The Antiquarian Magazine & Bibliographer; Vol. 4, July-Dec 1884Various
History
The Antiquarian Magazine & Bibliographer; Vol. 4, July-Dec 1884
Various
Archaeology -- Periodicals; Great Britain -- Antiquities -- Periodicals
And digging nine foot deeper his body was discovered in the trunk of a
tree, the bones of great bignesse, and in his scull perceived ten
wounds, the last very great and plainly seene. His Queen Guinivere, that
had been neare kinswoman to Cador, Duke of Cornwall, a lady of passing
beauty, likewise lay by him, whose tresses of hair finely platted, and
in colour like the gold, seemed perfect and whole untill it was touched,
but then, bewraying what all beauties are, shewed itself to be duste.”
The cross of lead with the inscription, as it was found and taken off
the stone, was kept in the Treasury, or Revester, of Glastonbury Church
till the suppression thereof in the reign of Henry VIII.
The bones of King Arthur and Queen Guinivere his wife were translated
into the great church, and “there in a faire Tombe of Marble his body
was laid, and his Queen’s at his feete, which noble monument among the
fatall overthrowes of infinite more were altogether raced” [razed].[80]
I scarcely know anything more pathetic than the old chronicler’s account
of that tress of golden hair, the sole remains of the beauty that had
captivated the heart of the great king and made his noblest knight to
fall, and then the seeing it at a touch fall into dust. She who had
mourned her sin at Amesbury, at last, by the loving hands of those who
had witnessed her penitence, was borne to rest beside her rightful lord;
and the golden tresses which, when she had last seen him in life, swept
the dust at his feet, now, after more than six hundred years had passed
away, faded into dust again when they had fulfilled their mission of
testifying to the main facts of the Legend of Arthur.
Nearly a hundred years again had passed, when in the year 1276 King
Edward I. and his Queen Eleanor kept the Festival of Easter at
Glastonbury. It was during the abbacy of John of Taunton, a great
benefactor to the Church in buildings, books for the library, and
vestments, that this visit took place. So great were the privileges of
this place that even the king himself was laid under some restraint
while abiding in it. His deputy high marshal was not allowed to exercise
his office; the king’s judges were held to have no authority; and even a
man who had incurred the penalty of _læsa majestas_ was not allowed to
be punished. The mausoleum of black marble was opened for their
inspection; the king’s bones were seen of gigantic proportion, the thigh
bone the width of three fingers longer than that of the tallest monk
present. The tomb was ordered to be placed in front of the high altar;
the skulls of the king and queen to remain outside for the adoration of
the people.
Leland, who saw the tomb, says: “At the head of Arthur’s tombe lay
Henricus Abbas (Henry of Blois?)[81] and a crucifix; at the feet lay a
figure of Arthur; a cross on the tomb, and two lions at the head and two
at the feet.”
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account