A Word on "Glastonbury"

The ancient Celtic name for the Tor was Ynys Witrin, 'Island of Glass.' Another Celtic name was Caer Wydyr, 'Fort of Glass,' which is also the third name for the Celtic Otherworld. Surrounded mostly by water, a defensive wall known as Ponter's Ball was erected to the East and protected Glastonbury from the mainland. A bridge, known as the Pomparles or as Perilous Bridge, was the only dry access point to the south. Pomparles is thought to be the place where Bedwyr, from the Arthurian legend, returned the sword Excalibur to the Lady Of The Lake after the Battle of Camlann.

In Celtic legends, Avalon was the Otherworld home of the underworld god, Afallach. Both the names Avalon and Afallach refer to apples, apples that once grew in Glastonbury. Being a Otherworld sacred site, Glastonbury would be the site where a Celtic king would be sent when near or at death. Such was the case of King Arthur when he was sent to Avalon after his final battle.

The word 'tor' means a hill or rocky peak. Atop the Tor stands a tower, the remains of a church. The tower's true purpose as either part of a church or of a fortification is not known but in the Middle Ages most of the structure, except the tower, was destroyed by an earthquake and landslide in 1275CE. For the Celtics, the Tor was believed to be the entrance to Annwfn, the Celtic Otherworld, and to the Palace of Gwynn ap Nudd, Afallach's brother and the main Otherworld Celtic god. Celtic legends claim the hill itself is/was hollow and that it was the entrance to the Celtic Underworld. Arthurian legends have both Merlin or King Arthur as possibly sleeping within the hollow hill. Later Christian legends have the second coming of Christ dwelling in the hollow as the 'sleeping lord' or even Joseph of Arimathea resting place where he guards the Holy Grail. Other folk tales claim the top of the Tor is a place of fairy visions and magic.

Glastonbury, held sacred long before Christianity, was settled by the Celts and the area was used for religious ceremonies and as a trade route/port. A long trailing terrace winds its way around the sides of the Tor. Though weathered and eroded over time, the trail, its true purpose unknown, has been associated with similiar devices or patterns from other cultures. Scholars believe it may have been built about the same time as the structures at Stonehenge and Avebury. No other structures from this period were found except for a pre-historic Earthwork construct known as Ponter's Ball. Ponter's Ball runs across the high ground about two miles East of Glastonbury. The running mound is thought to be a wall marking the boundary of the sacred Glastonbury precinct.

From both ancient and current times, the Tor has also been a sanctuary of Goddess worship. Goddess worship can be found in the Celtic and Arthurian legends; the Lady Vivien, a Celtic water goddess and also known as the Lady Of The Lake... read more>>>...