ACROSS THE SEA TO AVALON The traditional story relates how the wounded King Arthur was taken away by boat immediately after the battle of Camlan to the mysterious Isle of Avalon to receive medical attention. It is reasonable to suppose that if Arthur was badly wounded then he could only survive a short journey. This means that the island of Avalon must be fairly close to the site of the battle of Camlan. Geoffrey of Monmouth, in his writings, referred to the island as 'Insula Afallonis' and this name has been shortened to Avalon. However, it is significant that all the Welsh versions of the manuscript render the name as 'Ynys Afallach' (the Island of Afallch) Many centuries ago, Avalon was mistakenly identified with Glastonbury, no doubt to suit the placing of the battle of Camlan at Camelford in Comwall. This amazing error has created the biggest red herring of all time, although it has done much to encourage the development of a major tourist industry in the West Country. An important clue to the identification of the mysterious island of Avalon is contained in a book called Irish Druids and old Irish Religions, which was written by James Bonwick in 1894. He makes a remarkable statement: 'The Welsh Avalon, or the Island of Apples, the everlasting source of the Elixir of Life, the home of Arthur and other mythological heroes, lay beyond Cardigan Bay, the Annwn of the old sun, in the direction of Ireland.' This statement is also substantiated by the Archdruid Owen Morgan, in The Royal winged Son of Stonehenge and Avebury. He states that the Celtic Elysium was between Borth on Cardigan Bay and Arklow in Ireland. When one looks at a map of the British Isles it quickly becomes apparent that there is only one possible location for such an island and that is Bardsey, which lies off the tip of the Lleyn Peninsula. The Island of Bardsey sits in the sea like a huge mouse, with a gentle dome shaped hump at one end and a long tail of flat land stretching out behind it. Just 3 kilometres long and 0.8 kilometres wide at its broadest point, it measures 177 hectares. Behind the 200 metre hump of Mynydd Eniii, on the leeward side of the island, is a small harbour where boats have landed saints, pilgrims and visitors through the passing centuries. Bardsey has often been described as Britain's most romantic island and its holiness once made it the 'Insula Sanctoru ', or Iona of Wales. Pilgrims used to travel here from all directions and one ancient document states that this island was once regarded as the 'second Rome' in view of its concentration of sanctity. In the Vatican library there is even a list of indulgences specially granted to pilgrims making the journey to Bardsey. More than likely it was the Saxons who named it Bardseye after the bards who retired there, or alternatively it was perhaps named after Bardr, a Viking leader. One of the Welsh names for it is Ynys Enlli - 'the isle of the current', which is a reference to the strength of the tideway between the island and the mainland. This comparatively narrow strip of sea is one of the most dangerous stretches of water around the British Isles for the current is always very rapid. In order to discover why the island was once known as Ynys Afallach, we decided to compare some of the romantic traditions with ancient Welsh manuscripts. Geoffrey of Monmouth, in his Vita Merlini, describes how Merlin and Taliesin took the wounded Arthur by boat to 'Ins la pomoru que Fortunata'- (The Island of Apples which is called Fortunate), so named because it produces all things without toil. They were received by the lady Morgan who placed the king on a golden bed and uncovered the wound and said that she would be able to heal it and bring him back to good health. The relationship between the evil Queen Morgan and the renowned King Arthur has always been a matter of particular fascination which has been debated by many Arthurian scholars. But the question still remains - who was this mysterious lady? Geoffrey of Monmouth's description of Morgan and her island kingdom corresponds with a passage in the Gesta Regum Britanniae, written in c. 1235 by Guillaume de Rennes. It describes a mighty princess attended by nine maidens in a miraculously fertile island kingdom called Avaflon and it is implied that she is the daughter of the king of Avallon. Wounded beyond measure Arthur is brought to the court of the king of Avallon, where the Royal Virgin, who is the guardian of this place, attends to his wounds and becomes his mistress.' Sir Thomas Malory, in his Le Morte d' Arthur, brings Morgan Le Fay into his story and tells us that she married Urien of Gorre. Now this is interesting, for, according to the Welsh Triads, Urien of Gor-re married Modron, the daughter of Afallach, and Urien was the father of Yvaine, known in Welsh tradition as Owain. The Welsh Triad No.70, which is contained in the Peniarth Manuscript No. 47, states that Owain and his sister Morfudd were carried in the womb of Modron, the daughter of Afallach and the wife of Urien of Gorre. It is also significant that, according to the early Welsh genealogies, Rhun was the son of Maelgwyn Hir ('the Tall') of Gwynedd by his concubine Gwalltwen, the daughter of Afallach. This confirms that there was a royal prince named Afallach flourishing in Lleyn during the time of King Arthur. By comparing numerous references to the Arthurian Romance character of Morgan Le Fay with her Welsh counterpart Modron it becomes evident that this daughter of Afallach was the same lady who cured Arthur of his wounds. The name of Modron is derived from that of Matriona - the Mother Goddess of Celtic Mythology. By unravelling a highly complex web of folklore and ancient beliefs, it becomes an exciting probability that Arthur was brought to Ynys Afallach (Bardsey Island) by Merlin and Taliesin to be cured of his wounds by Modron (Morgan Le Fay) and her nine sisters, who were Druidesses skilled in the art of healing. BARINTHUS THE FERRYMAN In his poem The Spoils of Annwn Taliesin describes how 'thither after the battle of Camlan we took the wounded Arthur, guided by Barinthus to whom the waters and the stars of heaven were well known.' Geoffrey's Vita Merlini also mentions the Abbot Barinthus, who appears as a Celtic Charon (ferryman) who guides Myrddin and Taliesin on their voyage to Avalon with the wounded Arthur. Barinthus was known as the 'Navigator' because he was an accomplished sailor who could find his way by the stars. According to the Navigation Sancti Brendani, St. Brendan was inspired to take his wondrous voyage to the Promised Land of Saints, a Christianized version of the Isle of the Blessed in the West, by St. Barrind (Barinthus), who had just returned from a journey there. Brendan found a crystal tower in the sea and came to an island of giant smiths. This is an interesting statement for it should be remembered that, according to Geoffrey of Monmouth, Arthur's sword Calibum was forged on Ynys Afallach! THE CASTLE OF GLASS It is relevant that we should try to interpret the meaning behind the well-known legend that Merlin was confined on Bardsey Island in a glass castle with the thirteen treasures of Britain. He apparently lies there in an enchanted sleep awaiting the return of Arthur. Legends in most cases are based on folk memories and even though they may appear to be nothing more than fairy stories, they sometimes contain an element of truth. We found the idea of a glass castle particularly interesting and it deserved further investigation. In the bard Taliesin's Preiddiau Annwfn ('The Spoils of Annwn'), we found that Annwn is depicted as a four-cornered glass fortress standing on an island. Lewis Morris, in his Celtic Remains, (1878), locates the Ty Gwydr (House of Glass) of Merlin the Wild on Bardsey Island and, according to the 16th century Peniarth Manuscript (No. 147), he went there, accompanied by nine bards, and took with him the thirteen treasures of Britain. The Oxford Manuscript of La Folie Tristan informed us that Morgan, the Queen of Avalon, lived in a chamber of glass on which all the rays of the sun converged. We were consistently finding statements in Welsh and Irish tradition which referred to Annwn as Caer Wydr (Glass Castle). Gradually, we began to consider the possibility that such a building might have been the equivalent of a modem glass house. In other words, a chamber with glass windows which might conceivably be used as a solarium where illness was treated by therapeutic light. The 'Castle of Glass' was clearly a solar paradise. This glass castle, crystal palace, chamber of glass or, in modem terms, greenhouse; call it what you will, was a temple in which the sun itself appeared to live. In this solar paradise, apples were grown, and Morgan, the Queen of Avalon, was the mistress of an indoor apple orchard. It was a sort of Garden of Eden where the fruits of summer could be picked throughout the year. Hence Bardsey was known as the Island of Apples. Crops grow well on the island but no trees survive there, being wiped out in infancy by the powerful south-west winds. However, they would of course, have grown well in a greenhouse. In ancient religions the apple was highly prized and accepted as an emblem of the renewal of youth. Both Roman and Celtic laws featured stiff penalties for cutting down an apple tree. The Celtic word for apple was Aval and this word occurs in the names Avallach, Emain Ablach and Abalum which are the names of three islands. The name Avalon means Apple Orchard.

Recluce

The Forest

Cythera

Avalon

The Ruins

The Castle

Lover's Lake

The Mines