The Landscape of King Arthur

200 Pages·1988·33.78 MB·English

by  Geoffrey Ashe

ISBN a-ÖDSD-0711-3
The Landscape of
King Arthur
GEOFFREY ASHE
With photographs by
SIMON McBRIDE
The partnership of writer and photog­
rapher has resulted in this fascinating
approach to one of the most famous of
legends. Advances in archaeology and the
re-appraisal of documents have opened up
new perspectives for all who go in quest
of its rich mythology and absorbing
interest.
Arthur, Guinevere, Merlin, Lancelot,
Camelot, Excalibur, Tristan and Isolde
are names rooted in British tradition
and culture. Their stories have been re­
created through centuries, from the poets
and romancers of France and Germany
through the poetry of Tennyson and the
music-drama of Wagner to successful
stage and screen adaptations. Local tales
and folklore are spread over a vast stretch
of territory, from Scotland through
Northern England and Wales to Cornwall,
and extending also into Brittany, where a
great part of the legend is thought to have
originated. Here is a personal survey by
one of the world’s leading Arthurian
scholars of the chief locations associated
with the legend. It not only recalls the
stories but describes the places in detail.
0488

The Landscape of
K ing A rth u r
GEOFFREY ASHE

The Landscape of
King A rth u r
GEOFFREY ASHE
Frontispiece
A view from the Mote of Mark across the Rough Firth
Text copyright © 1987 by Webb & Bower (Publishers) Limited
Illustrations copyright © 1987 by Webb & Bower/Simon McBride
All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book
or portions thereof in any form.
First published in the United States m 1988 by
Henry Holt and Company, Inc., 115 West 18th Street, New York,
New York 10011.
Originally published in Great Britain by
Webb & Bower (Publishers) Limited
9 Colleton Crescent, Exeter, Devon EX 2 4BY
in association with Michael Joseph Limited
27 Wright’s Lane, London W 8 5TZ
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Ashe, Geoffrey.
The landscape of King Arthur.
1. Arthur, King. 2. Arthurian romance—History and
criticism. 3. Great Britain—History—Anglo Saxon
period, 449-1066. 4. Great Britain—Antiquities.
5. Great Britain—Description and travel—1971-
1. Title.
DA152.5.A7A82 1988 398.2'2'0942 87-19684
ISBN 0-8050-0711-3
First American Edition
Designed by Vic Giolitto
Production by Nick Facer/Rob Kendrew
Tvpeset in Great Britain by August Filmsetting,
Haydock, St Helens.
Printed and bound in Portugal by
Printer Portuguesa
i n 7 9 10 8 64 2
ISBN □-ÔG5G-0711-3
Contents
Introduction r,
1. Beginning at Glastonbury . 2
2. Search for Camelot -
3. Shapes in the Mist, ■
4. The Shifting Scene-
Places and People
5. The Track of a Magician «»
6. The King Himself
..o
7 Arthur’s Destiny ,, 2
.
8. The Enduring Theme , 79
Principal Places and, »2
Natural Features
Bibliography
Index 89
i
Introduction
How did i first encounter King Arthur? I’m not sure. It may have
been in a book of legends for children that included several
Arthurian tales, suitablv adapted. But all I remember of them in
that setting is a colour plate reproducing a Victorian painting of
Sir Galahad on his knees before the Holy Grail, which hovered in the air all
aglow and looking like an awkwardly large athletic trophy. The scene didn’t
particularly impress me.
When slightly older I was a devoted reader of Richmal Crompton’s ‘Will­
iam’ stories. In one of these, the eleven-year-old W illiam forms the Knights ot
the Square Table and puts up an adyertisement saying wrongs righted
(probably misspelt, but alas, I no longer have the book to check). By the time I
read that story I certainly knew somehow or other what W illiam was thinking
of. Later again I recall a teacher of Lnglish who, every so often, used to recite a
passage from Tennyson’s Morte d' Arthur- ‘The old order changeth, yielding
place to new’ (etc, etc.) but neyer seemed to branch out from it.
There was much journeying in my life, because my father was general
manager of a travel agency. Did we go to Tintagel or any other Arthurian
places? I don't know. One or two postcards in old albums suggest that we did.
If so, they made no impression. At Penzance my mother told me of the sunken
land of Lvonesse, and the church bells heard ringing under water, but if she
said anything about Tristan, that too made no impression.
A time came when I read more. I read Tennyson’s Idylls of the King, or some
of them, and those two great medieval Arthurians Geoffrey of Monmouth and
Sir Thomas Malory. I became familiar with the main characters and topics of
Arthurian lore: Arthur himself and Guinevere, Merlin and Lancelot, the
Round Table and Camelot and the Grail Quest, all in resplendent imagery. Yet
it still didn't register, somehow. I realized that this was a major body of
literature, parts of it powerful and memorable if other parts were decidedly
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