Stonehenge and Arthurian Legend

Ambrosius's army and the Saxon invaders fought a fierce battle at Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire. The day fell to Ambrosius, but his army had not come through the fierce battle unscathed. 3,000 of his loyal knights had been killed.

Ambrosius decided that the dead should be honoured. A memorial should be built in this place, to remember the fallen.

 "If you are desirous," said Merlin, "to honour the burying-place of these men with an ever-lasting monument, send for the Giant's Dance, which is in Killaraus, a mountain in Ireland. For there is a structure of stones there, which none of this age could raise, without a profound knowledge of the mechanical arts. They are stones of a vast magnitude and wonderful quality; and if they can be placed here, as they are there, round this spot of ground, they will stand for ever."  

Geoffrey Monmouth The History of the Kings of Britain

 

There was of course, a little problem with the Irish. They had no intention of giving up their sacred stones. Armed with 15,000 knights and accompanied by Ambrosius brother, Uther, Merlin traveled to Ireland. The Irish tried their very best to defend their stones, but they were overwhelmed not only by the numbers, but also by the skills of Ambrosius's knights.

Merlin now had possession of the stones...

"Now try your forces, young men, (said Merlin) and see whether strength or art can do the most towards taking down these stones."

It was as easy as that....

Or not, as it happens. 

Merlin watched the efforts of the knights with great amusement. Finally he stepped in and using his vast "contrivances" (skill) he moved the stones effortlessly and sent them to Briton. Once they reached Salisbury, Ambrosius summoned the clergy and the people to celebrate the erection of the monument. Once everyone had gathered, Merlin set the stones in the same position as they had been previously in Ireland.
 

Obviously, there is a great deal more to Stonehenge than this and the history of the site is fascinating. I am lucky that I live reasonably nearby to Stonehenge (just over a hours drive) and we have visited the ancient monument many times.

Unfortunately the stones, for their own protection, are roped off. You can walk around them, but you cannot touch them.

In 2013 English Heritage opened their new visitor center at the site. We went to visit the stones, and to see the new center, on a very cold and wet afternoon in January 2014. We have never walked around those stones so quickly in our life as we did that afternoon!  We were certainly glad to get back into the warmth of the visitors center, to which we discovered we were the only idiots who would venture out in such awful weather - we had the center practically to ourselves. Inside the center they have this marvelously roundish room. We sat down on the floor, in the middle of this room,  and watched the virtual tour of Stonehenge. The tour  takes you from the beginning of the monuments history, until modern day. It was very impressive and helped us appreciate just how old these stone are. 

I am not surprised that Merlin found his way to Stonehenge. I find it hard to conceive just how our ancient ancestors moved these stones. Maybe, along the way, there was a little magic to it. I like to think so anyway.


Reference
Geoffrey of Monmouth The History of the Kings of Britain.

Who was Ambrosius Aurelianus? Arthurian Legend.

King Arthur is often confused with Ambrosius Aurelianus. I have fleetingly mentioned Ambrosius several times before, but I think he deserves a post of his own.
Ambrosius was a war leader of Roman-British decent. Surprisingly the earliest mention of him is in the 6th Century by Gildas. Gildas named very few people in his sermon De Excidio et Conquestu Britanniae, but he does name Ambrosius. This is what he had to say...

"... a gentleman who, perhaps alone of the Romans, had survived the shock of this notable storm. Certainly his parents, who had worn the purple, were slain by it. His descendants in our day have become greatly inferior to their grandfather's excellence. Under him our people regained their strength, and challenged the victors to battle. The Lord assented, and the battle went their way."

Although this is very brief, we can deduce a fair amount from it.

Ambrosius was of Roman descent.

  

"...his parents had worn the purple..."

Purple was a really important colour. It was worn by the Emperors of Rome. It was the colour worn by those of noble heritage as well as senators. Senior officers in the Roman legions also wore a purple band. Maybe his father held a high rank in the army, or maybe he was  a governor of a provenance in England.

The passage also describes his parents being slain by the Saxons and yet he survived.

 

 Roman men wearing togae praetextae with reddish-purple stripes during a religious procession.

Ambrosius was a Chrisitan.

"...The Lord assented..."

He went into battle with God's help - so from that we can assume he was a Christian.

Ambrosius fought the Saxons.

"Sometimes the Saxons and sometimes the citizens were victorious."

I guess things did not always go the way Ambrosius wanted, but it does tell us that he was a great war-leader.

I always found this line very interesting.

"His descendants in our day have become greatly inferior to their grandfather's excellence."

Who was his Grandfather? He was obviously an important person. There has been a fair few name thrown forward as to who Gildas had been talking about, but it is all speculation.

 Bede mentions Ambrosius in his great work, Ecclesiastical History of the English People

"...Their leader at that time was a certain Ambrosius Aurelianus, a discreet man, who was, as it happened, the sole member of the Roman race who had survived this storm in which his parents, who bore a royal and famous name, had perished. Under his leadership the Britons regained their strength, challenged their victors to battle, and, with God's help, won the day."

It seemed that Bede took his account from Gildas..dare I say Bede had a better way with words?!

Ambrosius's story is picked up by Nennius.

Nennius suggests that Ambrosius was a very influential warlord. Vortigern, another great powerful warlord, feared the return of Roman rule and he saw Ambrosius as more of a threat to his throne than that of the northern invaders. You may recall a story I wrote in an earlier post about Ambrosius, Vortigern, two dragons and a tower that kept falling down. If you missed it, you can read it here.

By the time Monmouth came to talk about him - his story, like many others of the time, had become fictitious and his connection with Arthurian legend was forever cemented. His name is changed to Pendragon - and he becomes High King Arthur's, uncle. Merlin even builds a memorial for him at Stonehenge.

Sometimes it is argued that Ambrosius is Arthur. Both fought at Badon Hill, both were powerful warlords.

Whether Ambrosius was King Arthur, I don't think we will ever know. Whoever he was, he certainly had a very fascinating life.