The British Invasion: Part IX - Glastonbury Abbey

[shanmonster]

On the drive to Glastonbury Abbey, Steve told us a bit about the history of the place. Christian legends say it was founded in the 1st century CE by Joseph of Arimathea, a disciple of Jesus Christ. According to some stories, Joseph came to Brittania and became the first Christian bishop. He was carrying a staff made from the thorn wood of Jesus's cross, and upon reaching Glastonbury, said something to the effect of, "I claim this land for Jesus!" and stuck the stick in the ground, whereupon it sprouted and took root.

This is that very tree, I was told.



As if the connection to Jesus is not enough, the location is also important in Arthurian lore. Joseph of Arimathea also carried the Holy Grail, and as you're probably aware from Monty Python, if nothing else, King Arthur was on a huge quest for that holy artifact.

The grail might not have been found at Glastonbury Abbey, but the grave of Arthur and Guinevere was. Medieval monks asserted that Glastonbury is Avalon. In 1191, the abbot discovered "a massive hollowed oak trunk containing two skeletons. Above it, under the covering stone, according to Giraldus, was a leaden cross with the unmistakably specific inscription Hic jacet sepultus inclitus rex Arthurus in insula Avalonia ("Here lies interred the famous King Arthur on the Isle of Avalon")" (from the Wiki). Where those skeletons finally ended up after the discovery is a mystery.



In the 1500s, King Henry VIII was on his church-destroying rampage and decided to make an example of Glastonbury Abbey. The abbot at the time, Richard Whyting, was a little old man, but his advanced years were no protection for him. He was punished most severely as an object lesson to all those other Catholics of the nation. In 1539, he was hanged, drawn, and quartered. The Abbey was destroyed, which must have been an enormous task considering the size of the place and the thickness of its walls.



Hearing all this history made me excited to see the Abbey. I looked at the guidebook we'd been given with anticipation, and knightky and I planned how we wanted to explore the place. We decided we'd go grab something portable to lunch upon, separate from the rest of the group, and take the long walk around the grounds.

Alas, this was not to be the case. We were herded all together from one point of interest to another. Although Steve was talking, so were most of the other people, which meant that we couldn't hear any of the things he had to say, and were trapped in a slow-moving group with poor views of any of the sights. I was hungry, frustrated, and getting cranky. We were all kept together for a group shot.



We were then herded into the one surviving building of the Abbey: the kitchen.



Once inside, we saw a cute untonsured monk (I'm guessing it was a summer job, and he wasn't an actual monk) who gave us an even cuter presentation on medieval life in the Abbey. Honestly, I think the presentation would be more entertaining for children than adults, and incorporated such things as tossing a bundle of dough into the oven, only to pull out the paddle with a fresh-baked loaf on it. A miracle!



One thing that did stick out for me is how aside from fish, meat was not eaten by the monks. That being said, beavers were plentiful in the area, and since they were aquatic, the monks got special dispensation from on high saying beavers are actually fish, and therefore edible. Because I'm secretly only five years old, I thought this was pretty funny for gutter-minded reasons. And 'nuff said about that!

Finally released from the kitchen, we were given our leave to explore the site at our leisure. However, because the herd tour had taken so long, we no longer had the time to do the long walk around the site, let alone have our lunch, too. We went to the Abbey cafeteria, only to learn they had already sold all of their sandwiches. We left the Abbey, bought some Cornish pasties at a greasy spoon café, and came back onto the site.

Though we didn't have enough time to check out the whole site, we did manage to see a fair chunk. I photographed some of the surviving medieval floor tiles.



We also wandered into a wildlife conservation area, which is home to birds, butterflies, and badgers. We hoped to see badgers, but it wasn't the right time of day for them. We did see their holes, though.



The grounds of the Abbey were decorated here and there by divots where the badgers had been rooting around. I imagine it's quite a task for the groundskeepers to keep filling in the little holes. The badgers' homes are well back from the major ruins, though.

Bright lichen (pronounced "litch-in" in England) is abundant on the ruins.



One bit of wall stood where you could still go up inside.



Though the site is beautiful as a whole, I enjoyed looking at small elements of it, like vines on tree trunks, or the detail of a door on the kitchen.





Our Cornish pasties devoured, it was time to get back onto the coach and head to Cheddar Gorge.

To see more and larger photos, check out my annotated gallery of Glastonbury Abbey.

Comments

[clevermanka.livejournal.com]

OMG the beaver story.

So. Many. Innuendos.

<3

[shanmonster.livejournal.com]

Oh yes. Kyle and I were snickering under our hands plenty over them.

[silverfae.livejournal.com]

That was a fun read.. and viewing.

In the dim recesses of my memory, I recall a pagan story/myth along the lines of the Holy Grail referring to Jesus' mother (being the bearer of the Son of God) and it all tying in with the site as well.
Damn.
Ah... perimenopause, how I hate you sometimes.

[shanmonster.livejournal.com]

Maybe Mary was buried with King Arthur. How's that for a scandal, tying the two together?

[silverfae.livejournal.com]

I like it!

Besides, I don't think that would have been Guinevere buried with Arthur. She didn't come to a nice end in most of the legends, and she wasn't with him.
Intriguing.

[the-lucky-nun.livejournal.com]

How were the pasties?

[shanmonster.livejournal.com]

I had a chicken and mushroom one. I liked it, and wish I'd gotten another. Kyle had a steak one, I think. He said it was ok. We weren't in Cornwall, but Devon. I think Cornish pasties should probably be purchased in Cornwall, hm?

[the-lucky-nun.livejournal.com]

Probably. I once had a beef pasty in Mineral Point, Wisconsin, made from a family recipe. It was delicious, but a small part of my brain wondered if the recipe had been doctored over the years to match American tastes.

p.s. The detail photos are excellent.

p.p.s. heh, beavers!

[valkryor.livejournal.com]

Hey, I'm 12, too!

In that light, I leave you with a couple of funny words from my family Thanksgiving that you can giggle over:

- man hammer
- butter

Enjoy! :D