Our second field trip was to Glastonbury which is probably the ultimate site associated with King Arthur, whose legends we had been studying in the course. The museum at the remains of Glastonbury Abbey has a model of the abbey and its grounds before Henry VIII had it plundered and shut down.
The legends have it that in 1191 the monks at the abbey were digging and found the grave of Arthur and Guinevere with this lead cross and inscription. The cross is nowhere to be found now.
This is our guide, a peasant woman of the 1500's. She kindly emphasized the Arthurian stuff even though a bunch of other people joined the tour we were on and thus made it more general.
Leading us on from the alleged burial site. You can look eastward along the length of the old cathedral. It had burnt in the Great Fire of 1184, and there is some thought that the monks may have fudged the Arthur grave story to make the abbey a paying pilgrim attraction. Naughty monks.
Another conection to the whole stream of Arthurian legends. This is a descendant of a very old Jerusalem Thorn tree. It is said to have grown here when Joseph of Arimathea came from the Holy Land with the Holy Grail and upon arriving here stuck his staff in the ground where it sprouted. The Grail is said (among various stories) to be under Glastonbury Tor where a spring flows from it. The Jerusalem Thorn blooms twice a year here--around Christmas and Easter. Go figure.
What's left of the crossing (where the two arms of the cross shape of the cathedral meet the long part of the cross). The colums were 1/3 again as tall as here. It taxes the imagination to try to visualize it from the Middle Ages. It must have been breathtaking.
The bishop's kitchen, amazingly intact.
Archway, which would have been painted in the Middle Ages.
Some of the remains of the great cathedral walls. You can see how they used stone rubble and concrete to fill in the thick walls which had to hold up the immense weight of the cathedral.
Looking back from the location of the high altar (marked by chains) toward the other end of the nave of the cathedral. It was something like 900 feet long. Try to imagine light streaming through the stained glass, monks chanting, incense floating through the air.
There were 36 acres within the walls of the monastery--housing for monks, orchards, gardens, fish ponds, etc. All very self-sustaining.
Me, trying to imagine being a monk.
Wonderful town. A combination of ancient Christian medieval life and New Age beliefs that the Tor is an energy source like Stonehenge. Thus many interesting shops with crystals, etc.
Ah, the flowers, here at Town Hall.
Aside from the Abbey, the Tor (hill) is the big thing. It is supposedly the Isle of Avalon or the idea for it at least. A thousand years ago it was surrounded by water. It's 512 feet straight up. It's been a sacred/religious/magic place for a very long time. We were going to climb it because the point is that you have to be up there to experience it.
Our first view of the Medieval tower that was built in the Christian era on the top of the Tor. Makes it look nearby. Wrong.
Obviously, I did make it to the top. I'm not sure how surprised the students were.
In the tower.
You can't imagine the view till you actually get there.
Ashley, Erica, and Shannon taking it all in.
Paige meditating.
The class. Steve was still on the way up at the time.
I asked for a "religious pose." This is the result. I don't know about that guy in the background. He looks as if he is about to walk off the side of the Tor.
Me, being happy that the rest of this journey is all downhill.
This is the "other" way up the Tor. It involves walking through fields and over stiles at fences before you even get to the climb and is so steep that if you fell, you would need Merlin to save you. The first time I was here with Jamie, I didn't know any better and went this way. I thought that I was about to join the Choir Everlasting before I would ever get to the top.
As we bid a fond farewell to the Tor, we met some sheep. This one was not interested in us, the Tor, or the bird sneaking up on him from behind.
Our second field trip was to Glastonbury which is probably the ultimate site associated with King Arthur, whose legends we had been studying in the course. The museum at the remains of Glastonbury Abbey has a model of the abbey and its grounds before Henry VIII had it plundered and shut down.
The legends have it that in 1191 the monks at the abbey were digging and found the grave of Arthur and Guinevere with this lead cross and inscription. The cross is nowhere to be found now.
This is our guide, a peasant woman of the 1500's. She kindly emphasized the Arthurian stuff even though a bunch of other people joined the tour we were on and thus made it more general.
Leading us on from the alleged burial site. You can look eastward along the length of the old cathedral. It had burnt in the Great Fire of 1184, and there is some thought that the monks may have fudged the Arthur grave story to make the abbey a paying pilgrim attraction. Naughty monks.
Another conection to the whole stream of Arthurian legends. This is a descendant of a very old Jerusalem Thorn tree. It is said to have grown here when Joseph of Arimathea came from the Holy Land with the Holy Grail and upon arriving here stuck his staff in the ground where it sprouted. The Grail is said (among various stories) to be under Glastonbury Tor where a spring flows from it. The Jerusalem Thorn blooms twice a year here--around Christmas and Easter. Go figure.
What's left of the crossing (where the two arms of the cross shape of the cathedral meet the long part of the cross). The colums were 1/3 again as tall as here. It taxes the imagination to try to visualize it from the Middle Ages. It must have been breathtaking.
The bishop's kitchen, amazingly intact.
Archway, which would have been painted in the Middle Ages.
Some of the remains of the great cathedral walls. You can see how they used stone rubble and concrete to fill in the thick walls which had to hold up the immense weight of the cathedral.
Looking back from the location of the high altar (marked by chains) toward the other end of the nave of the cathedral. It was something like 900 feet long. Try to imagine light streaming through the stained glass, monks chanting, incense floating through the air.
There were 36 acres within the walls of the monastery--housing for monks, orchards, gardens, fish ponds, etc. All very self-sustaining.
Me, trying to imagine being a monk.
Wonderful town. A combination of ancient Christian medieval life and New Age beliefs that the Tor is an energy source like Stonehenge. Thus many interesting shops with crystals, etc.
Ah, the flowers, here at Town Hall.
Aside from the Abbey, the Tor (hill) is the big thing. It is supposedly the Isle of Avalon or the idea for it at least. A thousand years ago it was surrounded by water. It's 512 feet straight up. It's been a sacred/religious/magic place for a very long time. We were going to climb it because the point is that you have to be up there to experience it.
Our first view of the Medieval tower that was built in the Christian era on the top of the Tor. Makes it look nearby. Wrong.
Obviously, I did make it to the top. I'm not sure how surprised the students were.
In the tower.
You can't imagine the view till you actually get there.
Ashley, Erica, and Shannon taking it all in.
Paige meditating.
The class. Steve was still on the way up at the time.
I asked for a "religious pose." This is the result. I don't know about that guy in the background. He looks as if he is about to walk off the side of the Tor.
Me, being happy that the rest of this journey is all downhill.
This is the "other" way up the Tor. It involves walking through fields and over stiles at fences before you even get to the climb and is so steep that if you fell, you would need Merlin to save you. The first time I was here with Jamie, I didn't know any better and went this way. I thought that I was about to join the Choir Everlasting before I would ever get to the top.
As we bid a fond farewell to the Tor, we met some sheep. This one was not interested in us, the Tor, or the bird sneaking up on him from behind.
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