#FolkloreThursday ~ The Wizard of Alderley Edge #Arthurian #Britain

In the time of myths and legends, there is one story that stands head and shoulders above the rest. That story is about King Arthur and his Knights. Arthur is renowned for doing many glorious and noble things, but today on #FolkloreThursday, I want to take a look at one of the most endearing and long-lasting stories of Arthur.

Now the story goes, that Arthur did not die, instead he and his Knights are slumbering, waiting for the time when they would be called to ride again. But where is this resting place that protects the Knights and the Once and Future King?

The Wizard of Alderley Edge

There is a small village in Cheshire, with a population of just over 4,000. Here they tell a tale of a farmer, a white horse, a Sorcerer and a mysterious cave hidden in a hill.

The story goes...

Once there was a farmer from Mobberley. He was on his way to the market at Macclesfield, in the hope of selling his white mare. As he made his way around, what the locals called The Edge, he saw an old man, dressed in flowing grey garments. The old man approached him and offered him a fair price for the horse. The farmer refused, he wanted more than this mystery man was offering him and he thought he would get a better price at the market. The old man wished him luck and told him that he would wait for his return from the market and, if he still had the horse, then maybe the farmer would be willing to sell the animal to him then.

The horse did not sell and, with grave disappointment, the farmer began to make his way home. He hoped that the old man would be waiting for him and still willing to buy the horse at the price he had offered earlier.

Thankfully the old man was there, and the farmer sold the horse to him, which cheered him somewhat after his dismal disappointment at the market. The old man did not have any money on him, but he assured the farmer that his home was not very far away. The farmer was happy to follow the old man back to his house.

As they approached an area, near a place that was known locally as Stormy Point, the old man produced a wand and started to mutter under his breath. The farmer was understandably alarmed and wished now that he had refused the old mans offer, but he had come this far, and he needed the money.

The rocks opened up in front of him. Fearfully he looked inside and saw a pair of majestic iron gates. The old man had started to chant in the language known only to those who practised magic. The gates opened. Terrified, the farmer fell to his knees and begged the old man not to harm him. The sorcerer, which the old man clearly was, smiled reassuringly and promised that he meant him no harm and all he wanted to do was pay him for the horse.

Not knowing what to do for the best — for this sorcerer had great power and he did not want to offend him — the farmer decided to lead the horse into the cave. Up ahead of him he saw countless men and white horse, all fast asleep. He watched with his mouth a gasp as the sorcerer went to an old chest and pulled out a bag of coins, which he gave to the farmer as payment for the horse.

The farmer asked fearfully who these people were. The sorcerer told him that this was a sleeping army who would one day rise again, should England be in peril.

The sorcerer then abruptly told the farmer to leave, which he gratefully did. The iron gates slammed shut behind the farmer, and when he turned around to look at the gates one last time, there was nothing to see. The land in front of him looked as it always had.

Not daring to linger, the farmer walked swiftly away. When he returned home he told everybody he knew about the strange encounter and the next day his friends travelled with him back to the rocks, but they could see no cave, everything looked as it always did.

The view from Stormy Point over to the Pennines

From the description of the men asleep and the Sorcerer's words, we can assume the men asleep was none other than Arthur and his knights. Can you guess who the Sorcerer was?

Alderley Edge in Cheshire is not the only place where it is said that Arthur and his Knights are slumbering. Cadbury Hill in Somerset also has a very similar story.

Is there any truth in this tale?

Who knows….!

If you fancy joining me in the 6th Century, with the next generation of Knights then why not check out

 The Du Lac Chronicles series!

Amazon US 

Amazon UK

Read for FREE with

The Land of Merlin ~ Merlin's Cave #FolkloreThursday #Arthurian #Britain #legend

We tend to think of folklore as stories that were told a long time ago — but are we right in this assumption?

The Great sorcerer, Merlin.

Last week I took a look at Geoffrey of Monmouth’s interpretation of Merlin. This week, I am going to stick with Merlin, but instead of Monmouth I am going to take a look at another one of the Great Arthurian Writers. I will also try to answer the question I just posed.

"Wave after wave, each mightier than the last,

Till last, a ninth one, gathering half the deep

And full of voices, slowly rose and plunged

Roaring, and all the wave was in a flame:

And down the wave and in the flame was borne

A naked babe, and rode to Merlin’s feet,

Who stoopt and caught the babe, and cried "The King!

Here is an heir for Uther!"

The above quote was taken from Tennyson’s Idylls of the King and the place Tennyson was referring to was none other than Merlin’s Cave in Cornwall. The cave itself sits under Tintagel Castle, and if you have the slightest interest in Arthur, then I am sure you have heard of Tintagel. If you ever get the chance to visit Tintagel, then do. It is a stunning location, well worth checking out.

Who was Lord Tennyson?

Alfred Tennyson, 1st Baron Tennyson, (6 August 1809 – 6 October 1892) was the Poet Laureate of Great Britain and Ireland during much of Queen Victoria’s reign. Lord Tennyson was appointed to the position of Poet Laureate in 1850, after the death of William Wordsworth, and he is mostly remembered for his great work — The Charge of the Light Brigade. But I am interested in him because he also published an Arthurian inspired epic poem between 1859 and 1885 and he called it, as I have already said, The Idylls of King.

Now anyone who writes about Arthur, myself included, draws on the work of the Great Arthurian Poets, and Tennyson was no different. But his poem was so epic that he split it into 12 parts, and each part dealt with a different aspect of the Arthurian tale — however, he gave his stories a slight Victorian twist!

Tintagel Castle and Merlin’s Cave.

Geoffrey of Monmouth had already given us Tintagel Castle as the birthplace of Arthur. Tennyson took this one step further, and I can understand why he did. There is a cave under Tintagel Castle, and this cave was begging to be included in the tale. The cave in question fills up with water at every high tide, and it is easy enough to imagine Merlin approaching the cave with a shining staff in his hand, lighting his way. If Merlin were to have a cave, then this would be it. This unknown cave became a tourist attraction that suddenly had a long association with Arthurian legend — it was just that no one knew about it until Tennyson told us!

Another Arthurian location...

I don’t know about you, but I love checking out film locations. I am lucky enough that I live very near some Poldark film locations. I have also travelled around Scotland checking out the Outlander film locations. Now I am sure you would not disagree with me when I say that neither Poldark or Outlander scream folklore. But when we put the same principles into Arthur’s story then there are some startling similarities because, let’s be honest, if you are going to visit an Arthurian location, it isn’t the same as spending the day at, I don’t know, Hampton Court. You are instead visiting book locations, folklore locations. 

However, saying that, visiting Arthurian book locations doesn’t feel the same, as visiting the locations of Poldark, Outlander or even Game of Thrones for that matter, because we recognise them as stories, but when it comes to Arthur, we don’t do that. The folklore is so engrained into our culture that we just kind of accept it as maybe not fact, but something very close. And the reason for this is simply because Geoffrey of Monmouth’s great work in the 12th Century was a must read. A factual, must read. And that is where the problem lies with Arthurian folklore. For centuries we were told these stories were true and somewhere ingrained deep down inside us is the belief that they are. Of course, over the centuries there are plenty of people who have exploited the Arthurian story — the monks of Glastonbury Abbey being one of them. But just think on this, a thousand years ago the people of Britain were making pilgrimages — we would probably call it a holiday, or a day out — to these sites that were associated with Arthur and we are still doing it, after all this time. Isn’t that incredible? Arthur is still drawing in the crowds, and I believe that he will continue to draw in the crowds long after we have forgotten all about Poldark and Outlander and even, dare I say it, Jon Snow. And that, my friends, is the power of folklore. It is not the same as a book, it isn’t the same as factual history. It evolves, and we accept it. Suddenly Tennyson’s version of events seems as old as time. Merlin always had a cave...didn’t he? It is humbling when you think about it.

If you fancy finding out what happened after the death of King Arthur, then why not check out my historical fantasy series — The Du Lac Chronicles...

Amazon US

Amazon UK

Read for free with

The Land Of Merlin ~ Dinas Emrys #FolkloreThursday #Arthurian #Britain #legend

The search for King Arthur continues...

As I said, I am back on with my search for Arthur. Now, I am sure you are aware that Arthur is an elusive King. He is like a phantom or a wisp of smoke. You think you have caught him and then... Nothing. He disappears into thin air.

I could easily run with a theory as to who he was, but I am not going to do that. I want to stick with the legend because that is what fascinates me. I love folklore. I also love how there always seems to be a ring of truth in it, as I am going to demonstrate today!

Geoffrey of Monmouth and King Arthur

It cannot be disputed that Geoffrey of Monmouth gave us the Arthur we know and love. It is easy to mock his work, but for hundreds of years, Monmouth's Arthur was considered to be factually correct. So for the sake of this post, I am going to pretend that what Monmouth said is historically true — you will see where I am going with this in a minute!

Let's begin...

Merlin

The story of King Arthur does not start, surprisingly, with Arthur. The story begins with Merlin.

It was Merlin that prophesied the coming of Arthur, and it was Merlin and his magic that made sure the rightful king of Britain pulled the sword from the stone. If it had not been for Merlin, there would be no Arthur.

Merlin, it is said, first came to the attention of Vortigern — King of the Britons — when he was a child. Vortigern, in his wisdom, had invited some Saxon mercenaries to Briton to fight with him against the troublesome Picts and Scots. But the problem with Saxon mercenaries is that they couldn't be trusted. Vortigern soon found himself running for his life from the very men he had paid to defend it.

To cut a long story short, Vortigern ended up in Gwynedd, North Wales. More precisely, he ended up on a hill, in which he decided to build a fortress on. Unfortunately, what ever he built, collapsed. Vortigern's magicians told him that he needed to spill the blood of a child without a father, onto the stones. Once he did this, then the fortress would stand.

There was a child, Myrddin Emrys, who seemed a likely candidate. But Emrys was no ordinary child, and he was quite attached to his life and didn't want to die. Nevertheless, he was brought to the usurped King...

"Why have my mother and I been brought into your presence?"

"My magicians have advised me," answered Vortigern, "That I shall look for a fatherless man, so that my building can be sprinkled with blood and thus stand firm."

"Tell your magicians to appear in front of me," answered Merlin, "and I will prove that they have lied."

The History Of The Kings Of Briton.

Emrys challenged the King's magicians and instead gave a plausible reason why the fortress would not stand. He said that two dragons were imprisoned at the bottom of an underground lake beneath the hill. If they set the dragons free, then the foundations of the fort would stand. All they had to do was release the dragons, which they did.

Vortigern built his fort and out of respect, he named the fort after Emrys. He called it Dinas Emrys

But here is where it gets interesting. In 1945 the hill was excavated by archaeologists, and they found an unground lake. So maybe there is a little bit of truth in Monmouth's story after all.

Dians Emrys is now under the care of The National Trust, and they welcome visitors. But walkers are warned to tread softly on the hill, for a dragon sleeps beneath it.

If you fancy finding out what happened after the death of King Arthur then why not check out my historical fantasy series — The Du Lac Chronicles...

Amazon US

Amazon UK

Read for free with