It’s a bit of a coincidence really. For the majority of my life, my family has spent part of our summers at the beach in Avalon, New Jersey. A place named after Avalon, the mystical island that plays a significant role in Arthurian Legend.

The island of Avalon, or as it is also frequently called, the Isle of the Apples, is commonly associated with Glastonbury, which was surrounded by water hundreds of years ago, when Arthur would have lived. According to legend, a mortally wounded Arthur was brought to Avalon to be healed following his clash with Mordred at the Battle of Camlann.

My dad and I spent Thursday exploring two main sites in Glastonbury: the Abbey and the Tor. We started the day off by walking to and climbing up Glastonbury Tor, a giant hill overlooking the town. The Tor is home to what is left St. Michael’s Church; a tower built in the 14^th century. In Arthurian Legend, the Tor is mentioned as one of the sites visited by Arthur and his knights during their search for the Holy Grail.

It was amazing to climb up the Tor and imagine what climbing up it must have been like for the generations before me. Be it those from the 500s or those who built the churches on top of the massive hill, I kept imagining myself in their footsteps. Although it was brutally windy from the top of the Tor—my ears nearly popped from the pressure—the views more than made up for it.

 (The first two pictures are panoramic views of the Tor and the view from the Tor, and the third is the tower of St. Michael’s Church.)

We also visited Glastonbury Abbey later in the day. Glastonbury Abbey is definitely one of the most intriguing places I’ve visited, simply because of the implications it casts over the authenticity of Arthurian Legends.

See, in 1191, the monks at Glastonbury Abbey claimed to have discovered the tomb of Arthur and Guinevere. The remains were moved to a black marble tomb in the middle of the nave of the Cathedral, where they remained until the dissolution of the Abbey in the 16^th century, at which point they, and the tomb, disappeared.

The main question is whether or not the monks were telling the truth—they’d recently come into some financial difficulties, and it’s entirely possible their claims were a 12^th century version of a publicity stunt.

The romantic in me likes to believe that the monks truly found Arthur’s body. There’s just something indescribably special about standing right where Arthur and Guinevere Pendragon were allegedly buried. But after spending far more time than me going over the evidence (or lack thereof) most experts believe the monks fabricated their claims. Even so, that doesn’t change the fact that Glastonbury has played a large part in Arthurian Legend and in England’s history, making it a special place regardless.

Sarah

My second day in England has officially ended. Following a surprisingly smooth red-eye flight from Monday night to Tuesday morning (less than half the seats were filled, so we could spread out across multiple ones), my dad and I drove to Winchester.

Winchester is full of history, but very little of it has to do with King Arthur. The main attraction, as far as my senior project is concerned, is King Arthur’s [replica] Round Table.

Just to be clear; it’s not the real Round Table.

It was actually created in the 13^th century, during the reign of Edward I (a known Arthurian enthusiast), probably for one of the ‘Arthurian Tournaments’ he hosted. During Henry VIII’s reign, the table was repainted to include the Tudor Rose and Henry sitting in Arthur’s seat. (Yes, it’s on a wall).

The names of 24 Knights are painted around the edges. It was a lot of fun to try to read the calligraphy, although it was extremely difficult since many of the names were spelled differently from how I’m used to reading them so it turned into a bit of a guessing game. Some of the Knights included Mordred, Lancelot, Galahad, Gawain, Percival, and Tristan.

By the time we were finished visiting the Round Table, we were exhausted and had an early night in, marking the end of the first day of my senior project.

Today dawned bright and early. We spent an hour walking around Winchester itself, following the walls the Romans constructed centuries ago around the city. In a lot of places some of the height of the walls was worn away, but in a few spots they were still completely intact.

Then my dad and I made our way over to the Winchester Cathedral, which admittedly has no real relation to King Arthur. What the Winchester Cathedral does have, however, is a ton of history. There is so much history intertwined within those walls that our tour guide repeatedly jumped from the 12^th century to the 18^th to the 15^th and so on. My favorite part was visiting Jane Austen’s grave (yes, she’s buried in the vicinity of bishops from the 13^th century… she’s awesome, I know). In addition to my love of history, I’m a bit of an Austen fanatic, so even though a church hadn’t been established in that spot until a century after Arthur, it was wonderful to see.

After touring the Cathedral, my dad and I drove to Stonehenge. According to some legends, Merlin brought the stones over from Ireland. Geoffrey of Monmouth, the source of this legend, claimed that giants had taken the stones from Africa due to their healing properties, and that Merlin had brought them to their current resting place to act as a memorial for soldiers slain in combat against the Saxons.

Of course, this version of events is definitely not accurate—Stonehenge was assembled some 5,000 years ago, not 1,500—but it’s an interesting part of Arthurian Legend nonetheless, as well as an incredible site to visit. We weren’t allowed to get too close to the stones, but we were still close enough to get some pretty amazing pictures.

Sarah

 

Mythology has been a part of my life for nearly as long as I can remember. I’ve always held this deep love and appreciation for all of the legends out there, however one has always been closest to my heart.

King Arthur.

Years ago, I read King Arthur and His Knights of the Round Table for the first time. It was one of many books I’d brought home from the bookstore; at first nothing seemed particularly special about it. I remember that I had the bag of books on the floor in my bedroom, and I’d knelt down to choose one. I picked up the book about King Arthur and didn’t stand up until I’d finished it. I just sat there, on the floor, utterly fascinated.

Don’t be mistaken and think this led to my sudden immersion in Arthurian Legend. Because it didn’t. What it did do was start me on a path of slowly learning more and more about King Arthur throughout the years, always viewing the stories of Camelot with fondness, but never truly exploring them as deeply as I would have liked.

When considering Senior Project ideas, I mentioned wanting to research King Arthur so offhandedly that I can’t even remember when I first thought of it. But the idea took root, and now in three days I’ll be sitting on a plane with my dad on my way to England.

My dad and I are going to travel all around southwest England, visiting sites associated with various Arthurian Legends from Glastonbury Tor to Tintagel Castle. Along the way I’ll be blogging and continuing my research on King Arthur, so when I come back I can write a paper about my own take on Arthurian Legend.

I’m very excited, and each step I take in my preparations just makes this all the more real! I attended Westtown from kindergarten to ninth grade, before returning for my senior year, so for the past two years I never thought I would get to complete a Senior Project, but I’m extremely thrilled that I get the opportunity now!

Until my project begins!

Sarah