Merlin's Cave and Idylls of the King

“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!"

Idylls of the King Alfred, Lord Tennyson 

There is a cave – a mystical magical place - that is situated in the South-West of Britain, underneath the famous Tintagel Castle.

The sea has carved this cave, in a way only the sea can, slowly, but with persistence. Unlike us mere mortals, the sea is in no hurry, she has no concept of time.The floor of the cave is covered in sand, a place of refuge, perhaps?…Or perhaps not, for at every high-tide, the sea returns and floods the cave. There is something about this cave though, something magical and it is very easy to imagine Merlin, waiting there…waiting for Arthur.

Tennyson, like Monmouth before him, caught the imagination of the populace. This cave became woven into the Arthurian Legend and has been drawing people there ever since.

This cave was Merlin’s cave – hence the name.

The cave is accessible, although the climb down is steep and please, make sure you check the tide times before you embark on your adventure. Remember, even King Canute could not hold back the tide, so do not trust your magical powers to save you from the wildness of the sea!

Merlin's Cave makes the news!

 
English Heritage was recently accused of vandalism when they commissioned Merlin’s ‘face’ to be carved into the bedrock below Tintagel Castle.

"This official vandalism has been condemned by people who love Cornwall, both at home and as far away as Australia.” A spokesman from Kernow Matters To Us stated.

English Heritage stand accused of creating a tourist attraction around the whole King Arthur Legend, when there really is a terrible lack of proof that this place, this castle, had anything to do with the legend at all.  Are we to trust Monmouth’s version of history? Maybe - because let's face it- he could weave a really good yarn!

Like it or not, Arthur is, and probably always will be, a huge tourist attraction. I can understand English Heritage’s thinking, and it isn't like they are the first ones to use the legend in such a way - I believe those monks at Glastonbury Abbey had similar ideas once!

Now, I am not condemning or condoning them, I think that is up to each and every one of us to decide.

You can check out the full article from the Telegraph, where it goes in to the subject about Merlin's Cave and English Heritage's said 'vandalism', in a lot more detail. There are also some fantastic pictures of the said sculpture as well - just click on the link below...

The Telegraph and Merlin's Cave

 

Merlin's Cave and The Pitchfork Rebellion

Regardless as to whether this cave is Merlin’s or not, it a certainly a beautiful place to visit and it definitely inspired me when I wrote The Pitchfork Rebellion. I talk of a cave in 'Pitchfork' – a cave with a sandy floor that is inaccessible at high-tide, for the sea floods the chamber and - more often than not, - with devastating consequences for those chained inside.

If you even find yourself at Tintagel Castle, be sure to check out Merlin's Cave as well.

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.

Forget about Arthur -- Let's take a look at Merlin!

 Higitus Figitus zumbabazing! 

Today, I am going to blog about....

  Merlin  

( Imagine John Hurt saying that - It makes it sound so much more majestic).

Oh my days...now here's a topic. I fear it will take more than one post to talk about this rather interesting chap.

Okay. Lets start with the basics...

When I think of Merlin, I think of several things.

1. He was a wizard.

 

(Maybe not this Wizzard, but you get the idea...I hope!)

2. He was Welsh

( A Welsh mountain.)

3. Colin Morgan

 

4. Myrddin Emrys 

 

( Colin Morgan again!) 

5.Higitus Figitus

 

Today, for simplicity's sake, I am going to look at the legend.

The name Emrys means immortal and that was exactly what Geoffrey of Monmouth did to Merlin when he wrote his wonderful  Historia Regum Britanniae. Which - we all know - is the most fascinating factual book ever to be written. Fascinating, yes. Factual...not so much. But then again, maybe one day someone will find Monmouth's mysteriously lost manuscript - where he claimed he got all of his sources from. Wouldn't it be marvellous if they did? Can you image the uproar that would cause?! Oh, I so want someone to find it. Hey, you know, that could be an interesting idea for a book - I could have fun with that! Monmouth's Lost Manuscript. Has a certain ring to it, don't you think? Watch this space...

Monmouth's, Merlin was incredibly popular. Particularly with the Welsh. The English may have some flimsy claim to Arthur, but the Welsh had Merlin and lets be honest - he was a far more interesting character than some knight who pulled a sword out of a stone.

Let me introduce you to Myrddin Wyllt (a.k.a. Myriddin the Wild / of the Woods / of Carmarthen). Now rumour has it, that Myriddin was driven mad by witnessing the horrors of war and he fled to the woods and became a bit of a wild-man. Monmouth had a very reliable source - here we go - he claimed to have the actual words of this mysterious hermit. Which he then tuned into a great work, which he aptly named Prophetiae Merlini (The Prophesy of Merlin).

Before we continue, we need to take a look quickly at Nennius works. Now Nennius famously listed Arthur's 12 battles, although he never mentioned that Arthur was a king. Who he did talk about was Aurelius Ambrosius...

....The British Warlord, Vortigern, was trying to erect a tower ( like you do), but the tower, for some unknown reason, always collapsed before completion. The solution was simple - all that was needed was the blood of a child born without a father - so simple, why did no one else think of that?! This meant they had to travel to a galaxy far far away, meet up with the Jedi -- hang on -- sorry -- wrong story....

...Luckily, for Vortigern and the tower, there was such a child. A boy called Ambrosius. He was brought before the king. He bravely told the king that the reason why the tower kept falling down was because the foundations were built on a lake where two dragons continuously fought each other. Obviously this was a not so subtle metaphor for the Saxon's and the Britons who were continuously fighting for dominance. The tower would not stand while Vortigern had the throne. It would only stand when Ambosius became king. Ambrosius then has the cheek to tell Vortigern to go away. Ambrosius says "I will stay here." I bet Vortigern didn't see that one coming.

But what has this got to do with Merlin?

Monmouth changed the story Nennius told -- such things happen now and then. The fatherless child is actually a prophetic bard, who goes by the name of Merlin.


Monmouth magically weaves Merlin into the stories of Arthur and his knights. And he states that it was Merlin that brought the stones for Stonehenge from the Preseil Hills. Stonehenge - according to Monmouth- is the burial place of Aurelius Ambrosius.

It was a good job Merlin knew a giant to help him build Stonehenge - I do not understand why archaeologists have never found any evidence for the giant race helping with Stonehenge - I mean, it makes sense and how hard can it be to find a giant's footprint?! I do not think they are looking hard enough.

 This depiction of Merlin and the giant can be found in the manuscript of Roman de Brut by Wace.

Monmouth is also responsible for the tale of how Arthur was conceived. If you are not familiar with it, you can read about it here. But to quickly recap... Merlin casts a magic spell on Uther Pendragon, changing his appearance so that he looks like Gorlois, Duke of Cornwall. Uther creeps into the bedchamber of Gorlois's wife, Igrain, and begets her with child.

Monmouth caught, what I like to call, the King Arthur bug - I must warn you it is very contagious - He could not leave Merlin's story alone, just like he could not leave Arthur's. Merlin pops up again in Vita Merlini.

Once Monmouth finished his great works, that wasn't the end for Merlin and his story. In fact that old Wizard was just getting started. Keep an eye out for the next blog on Merlin and I will continue his tale...

Sir Kay -- A Misunderstood Knight?

In my search for Arthur, I discovered a universal truth - most of it is made up. But hey, the stories are fascinating and timeless. Take a moment to think how old these stores are...they have stood the test of time for hundreds of years. Why is that? I think we need Arthur and his knights. They teach us so much in their stories. Chivalry, honour, equality, loyalty and faith, above everything else faith -  faith and belief in something better. Arthur tried to make something better than what had gone before. He shook things up - maybe he was more than a little radical.

Isn't there an old saying about truth being stranger than fiction? Maybe there is something in that.

Today we are going to look at Sir Kay. He may not be as well known as Lancelot or Gawain, but his story is worth telling. 

Sir Kay is one of the earliest recorded Knights of the Round Table -- and there is a great deal of literature in the form of stories and poems, about him -- there is certainly too much to talk about in one blog. But I shall do my best to give you some idea as to who Kay was....

In order to understand Kay's beginnings we need to head across the border to Wales, and look at some ancient Welsh folklore.  In particular a tale called Culhwch and Olwen.

In the poem Culhwch (Kay?) is cursed by his evil step-mother (what is it with evil step-mothers?) The curse means that Culhwch will fall in love with the giants daughter -- I guess it wasn't the done thing to love a giant?! Culhwch ask's his powerful cousin, Arthur, to help him. Arthur agrees -- for who is he to stand in the way of true love? -- and they all go on a quest until they find her. Luckily for Culhwch, Olwen falls in love with him as well, but they cannot marry unless her father agrees to the match.

Her father, Ysbaddaden's is not impressed, because if Olwen marries, he dies. So he issues Culhwch with around forty impossible challenges. My favourite of which is that Culhwch has to cut Ysbaddadens's hair and beard -- which isn't as easy as it sounds.

But that is not a problem. Culhwch is extraordinarily strong, he can also hold his breath under water for nine days and nine nights and he can also go without sleep for the same amount of time -- although I am not sure why he would want to do this?! Arthur, Gawain, and a fair few others, help Culhwch with these impossible challenges. In the end Culhwch is able to cut Ysbaddaden's hair and he shaves his beard to the bone and Ysbaddaden dies.

And they all live happily ever after....

Then we head to the 10th Century and look at a poem called Pa Gur.  This time the poem is all about Cai (Kay). Have a read....and see what you think.

Prince of the plunder,

The unrelenting warrior to his enemy;

Heavy was he in his vengeance;

Terrible was his fighting.

When he would drink from a horn,

He would drink as much as four;

When into battle he came

He slew as would a hundred.

Unless God should accomplish it,

Cei's death would be unattainable.

Worthy Cei and Llachau

Used to fight battles,

Before the pain of livid spears [ended the conflict].

On the top of Ystarfingun

Cei slew nine witches.

Worthy Cei went to Ynys Mon

To destroy lions.

Little protection did his shield offer

Against Palug's Cat 

(In case you were wondering Palug's cat was a terrifying man eating cat in Welsh folklore.)

Kay comes across in Welsh literature as having a fiery temper, who could drink any man under the table! He wasn't a man that you would want to cross. However, his loyalty to Arthur is unquestionable.

In later works, Geoffrey of Monmouth, makes Kay the count of Anjou and King Arthur's steward, which kind of stuck from there on in.

After that, things took a turn for the worse for out worthy knight. Chrétien de Troyes, the late 12th Century French poet, turns Kay into a troublemaker, with little honour -- a complete contrast to Lancelot or Gawain -- perhaps that is why he did it. Kay enrages Perceval  so much that Perceval ends up breaking his shoulder. Kay is not chivalrous, he hits women rather than protect them, and comes across as a traitor.

Wolfram von Eschenbach, a German poet, agrees with de Troyes, but he argues that Kay acted like this to keep order. Umm...I am not convinced by his excuse for Kay's behaviour!

We then head into modern literature. Now, I could list all the movies that he has been portrayed in, but I think that could become just ever so slightly tedious. But the general theme in most of these films is that he is a hot-headed idiot. But, his loyalty to Arthur is always unquestionable.

Isn't it strange how stories become twisted and changed. If Sir Kay really did exist, I very much doubt he was anything like he is portrayed in literature. But then again - who knows. To quote Hartley (who is one of my favourite authors, ) 'The past is a foreign country, they do things differently there.'

Mary xx

Let's dig King Arthur up!

Remember, in a previous blog about Geoffrey Monmouth ...how he published his work at a politically sensitive time...the Welsh were revolting... and how they claimed that "Arthur would rise again...?" Well, it was time to put an end to this nonsense. It was time to dig up his body and show the world, well the Welsh, that he was in fact, dead.

Around this time there had been strange occurrences at Glastonbury Abbey. The monks had had some nocturnal visions. And that is not all...King Henry II told the abbot that he knew the exact whereabouts of Arthur's body, for a Welsh barb had whispered in his ear that Arthur was buried in the Saxon graveyard within the Abbey.

The monks dug in the exact location that the King described and sure enough they discovered a huge oak coffin beneath a lead cross bearing the inscription. "Here lies King Arthur buried in Avalon."

Inside the coffin there were two bodies. A man and a woman. It is said that the woman's golden hair crumbled away when the monks touched it. The bodies were said to be that of King Arthur and his Queen, Guinevere.

Unfortunately, King Henry died before he could see the bodies.

Now I love the idea of visions and a Welsh barb whispering secrets to a king...But...There is always a but....A fire had badly damaged the Abbey and they were in desperate need of funds and finding Arthurs tomb came at just the right time.

  "....as businessmen, medieval abbots were nothing but pragmatic..." Michael Wood.

They had proof that Arthur was in fact dead and they now had a major tourist attraction which would draw pilgrims, in their thousands, for years to come.

But, even though they had now produced the body, people still believed and some still do, that Arthur would one day rise again. He was after all, "King Arthur, the once and future King."

Mary xx

The search for King Arthur....Geoffrey Monmouth

In the search for Arthur there is one Welsh cleric that we simply cannot ignore. Geoffrey Monmouth. If you have been reading my blogs, you will have seen his name come up several times. Today, I want to look at the best-seller of the medieval period, Geoffrey Monmouth The History of the Kings of Britain.

Geoffrey stated that his work was based on a lost manuscript that only he alone had been able to examine. The lost manuscript remains lost. Whether it actually ever existed in the first place is doubtful.

A great deal of what we now think we know about Arthur comes from the ideas set down in Geoffrey's texts. He makes Arthur Pendragon, son of Uther Pendragon, into a hero. There is a wise prophet called Merlin who advises the young Arthur. Arthur becomes a king so great that he can stand up to the Romans and beat them. In fact he is so great, he is almost invincible. Arthur and his knights, according to the texts, spends most of their time riding up and down the country fighting in noble battles. He is, with out a doubt, according to Geoffrey, the greatest King that Britain has ever had.

But like all good stories of Kings, there always seems to be a hornet in the nest. Modred, his own nephew, and who was at one time trusted to look after Britain while Arthur went on a quest to save some poor young unfortunate girl who had been taken captive by a Spanish giant, betrays him.

They fight...Arthur wins....they fight again...Arthur wins, but this time he is fatally wounded.

'And even the renowned King Arthur himself was mortally wounded; and being carried thence to the isle of Avallon to be cured of his wounds, he gave up the crown of Britain to his kinsman Constantine, the son of Cador, duke of Cornwall, in the five hundred and forty-second year of our Lord's incarnation.'

So there we are. We have the principle players. We also have Avalon. The legend grows.

But, Geoffrey published his work at politically sensitive time. The Welsh revolts of the 1130's had claimed that "Arthur would rise again..." I am sure King Henry, had something to say about that.

"It is hardly surprising, then, that in this climate, given Arthur's rapidly growing status as folk hero, tourist draw and political rallying cry, the establishment should try and dig him up, to hit at least two birds with one stone: prove him dead and reinvent him as a tourist event."
Michael Wood In search of England.

And so the story continues.

I'll catch you later.

Mary xx