Glastonbury Abbey
King Arthur's tomb site at ruins of Glastonbury Abbey. Moriori took this photo and releases it into the public domain.

King Arthur was either a fictional character or one of the greatest kings that England ever had. There has long been a dispute over this point, with some people even thinking that the character of King Arthur was created out of the personalities and deeds of several ancient English Kings. Indeed, a recent movie pictures him as more Roman than English. Why am I mentioning King Arthur when the title of this article is Glastonbury? It is because Arthur was said to have been buried on this site, of course if there wasn't really an Arthur then the rest that follows wouldn't be true either. Having said that, no one wants the Arthur legend to be false. Why would they, here is one of the greatest heroes in history. His story has romance, war, magic and sorrow. This is everything that anyone could want from a good novel. If Arthur did live, we may find proof of this someday, but as time goes by the legend get buried deeper and deeper in history. The name Arthur mean Great Bear in those days and the first mention of him in writings was by Geoffrey of Monmouth in 1139 A.D. which was said to be some 600 years after his death. Stories of Arthur were told by bards and story tellers as early as the 4th century A.D. , but were never transcribed until Geoffrey of Monmouth decided to write them down.

Glastonbury is an English town located in Somerset. Glastonbury Abbey is very well know and is home to thousands of tourists every year. The abbey is said to be the final resting place of the Holy Grail. Strange things happened to abbeys in the early centuries in England. Some of them were handed over to lay people by the kings. The idea was to compensate warriors for their protection of the populace. The abbeys became heritable fiefs and this went on until the 11th century A.D. In the 8th century in England this abuse of abbeys was at it's height. Spiritual institutions were made secular. This mean that all the monks of an abbey might be subject to the authority of a civilian. 11th century reforms ended this practice.

Tor Hill, Glastonbury
Photo Source: Library of Congress

There is a very famous hill that is named Glastonbury Tor. A tree is said to have connections to several tales, which are now believed to be myths. It is said that after Jesus died that Joseph of Arimathea insisted on a church being built on the hill. The legend gets even more fantastic when it is alleged that Jesus himself had visited the area as a child and was accompanied by Joseph. It is said that he got there by boat. The story goes on to say that when Joseph and Jesus arrived there, Joseph stuck his staff into the ground and a Glastonbury Thorn tree rose up as if to mark a holy spot. The Glastonbury Thorn or Holy Thorn is that tree that sprung up from Joseph's staff and it only grows within a few miles of the Glastonbury Tor. It is said that this is because it only grows on sacred ground. The tree flowers twice a year, once around Christmas and then around spring. At the top of the hill is the remains of St. Michael's Church. There is another legend that the original Holy Thorn tree was chopped down during the English Civil War and the soldier that did it was blinded by splinters from the tree as a punishment for his deeds.

St. Joseph's Chapel, Glastonbury
Photo Source: Library of Congress

Glastonbury Tor also figures into a rich Arthur Legend. It is said that the Celtic king Melwas kidnapped Queen Guinevere and she was rescued by King Arthur here. It is also said that this is where the Lady of the Lake appeared and where Arthur was laid to rest. As a matter of fact this is said to be where Avalon existed. It is felt that in Arthur's time some of the land was under water and this is how the Lady of the Lake could have existed here. Supposedly the monks of Glastonbury discovered the grave of King Arthur and reentered his body in Cadbury Hill. This is generally not believed and thought to be a ploy to make the monks and the area more important in the eyes of the people. A slate was found from the sixth century with the Latin inscription that when translated resembles the phrase Arthur at Tintagel. Tintagel is the castle that was reputed to be the birthplace of King Arthur. The slate contains the name Artognov which is Latin for the British name Arthnou. The slate was found in July, 1998.

Glastonbury had been a sacred site way before the the abbey was ever built. The Druids thought that it was a sacred site and worshipped there. They maintained a 24 hour a day choir on the spot and they did this year in and year out for 365 days a year. In ancient times it was believed that the top of the Tor was the Celtic entrance to the underworld. One legend states that the Holy Grail was thrown into the well at the bottom of the hill. Today this is known as Chalice Well. Oh there is one more thing that I forgot to mention about King Arthur and that is he is supposedly waiting to return when he is needed.

You can see why so many people are interested in this town. Not only does it have spiritual overtones, but it also has mystical ones. Add to that the legend of King Arthur and you have one heck of a place to visit. It would be hard to go on vacation anywhere in England and not be tempted to visit Glastonbury.