn and a Sword lay nearby and,
as
Thompson picked up the Horn,
the
knights began to stir.
Terrified
he ran back along the tunnel
as
a voice cried after him:
“
Potter Thompson, Potter Thompson,
If
thou hadst drawn the sword
Or
blown the horn,
Thou
hadst been the luckiest man e’er born.”
*
* *
Sewingshields
Castle.
Northumberland.
A
local farmer came by chance upon the entrance
to
a cave beneath the castle,
and
within found not only
Arthur
and his Knights.
But
a sword a garter and a horn.
He
cut the garter with the sword,
Whereupon
Arthur woke and said:
“Oh
woe betide the evil day
On
which this witless wight was born
Who
drew the sword, the garter cut,
But
never blew the bugle horn.”
He
then fell asleep once more,
The
farmer retreated,
And
the cave entrance was never found again
nearby
two outcrops of sandstone…
Kings Crag, Queens Crag
Arthur sits on Kings Crag,
Guinevere on Queens Crag
Had
a quarrel
Arthur
threw a great rock at her
Which
hit her comb
And
fell between the two crags.
It
lies there to this day
The
teethmarks of the comb
Still
plainly visible
On
the face of the rock.
*
* *
Stirling.
“
King Arthur presided over the Round Table
in
the military fort of Stirling.
otherwise
known as Snowdon West Castle.”
(William
of Worcester. 1415-1482?)
*
* *
Stonehenge.
Wiltshire.
Known
as the Giants Dance,
the
stones were moved to Wiltshire
by
the Wizard Merlin,
at
the request of Ambrosius Aurelanius,
King
of the Britons.
He
wanted a memorial for the Nobles slain
at
the Treachery of the Long Knives.
*
* *
Tintagel Castle.
Cornwall.
According
to legend,
King
Arthur was born here,
where
Uther Pendragon deceived
the
beautiful Igraine,
wife
of Gorlois, Duke of Cornwall.
With
the magical aid of Merlin
Uther
disguised himself as Igraines husband.
Entering
the fortress in this guise,
He
seduced Igraine and nine months later
Arthur
was born.
The
cavern below the castle
Is
known as Merlins Cave.
The
wizards ghost is said to
wander
in its echoing recesses.
Local
people believe that Arthur
is
reincarnated as a Chough,
*
* *
Long
before the Normans came.
The
Head of Bran, Celtic Hero God,
was
buried there to safeguard
the
Realm from invaders.
The
Head was later removed
by
the jealous Arthur.
But
the six Ravens of Bran are still there.
As
long as they remain,
the
White Tower will never fall.
*
* *
Threlkeld
Cumbria
Here
sleeps the King
According
to local legend.
*
* *
Yr
Widdfa.
Snowdon,
Caernarfon.
On
the peak of the mountain is a cairn
said
to be that of a giant slain by Arthur.
Near
the summit is the bottomless lake of Glasnyn.
Its
waters, stained green by copper ore,
are
believed to contain the dreaded Afanc,
a
water monster dragged from its lair
in
the Conway River by giant oxen and
dumped
into Glasnyn.
The
eagles of Snowden were long regarded
as
oracles of peace or war, triumph or disaster.
Circling
high they presage victory,
if
low it meant defeat.
If
they cried incessantly the birds were mourning
some
impending calamity.
*
* *
