The mystery of Arthurs grave and the return of Arthur

1
The mystery of Arthurs grave and the return of
Arthur

• These questions were the subject of considerable
  debate in the 11-12th centuries.
• The Britons insisted that Arthur survived, albeit
  in an otherworldly domain, and that his return
  would ensure the return of Britain to the
  Britons.
• An opposing view saw this as no more than a myth,
  but politically a nuisnace, because it made the
  complete conquest of the Celtic Britons all the
  more difficult.

2
The mystery of Arthurs grave and the return of
Arthur

• Brittany remained largely independant at this
  period- although the Viking raids and later the
  Normans led many of the Breton aristocracy to
  seek shelter in Britain (England, S Wales and
  Cornwall).
• Wales was a series of semi-independant kingships
  until 1282 when the last Prince of Wales,
  Llywelyn was defeated by Edward I.
• Cornwall had become largely part of Wessex by the
  10th century although remaining Cornish in speech
  and custom.

3
The mystery of Arthurs grave and the return of
Arthur

• The very idea of Arthurs survival implied
  debate about Avalon and to a lesser degree Morgan
  La Fée.
• Bardic poets in the Celtic Britain and Brittany
  (the singers of lais) were largely the mouthpiece
  for this prophetic and political material that
  mentioned Arthur in these terms.

4
Avalon and Arthur

• Yet, the concept of Avalon was often viewed in an
  ambiguous way (island, place on land).
• The idea of such an island allowed for the idea
  of the returning Arthur (although concrete
  evidence for this concept is not easy to find
  before the 12th century).

5
Avalon and Arthur

• The idea of a returning Arthur and the obvious
  results of such had clear political
  ramifications.
• In other words the Britons still harboured
  beliefs that they could one day repossess their
  island (from the Saxons, and now the Normans).
• This idea became incorporated in the figure of
  Arthur.
• Only if his grave could be found, would such an
  idea seem unfounded. A Welsh poem stated that the
  grave of Arthur would remain unknown until
  Doomsday.

6
Avalon and Arthur

• The identification of Avalon with the town of
  Glastonbury is closely connected with the idea of
  Arthurs demise.
• In the 12th century it was claimed that the bones
  of Arthur and Guinevere had been found in
  Glastonbury.
• This was partly as the result of what had been
  told by a Breton singer at the court of king
  Henry II.
• Breton singers of lais were frequently found in
  the royal courts of England c1150-1250AD.

7
Arthurs Grave

• It has been suggested that the discovery of these
  bones was a hoax since Glastonbury was in need of
  funds after a serious fire in 1184. This
  interpretation has also been thrown in doubt.
• In the following century, after claiming Arthurs
  crown from the Welsh in 1278 (part of his
  conquest of the Welsh), Edward I held an
  elaborate ceremony at Glastonbury during which
  the bones were exhibited like holy relics.
• The ceremony was an important effort by Edward to
  establish himself as Arthurs legitimate
  successor.
• The idea of course was to shatter the political
  dream of regaining the sovereignty of Celtic
  Britain.

8
Edward I and his conquest of Wales 1282

• The invention of the tomb of Arthur as
  propaganda.
• The showing of Llywelyns head in London after
  1282.
• The seizing of the Welsh royal jewels including
  the Croes Naid
• Arthurs Crown.

9
Arthurs Grave in Glastonbury

• The search took place in 1190 or early 1191.
• Seven feet down the diggers unearthed a stone
  slab, with a cross of lead under it inscribed in
  Latin. The inscription said
• Here lies buried the renowned King Arthur in the
  Isle of Avalon

10
Arthurs Grave in Glastonbury

• Nine feet farther down they reached a rough
  coffin made out of a hollowed log. Inside it were
  the bones of a tall man, with a damaged skull..
  There was also a scrap of hair that crumbled when
  touched, presumably all that remained of
  Guinevere.
• The monks transferred the bones to two chests,
  and eighty-seven years later, to a black marble
  tomb in the great new Abbey.

11
Arthurs Grave in Glastonbury

• One result of the find was that the hill-cluster
  cradling Glastonbury, known to have been formerly
  a near-island with lakes and marshes, came to be
  widely accepted as the real Avalon where Morgan
  once dwelt.
• Modern excavation has proved that the monks did
  dig where they said. They did not fake the grave.
  The question remains regarding the cross they
  found.

12
Arthurs Grave in Glastonbury

• This has vanished with most of the Abbeys
  possessions.
• William camden saw it in 1607 and drew a picture.
• It maybe a fake, since Giraldus Cambrensis says
  the inscription mentioned Guinevere. (Perhaps it
  appeared on the reverse side of the cross).
• Intriguingly, GC called Guinevere Arthurs Second
  Wife.
• The spelling and style of the cross suggest a
  pre-1190 date.

13
Avalon and Arthur

• Why would a Breton singer believe such an idea?
• The most probably explanation concerns the way in
  which Avalon became identified with Glastonbury.
• Arthur had already been associated with this
  Somerset town in the Saints Live written by
  Caradog, when he pursued Melwas there to regain
  his wife Guinivere.

14
Avalon and Glastonbury.

• In the 12th century, the Welsh called Glastonbury
  Ynys Gutrin (Glass Island).
• There were already other names which contained
  the idea of glass. Melwas abode was called the
  fortress of glass.
• In the Spoils of the Otherworld, one of the names
  for the otherworld described is Caer Wydr (Glass
  Fortress).

15
Avalon and Glastonbury.

• Chrétien de Troyes must have known a similar
  tradition, for in his Erec text (v. 1946-51) he
  refers to Maheloas (Melwas), lord of the Isle of
  Glass, where nine maidens dwelt and there was
  never excessive heat or cold.
• Since Geoffrey describes Avalon as being an
  island of nine sisters.

16
Avalon and Glastonbury.

• Not surprisingly a series of equations could be
  made
• GlastonburyIsle of GlassIsle of Applesisle
  where Arthur was taken.

17
Redeemer heroes of the Britons

• Over the centuries at least eight redeemer-heroes
  came into prominence in Wales
• Hiriell
• Cynan,
• Cadwaladr
• ARTHUR
• Owain, Owain Lawgoch, Owain Glyndwr
• Henry Tudor

18
Redeemer heroes of the Britons

• This historical trauma (the loss of sovereignty
  of the island) translates itself in the writings
  of the early Welsh in the form of prophetic
  poetry.
• Geoffrey of Monmouth would later draw extensively
  on this kind of material for his Prophetia
  Merlini and his later Vita Merlini c 1150.
• Much of the early Welsh prophetic poetry was
  ascribed to the poet Taliesin (historical, but
  became a fictional character as well and all of
  the prophetic works attributed to him are by
  others).

19
Prophetic literature (vaticination)

• This kind of writing (also in the oral tradition)
  often developed amongst peoples who are
  subjugated, or fear for their survival in the
  future.
• Compare Mayan literature.
• The Ogala Sioux post 1870s
• Jewish writings after the Fall of the Temple

20
Redeemer heroes of the Britons

• Most of the content of the The Book of Taliesin
  includes a variety of poems from c8-10th century,
  some religious, some prophetic and others
  deliberately obscure.
• One figure that starts to appear in early
  prophetic poetry is the so-called mab darogan or
  son of prophecy. In other words the hoped-for
  return of a figure from the past who would lead
  the Britons to victory and the repossession of
  the island.
• The expectation of a deliverer was no doubt a
  deep seated tradition amongst the Britons
  probably from the time of the Romans onwards.

21
Redeemer heroes of the Britons

• Although we have little evidence for this belief
  pattern in the ensuing centuries during and after
  the Roman occupation of Britain, by the 9th
  century, it was well established in Welsh,
  Cornish and Breton culture.
• The Bretons had gone their own way and had a
  great deal of independence.
• Even after the twelfth century, this tendency
  continued until the battle of Bosworth in 1485
  when Henry Tudor (of Welsh extraction) defeated
  Richard III. The Welsh believed that the new king
  would herald the return of Britain to the Britons.

22
Redeemer heroes of the Britons

• Arthur would eventually become the redeemer
  hero par excellence amongst the Welsh, Cornish
  and the Bretons.
• Yet his name is not used in this connection in
  the earliest prophetic texts in, say, The Black
  Book of Carmarthen and The Book of Taliesin..
• The awaited heroes are usually Cadwaladr, Cynan,
  Owain (occasionally Hiriell).

23
Armes Prydain c930AD

• This major prophetic poem is found in the Book
  of Taliesin and has a clear political message
• The desire of the Cymry (Britons) is to rid the
  island of the English and to reinstate the
  Britons and their sovereignty over the Island of
  Britain.
• From Manaw Gododdin to Brittany, from Dyved to
  Thanet.

24
Armes Prydain c930AD

• The poem calls upon the Welsh, the Irish, the
  Cornish and the Britons of Strathclyde and the
  Old North to form a great army against the Saeson
  (English or Saxons).
• Several characters from Brythonic narrative are
  mentioned in the text
• Myrddin (Merlin)- as prophet
• Gwrtheyrn (Vortigern)-the much maligned British
  chieftain who invited the Saxons.

25
Armes Prydain c930AD

• The poem mentions how the Britons will be helped
  in their task by the Scandinavians of Dublin.
• This poem no doubt echoes the growing power of
  Wessex under the Saxon king Athelstan who came to
  power in 924AD and who defeated the armies of the
  Vikings, the Scots and the Britons at the battle
  of Brunanburh in 937.
• Athelstan imposed taxes on the Welsh princes in
  c926-930.
• By 937 Athelstan was in such a strong position
  that the idea of the Britons reclaiming the
  island had become a hopeless dream.

26
Armes Prydain c930AD

• The poem as well as expressing the bitter
  sentiments of the Britons (in Wales) at this
  time, refers to entreating St David to help the
  Britons as well as calling for the help of the
  traditional redeemer hero kings, Cadwaladr and
  Cynan.
• There is no mention of Arthur, which may suggest
  that he had not developed into this type of
  character yet.
• The poem may well also have expressed discontent
  in Dyfed against the policy of King Hywel Dda who
  sought appeasement with Athelstan.

27
CADWALADR battle-leader

• Cadwaladr was king of Gwynedd (NW Wales)in the
  mid 7th century.
• He is recorded as having died by violence or by
  plague in 664AD.
• His own deeds are little known and he may be best
  known because of the deeds of his father
  Cadwallon Bendigaid (blessed) who was noted for
  his victories against the Saxons.
• Cadwallon drove the Saxons (Edwin of Northumbria)
  from North Wales and killed him in 632 in his own
  territory. (Cadwallon died in 634)

28
CADWALADR battle-leader

• Clearly the folk memory of Cadwaladr ensured that
  he would still be remembered in the 9th century.
• Geoffrey of Monmouth (c1130) integrates this king
  into his text calling him the last Welsh King
  and typically rewrote the end of his life.
• (In Geoffreys text he goes to Brittany to flee
  the plague and is told by a voice to go to Rome
  where he eventually dies).

29
CYNAN

• Cadwaladr is often paired with Cynan, the next
  most important redeemer-hero of early Welsh
  tradition.
• There are two major Cynans in the tradition
  Cynan Garwyn of Powys and Cynan Meiriadog (or
  Conanus Meriadocus) of Brittany.
• The latter is the main subject of speculation
  about the redeemer-hero.

30
CYNAN

• This Cynan plays a central role in the legendary
  early history of Brittany.
• In Welsh tradition he is best known from the
  narrative called The Dream of Maxen (see
  Mabinogion book). In that work Cynan and his
  brother conquer Gaul and return it to its deposed
  emperor Maxen then Cynan conquers Brittany where
  he remains.

31
Cynan

• This is pseudo-history but nevertheless reflects
  major migrations of Britons to Brittany around
  400AD.
• R.Bromwich believes that his name occurs in the
  10th century Armes Prydain because of his
  connection with Brittany and the fact that the
  Armes Prydain poet included the Bretons in his
  pan-Celtic call to arms that he was urging.

32
CYNAN

• For that reason the poet of AP ascribes the
  attributes of a redeemer like Cadwaladr.(Arthur
  is not mentioned).
• The surname Meiriadog (Meriadec) is rarely used
  in the Welsh materials but is very frequent in
  the Breton references to him.

33
CYNAN

• The Breton traditions relating to Cynan are also
  found in a fragmentary ms from Brittany called
  Le Livre des faits dArthur. This ms has been
  dated to c954-1012AD and reflects the tradition
  linking of Cynan with the British settlement of
  Brittany.
• Geoffrey of Monmouth (HRB c 1130) also draws on
  Breton sources for his materials and makes Cynan
  the ancestor of Breton kings and ultimately the
  forbear of Arthur himself. (Geoffrey seems to
  have preferred the Bretons to the Welsh).
• It seems credible that the introduction of Cynan
  as a redeemer-hero (liberator) of the Welsh
  begins with the author of Armes Prydain.

34
The redeemer heroessleeping heroes

• Traditions about redeemer heroes often think of
  the hero as being asleep. This idea would later
  become attached to folk traditions about Arthur
  (but not yet).
• In the Black Book, Hiriell is described as
  sleeping and that he would awake and fight on the
  borders of Gwynedd (NW Wales).
• Also the heroes are seen as coming from across
  the sea. In the Black Book of Carmarthen, two
  kings are described in this way.

35
CYNAN in Geoffrey of Monmouth

• Cadwallader shall summon Conanus and shall make
  an alliance with Albany (Britain). Then the
  foreigners shall be slaughtered and the rivers
  run with blood.
• The Welsh will triumph, excellent will be their
  leader. Everybody will get their rights. Joy will
  be the honour of the Britons. Horns of rejoicing
  will be sounded, a song of peace and fair
  weather.

36
Arthur takes his place as Redeemer hero

• This does not appear to develop until after c950
  but seems to be known by 1100.
• Arthur remembered as warrior and chieftain
  becomes a hero of the expected messianic time
  when the Britons will repossess the island (in
  the propaganda of the bards).

37
Redeemer heroes in Welsh tradition

• In GofMs Vita Merlini (Life of Merlin), Taliesin
  recounts how after the Battle of Camlan, Arthur
  was taken to Avallon (insula pomorum) to be
  healed. But when he hears of the tribulations in
  Britain, Taliesin suggests sending for Arthur but
  Merlin rejects the idea saying that the Britons
  must continue to suffer until Cadwaladr and Cynan
  return.

38
Redeemer heroes in Welsh tradition

• Arthurs lesser role as a saviour is demonstrated
  by the fact that he does not even appear in the
  earliest vaticinatory poems. He appears as we
  have seen as a character whose bravery and
  military prowess is not forgotten (What Man etc,
  The Gododdin) and one associated with hero-tales
  of an older type (The Spoils of the Otherworld).

39
Arthur as redeemer hero

• It is not clear when exactly Arthur was
  assimilated into the role of national redeemer
  (liberator from the past), but we can say with a
  measure of confidence that by the 12th century he
  was seen in this role.
• Whether or not this was a result of Geoffrey of
  Monmouths work is difficult to ascertain.
• One early text in the Black Book of Carmarthen
  (copied c1250) called the stanzas of the graves
  (locations of the graves of famous heroes) says
  about Arthur
• A wonder of the world is a grave for Arthur.
  This is taken to imply that Arthur is not dead,
  ie the unknown grave motif.

40
Arthur as redeemer hero

• This idea is reflected as well in the work of an
  Englishman called William of Malmesbury
  (c1095-1143). He was the librarian of Malmesbury
  Abbey library.
• He wrote a work called Gesta Rerum Anglorum, a
  history of England between 449-1120.
• This work has two stories about Arthur whom
  William regarded as a great warrior while
  disregarding many of the stories about him.
• But Arthurs tomb is nowhere to be seen, whence
  the ancient sorrowful songs tell the story that
  he is yet to come.
• This may imply the existence of Breton songs at
  court that referred to Arthurs return (c11th
  century).

41
Arthur as redeemer hero

• Verses of the graves
• A grave for March, a grave for Guythur, a grave
  for Gugaun of the red sword, concealed until
  Doomsday the grave of Arthur.

42
Arthur as redeemer hero

• .
• In a French text called Estorie des Engles by
  Gaimar (c1150AD) it is stated that the Welsh of
  his time threatened the Normans that they would
  finally win back their land through Arthur and
  restore the name of Britain.

43
Arthur as redeemer hero

• Yet, it is the Bretons mainly who made these
  claims
• Henry of Huntingdon (1139) reported that they
  denied Arthurs death and expected his return.
• Wace also mentions this in his Roman du Brut
  (1155).
• Gerald of Wales compares the Bretons (britones)
  to the Jews in this respect.

44
Arthur as redeemer hero

• Later writers mention the survival of this
  belief.
• Robert of Gloucester (c1300) mentions the Cornish
  as sharing the hope with the Bretons.
• In Cornwall, Herman of Tournais report in 1113
  of the violence which erupted in Bodmin when
  during a religious observance some visiting monks
  had the temerity to suggest that Arthur was
  dead.
• The Cornish motto Nyns yw marow myghtern
  Arthur. The chough.

45
Arthur as redeemer hero

• In the Fall of Princes (1431-8), Lydgate ascribes
  to the Bretons the belief that Arthur shall
  resorte as lord and sovereyne Out of fayrye and
  regne in Breteyne

46
Arthur as redeemer hero

• Thomas Malory (c1469) too restates this belief
• some men say in many parts of England that King
  Arthur is not dead, but had by the will of our
  Lord Jesu into another place and men say that he
  shall come again, and he shall win the Holy
  Cross. (Book xxi, ch.7).

47
Redeemer heroes in Welsh tradition

• It has been suggested that the discovery of these
  bones was a hoax since Glastonbury was in need of
  funds after a serious fire in 1184. This
  interpretation has also been thrown in doubt.
• In the following century, after claiming Arthurs
  crown from the Welsh in 1278 (part of his
  conquest of the Welsh), Edward I held an
  elaborate ceremony at Glastonbury during which
  the bones were exhibited like holy relics.
• The ceremony was an important effort by Edward to
  establish himself as Arthurs legitimate
  successor.
• The idea of course was to shatter the political
  dream of regaining the sovereignty of Celtic
  Britain.

48
Edward I and his conquest of Wales 1282

• The invention of the tomb of Arthur as
  propaganda.
• The showing of Llywelyns head in London after
  1282.
• The seizing of the Welsh royal jewels including
  the Croes Naid
• Arthurs Crown.

49
Arthur

• Full contemporary details can be found in the
  work of Gerald of Wales (c1146-1223) in his
  Itinerarium Kambriae).
• Gerald mentions that the Britons believed that
  there was something otherworldly about his
  ending, that he had resisted death and had been
  spirited away to some far-distant spot. And
  also
• The British people maintain that he is still
  alive and once he has recovered from his wounds
  this strong and all-powerful King will return to
  rule over the Britons in the normal way.

50
Next time.

• The Dream of Rhonabwy Arthur satirized

51
Morgan la Fée and her Celtic counterparts

• Morgan la Fée and the goddess Modron

52
Modron

• The name Modron in Brythonic comes from the
  earlier Celtic form Matrona, the female deity who
  gave her name to the river Marne in eastern
  France.
• There was a sanctuary to the dea Matrona near the
  source of the river.
• She was often depicted as a group of Three Mother
  goddesses.
• This was particularly popular in northen Celtic
  Britain near the Hadrien Wall area.

53
Modron

• The mythology of early Britain (Welsh tradition)
  conserves her name as the mother of Mabon who
  also derives from an early deity called Maponos.
• The Maponos cult although attested in France as
  well, seems to have been centred in the north of
  Britain also, and especially in the Hadrians
  Wall area.

54
Modron

• The connection between Modron the deity and
  Morgain (Morgan) of the Arthurian tradition, has
  its origin in Triadic and oral tradition but
  remains controversial.
• In one of the Triads, Modron is called the
  daughter of Avallach (the Welsh name for
  Avalon).

55
Modron

• More significantly (for those who believe there
  is a connection), is the tradition linking both
  Modron and Morgain to stories about the northern
  heroes Urien Rheged and Owain (both historically
  attested tribal chieftains of the 7th century).

56
Modron and Morgain

• R.S.Loomis pointed out that in the 13th century
  text called the Suite du Merlin, Morgain is
  portrayed as the wife of Urien Rheged and as
  mother of Yvain (Owain).
• Yvain will play a central role in post-Geoffrey
  Arthurian literature (especially in the work of
  Chrétien de Troyes- his text is called Yvains).

57
Modron and Morgain

• Loomis refers also to the Triad (70) which
  states
• Owain son of Urien and Morfudd his sister who
  were carried together in the womb of Modron
  daughter of Avallach

58
Modron and Morgain

• Further interesting parallels are provided by a
  medieval folktale of c15th century from NE Wales.
• Urien is out hunting and comes to a a ford where
  his hounds have stopped and are barking.
• There he sees a young woman washing. Urien is
  overcome with lust and makes love with her.

59
Modron and Morgain

• She then says that she was fated to wash there
  until she conceived of a son by a Christian (ie
  she is pagan). I am daughter to the King of
  Annwfn return here in one years time and you
  will receive a boy and a girl. He did and they
  were Owain son of Urien and Morfudd daughter of
  Owain.

60
Modron and Morgain

• The washer-at- the ford is a commonly found motif
  in both Irish, Scottish and Welsh folklore. The
  Irish god Dagda has intercourse with the goddess
  Morrigu at a ford in one narrative from Ireland.

61
Modron and Morgain

• Although the tale has been localized in NE Wales,
  its origins are probably in northern Celtic
  Britain (Urien is king of Rheged in todays NE
  England).
• Also the tradition son of Modron, namely Mabon is
  associated with NW Britain near Hadrians Wall.
• In the Book of Taliesin, where the praise poems
  to Urien and his son Owain occur, the name Mabon
  also appears to denote a member of Uriens
  family- maybe even a pseudonym for Owain himself.

62
Modron and Morgain

• Attribution of divine birth is found also in
  Irish genealogies and may have taken place within
  two to three centuries of their birth.
• Probably this most illustrious branch of the Coel
  Hen dynasty depicted Urien as mating with the
  locally worshipped goddess Modron and that Owain
  (Yvain) was the fruit of that union.

63
Modron and Morgain

• A last detail that seems to strengthen this
  argument is that Avallach figures in Welsh
  genealogies as the name of the divine ancestor
  from whom Uriens family claimed descent.

64
Modron and Morgain

• Outside of the purely Brythonic material, further
  evidence for linking Modron with Morgain comes
  from a text called Lanzelet by the German writer
  Ulrich von Zatzikhofen in which an unnamed fairy
  having thye beauty, learning and healing powers
  of Geoffreys Morgen presides over an island
  kingdom and is the mother of Mabuz (which is the
  Anglo-Norman form of Mabon).

65
Modron and Morgain

• It should be noted as well that Morgain retains
  her status as Goddess well into the post-Celtic
  Continental period of the Arthurian Cycle.
• She is known as Morgain la déesse, Morgne the
  goddes (sic).