King Arthur

To this day the Dark Ages remain a mystery. The two centuries between the end of Roman rule in Britain about 410 A.D. and the settlement of the Saxons have been in shadow. There were stories of the time of course, which later generations delighted to tell, and probably embroider -  and stories often repeated have a habit of becoming history. Out of those tales of warring chieftains, of victory and defeat, emerged a hero king, King Arthur, whose fame as the years went by spread far beyond the shores of Britain, deep into the romantic core of European civilisation.

The Arthurian legends have themselves become a serious subject for study, less for what they tell us about the Dark Ages as for the way in which Medieval romance blossomed.

But here in Somerset the Dark Ages are not so dark, for archaeologists at several sites have bridged those two lost centuries, reconstructing a lifestyle both warlike and cultured.

The legends can now be seen afresh where so many grew and flourished. ARTHURIAN ADVENTURE is neither all fact nor all fiction. It is a modern quest which brings reality to legend, which reveals a provable past at the heart of a glorious romance.

Somerset claim the bones of King Arthur and his beloved wife Guenevere, allegedly found at Glastonbury Abbey in 1191 when Monks of the Abbey dug between two ancient memorial pillars in the churchyard.

The bones had been found deep down in a hollow oak, with a leaden cross bearing the words 'Here lies buried the renowned King Arthur with Guenevere his fortunate wife in the Isle of Avalon' – proof that Glastonbury was Avalon!?  The Cross is now lost, however this event brought the magnetism of Glastonbury and Arthur together in a powerful force.

That magnet brought Kings, pilgrims, prestige and money to Galstonbury and still does.!

It’s worth noting that a few years before the discovery, on the 25th May 1184 a fire destroyed the ancient buildings at Glastonbury Abbey and debate has continued ever since as to whether the find was genuine or whether it was a publicity  stunt on the part of the monks to try and increase revenue to help rebuild the Abbey.

<Sylvie Phillips>