Avalon (legendary island)

Avalon is a mythical island that plays a key role in the Arthurian legends. It is said to be the final resting place of King Arthur and the home of fairies and other mystical creatures. Some believe that it is based on a real location, but there is insufficient historical proof to conclusively connect it to any of the purported sites. Avalon has also been used as a location in a number of works of contemporary fantasy literature, television, and film.

Background

King Arthur is a legendary figure who may or may not have been based on a real person. While there is little historical documentation of an actual king named Arthur, he is generally described as a fifth-century warrior and leader who fought off the Saxons attempting to invade Britain. However, some accounts attribute actions to him that occurred as many as three to five hundred years earlier.

The story of King Arthur as many people know it depicts him as the leader of the Knights of the Roundtable living in Camelot with his wife, Guinevere, and his personal advisor, the magician Merlin. This legend had its beginnings in the writings of Chrétien de Troyes, a twelfth-century French poet. Around the same time, Geoffrey of Monmouth wrote a book entitled Historia Regum Britanniae, or History of the Kings of England.

This work lists Arthur as a historical king of Britain and fills in many details of his life that have become part of the Arthurian legend, including the idea that Arthur was taken to Avalon after he was mortally wounded so he could be healed. The book claims that Arthur was healed and would remain on Avalon until the time became right for him to return to rule Britain. Into the sixteenth century, Geoffrey of Monmouth's book was thought of as fact, but it is now considered a pseudohistorical text, or one that is written as a true history but contains too many inconsistencies with known history to be considered factual. The Historia, written in around 1136, permanently connected Arthur and Avalon in myth and literature. Other works, such as Le Morte d'Arthur by Sir Thomas Malory and another work by Geoffrey of Monmouth entitled Vita Merlini, strengthened the connection between Arthur and Avalon. Malory's work increased the connection with the claim that Arthur was buried on Avalon under a stone with a Latin inscription that translates to "Here lies Arthur, the Once and Future King."

Overview

The word Avalon is derived from an ancient word in an early version of the Celtic language. Abal was the word for apple, and the name Avalon is traditionally said to mean "Isle of Apples." A number of ancient myths in the Scandinavian, Greek, and Celtic traditions claim that apples have magical powers. In Historia and other sources, Avalon is considered to be a place of magic, healings, and mysterious events.

Some accounts state that Morgan le Fay is the ruler of Avalon. Morgan starts out as one of nine sisters who live on Avalon in Geoffrey of Monmouth's book, and she evolves into Arthur's archnemesis over time. Likewise, Avalon's exact role in Arthur's fate changes depending on the source. Some works say that he stayed there to be healed while others say that he needed to remain there for the effects of the healing to last. Others imply that it was where he died and was buried.

The idea that Arthur was buried on Avalon is one of the key factors for those who seek to discover if Avalon was ever a real place. Some have associated it with islands in the area of England and Ireland, such as the Isle of Arran and Emhain Abhlach, or Emhain of the Apple Trees, an Irish isle that has other associations with mythology. Beginning in the twelfth century, Avalon became associated with Glastonbury Abbey in Somerset, England. Once a grand monastery, church, and religious complex, the abbey was reduced to ruins after English King Henry VIII closed it in 1539 and had its abbot executed. Glastonbury Abbey was already purported to be the resting place of the cup Christ used at the Last Supper, also known as the Holy Grail. It was also thought to be home to a descendent of a thorn tree transplanted from the Holy Land by Joseph of Arimathea, the follower of Christ who arranged for his burial. In the twelfth century, monks claimed to have found remains belonging to Arthur and Guinevere at the site.

A nearby area known as the Glastonbury Tor has also been associated with Arthur. In addition to its supposed spiritual connections, some think that this might have been the area once referred to as Avalon. This idea arose after monks at the abbey claimed that they found the bones belonging to Arthur and his love, Guinevere, in 1191. The monks said the remains were found in a hollow oak tree serving as a coffin and that there was an iron cross on top of the coffin with the famed "Once and Future King" inscription mentioned by Malory. This claim came just decades after Geoffrey of Monmouth published Historia, which he claimed was translated from a Welsh work. The bodies were reinterred in a marble coffin in the thirteenth century, and the cross disappeared at some point in history.

For many years, the ruins at Glastonbury Abbey were treated as the resting place of the legendary Arthur and, therefore, considered to be Avalon. In the twenty-first century, however, archaeologists determined that the monks made up the claim about Arthur to help raise funds to restore the abbey, which was damaged by fire in 1184. The location of Avalon—and its very existence—remains open to research and debate.

The lack of historical proof of its existence has not interfered with Avalon's place in popular culture. In addition to its prominent place in ancient Arthurian legends, Avalon continues to be the setting of contemporary books, movies, and other works of fiction. Some of these involve Arthur and are new versions of the myth, while others, such as the 1993 book The Mists of Avalon, use the Arthurian legend as a backdrop for a new storyline.

Bibliography

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"King Arthur and Avalon." Glastonbury Abbey, www.glastonburyabbey.com/king‗arthur‗avalon.php. Accessed 14 Sept. 2017.

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Waters, Cortland. "Avalon in Literature and History." Hanover College, vault.hanover.edu/~battles/arthur/Avalon.htm. Accessed 14 Sept. 2017.