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the Once and Future King Legends of the Sleeping Arthur 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. *******
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. *******
Carmarthen
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.
*******
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.
*******
Eildon
Hills. near
Melrose, Roxburgh. Lying beneath the Eildon Hills buried in an
enchanted sleep to be broken at length by one
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.
*******
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
*******
Threlkeld Cumbria
Here
sleeps the King |
Legend has it that Arthur and his knights are thought to be sleeping in a cliff-top cave beneath Chepstow Castle.
