Chronicles 1 (of 6): The Historie of England 5 (of 8): The Fift Booke of the Historie of England.Holinshed, Raphael
History
Chronicles 1 (of 6): The Historie of England 5 (of 8): The Fift Booke of the Historie of England.
Holinshed, Raphael
Great Britain -- History -- Anglo-Saxon period, 449-1066
[Sidenote: _Richard Turner_.]
This battell was fought to such proofe, that finallie Mordred was
slaine, with the more part of his whole armie, and Arthur receiuing
diuers mortall wounds died of the same shortlie after, when he had
reigned ouer the Britains by the tearme of 26 yéeres. His corps was
buried at Glastenburie aforesaid, in the churchyard, betwixt two
pillers: where it was found in the daies of king Henrie the second,
about the yeere of our Lord 1191, which was in the last yéere of the
reigne of the same Henrie, more than six hundred yéeres after the
buriall thereof. He was laid 16 foot déepe vnder ground, for doubt
that his enimies the Saxons should haue found him. But those that
digged the ground there to find his bodie, after they had entered
about seuen foot déepe into the earth, they found a mightie broad
stone with a leaden crosse fastened to that part which laie downewards
toward the corps, conteining this inscription:
"Hîc iacet sepultus inclytus rex Arthurius in insula Aualoniæ."
This inscription was grauen on that side of the crosse which was next
to the stone: so that till the crosse was taken from the stone, it was
vnséene. His bodie was found, not inclosed within a toome of marble or
other stone curiouslie wrought, but within a great trée made hollowe
for the nonce like a trunke, the which being found and digged vp, was
opened, and therein were found the kings bones, of such maruellous
bignesse, that the shinbone of his leg being set on the ground,
reached vp to the middle thigh of a verie tall man: as a moonke of
that abbeie hath written, which did liue in those daies, and saw it.
¶ But Gyraldus Cambrensis (who also liued in those daies, and spake
with the abbat of the place, by whom the bones of this Arthur were
then found) affirmeth, that by report of the same abbat, he learned,
that the shinbone of the said Arthur being set vp by the leg of a
verie tall man (the which the abbat shewed to the same Gyraldus) came
aboue the knée of the same man the length of three fingers breadth,
which is a great deale more likelie than the other. Furthermore the
skull of his head was of a woonderfull largenesse, so that the space
of his forehead betwixt his two eies was a span broad. There appéered
in his head the signes and prints of ten wounds or more: all the which
were growne into one wem, except onelie that whereof it should séeme
he died, which being greater than the residue, appéered verie plaine.
Also in opening the toome of his wife quéene Gueneuer, that was buried
with him, they found the tresses of hir haire whole and perfect, and
finelie platted, of colour like to the buruished gold, which being
touched, immediatlie fell to dust. The abbat, which then was
[Sidenote: _Henricus Blecensis_ seu _Soliacensis_. _Io. Leland_.]
gouernour of the house, was named Stephan, or Henrie de Blois,
otherwise de Sullie, nephue to king Henrie the second (by whose
commandement he had serched for the graue of Arthur) translated the
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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