![]() Invisible force is rushing past with a streaming moment. To stand in the centre of the great nave, looking towards the high altar, is like standing waist-deep in a swift mountain stream. Dion Fortune captured the essence of what remains: ‘There is spiritual power in Glastonbury. After the Dissolution of the Monasteries it fell into ruin and was purchased by the Diocese of Bath and Wells in 1908 and is now owned by Glastonbury Abbey Trust. It was then suppressed and destroyed by Henry VIII the last Abbot was hung, drawn and quartered on Glastonbury Tor in 1539. From the 12th century, after the fire, the Abbey was associated with Grail stories of King Arthur and Queen Guinevere, promoted by the monks to encourage pilgrimage with the idea of Glastonbury as the mystical Avalon. By then it was one of the most powerful and richest monasteries in England. ![]() ![]() History tells us a church was founded at this site in the 7th century and enlarged in the 10th century, destroyed by fire in 1184 and rebuilt, achieving its grandeur by the 14th century. Was there ever ‘the old church’ (the ‘vetusta ecclesia’) with wattle walls and reed thatch referred to by mediaeval writers? Did Joseph of Arimathea bring the child Jesus to Glastonbury on one of his tin trade missions? Nothing is impossible yet it is all lost in conjecture, agendas and the mists of time. The pilgrim has to decide for herself/himself. ![]() Yet often myth and legend carry grains of truth. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |