Gwyn Read online

  Success was now with the Saxons, and it would only be a matter of time before Britain was completely theirs. Their spirit broken, large numbers of Britons chose to leave. Some crossed the River Severn into what would become ‘Wales’, feeling safer with the great river between them and the Saxons. Others retreated further southwest into Dumnonia (Devon) and Kernow (Cornwall). Thousands left the country altogether and settled in Armorica (north west France.) So many people went to Armorica that the area they settled in became known as ‘Little Britain’; Brittany.

  Just three years after Arthur was killed at the Battle of Camlan the monk and scholar ‘Gildas the Wise’ wrote his ‘De Excidio et Conquestu Britannie’ (‘The Ruin and Conquest of Britain’.) in which he laments the loss of Britain and blames the British chiefs/kings for their failings in not stopping the Saxons.

  Gildas, after training as a monk in south Wales, had been living as a hermit on Flatholm Island, in the heart of the Sabrina Sea where he remained for seven years, until Saxon pirates forced him to leave. The ‘Life of Gildas’ (written around 1140 A.D.) says he then went to Glastonbury, which is where he wrote his ‘Ruin and Conquest’. Local history has him then living as a hermit near Street until he died. More reliable historical sources have him leaving Britain, with many of the multitudes, to end his days in Brittany where he founded a monastery on the island of Rhuis.

  Gildas is our only contemporary eye witness historian of the era, although he wasn’t strictly speaking as an ‘historian’, his ‘Ruin and Conquest’ is a lament and critique of the reasons why the Britons failed to stop the Saxon invasion. He was a religious man, and Gildas draws comparisons with the biblical world to express his grief;

  “In these assaults, therefore, not unlike that of the Assyrian upon Judea, was fulfilled in our case what the prophet describes in words of lamentation: “They have burned with fire the sanctuary; they have polluted on earth the tabernacle of thy name.” And again, “O God, the gentiles have come into thine inheritance; thy holy temple have they defiled,”

  (Gildas; ‘Ruin and Conquest of Britain’ .)

  The earthwork boundary called ‘Ponters Ball’ that lies upon the east of Ynys Witrin, enclosing the ‘sacred space’ of the island, may date to this time (archaeologists are uncertain whether to declare it as Iron Age, Roman or Dark Age.) It could be that it was an Iron Age/Roman sacred site boundary wall, which was then built up to act as a fortification during the strife of the Dark Ages. Perhaps a true ‘last ditch’ attempt to protect Ynys Witrin from being taken. One can only guess.

  It’s impossible to say for sure when Ynys Witrin was lost to the Saxons, but it may have been around this time. In 577 A.D. the decisive ‘Battle of Dyrham’ was fought;

  “Many Britons now found themselves ruled by Anglo-Saxons. Others fled westwards. So many sailed off to northwestern France that it later became known as ‘Little Britain’ or Brittany. Britain itself only became known as ‘Great’ by way of comparison. After the Battle of Dyrham in AD 577 the Britons of Devon and Cornwall were cut off from those to the north. The last strongholds of the Britons were the Cornish peninsula and the mountainous west, the land that became known as Wales.”

  (Philip Steele, ‘Encyclopedia of British History’ .)

  With the crushing success of the Battle of Dyrham, the Saxons reached the River Severn and took control of the cities of Gloucester, Cirencester and Bath.

  It has been suggested that by the time the Saxons took over Glastonbury, they did so peacefully as Christians. But this view does not stand up in the light of historical research. Although Pope Gregory sent St. Augustine as a missionary to Kent in 596 A.D. very few Saxons adopted Christianity straight away, and regardless of faith, the Britons were the Saxon’s enemies. At Chester in 616 A.D. (for example) the Saxons massacred a thousand Celtic monks!

  The sad thing is that Christianity could have created peace between Celt and Saxon. In 634 A.D. the wise and forward thinking king, Oswald, the Saxon king of North umbria, asked for the Celtic Church of Iona to send missionaries to convert his people to the faith. But it was too little too late. Although in the north many Saxons took up the Celtic Church, they quickly realised that the Saxon Christians of the south (who had slowly been converting to Roman Catholicism since the arrival of St. Augustine) were practising things differently from the Celtic system.

  In 664 A.D. the ‘Synod of Whitby’ was held to discuss the differences between the Celtic Church and the Roman Catholic church, and without going into the details of the different issues between the two systems, it is no surprise (especially after only thirty years of being converted) that it was decided that the Celtic Church was in error and should be set aside in favour of the Roman Catholic system. As the Britons were being pushed out of Britain, so too would be their version of Christianity.

  The ‘Antiquities of Glastonbury’ , lists some names of British, Celtic Abbots, but there are no other sources to verify their existence. As well as St. Patrick visiting Glastonbury, the ‘Antiquities’ also tell of St. Bridget visiting briefly, in 488 A.D. and St. David in 563 A.D.

  But the Anglo-Saxon Chronicles say that Centwine became king of Wessex in 673 A.D. and that in 682 A.D. he cleared the Britons from the western coastal area of Somerset. This would have definitely have included those of Ynys Witrin if they had not already been removed earlier;

  ‘ . . . Centwine put the Brito-Welsh to flight, as far as the Sea . . . ‘ (the Anglo Saxon Chronicles)

  This achievement of King Centwine’s separated the Britons of Wales (beyond the River Severn) from the Britons of Dumnonia (Devon) - who were defeated by the Saxon King Ine. When Geraint, the last recorded king of Dumno-nia, was slain at Langport (upon the Girt Dog, guardian of the zodiac!) in 711 A.D. the mountains of Wales were impenetrable to the Saxons, and there, the ‘Welsh’ (‘foreigners’) were safe.

  Centwine was the first Saxon king to be buried at Glastonbury and King Ine (who was also later buried on the island) built the very first stone church there;

  “Ine built a new stone church at Glastonbury; it was dedicated to St. Peter and St. Paul and was located to the east of the older wooden church.”

  (James Carley, ‘Glastonbury Abbey’ .)

  Ynys Witrin, ‘the Glass isle’, sacred ground of the native Britons, abode of Gwyn ap Nudd, was now lost. It was now a part of ‘Lloegyr’, the ‘lost lands’ of the Britons. The Celtic Church had been pushed off the island and it was now replaced by the Catholic faith that had supplanted the Celtic system. The sacred Otherworld enclosure of the Britons was now the burial place of Saxon kings - upon the same island that Arthur, their greatest enemy, was later claimed to have been buried upon.

  In looking to where the native Britons may have retreated to, in their forced exodus from Ynys Witrin across the Sabrina Sea I have found only one probable location. The only other location in the entire British Isles that has legends of both Gwyn ap Nudd and King Arthur related to it is the Vale of Neath in the south of the Brecon Beacons, north of Swansea Bay.

  “Not many folk-tales have been preserved in which Gwyn is mentioned by name. His memory has lingered longest and latest in the fairy-haunted Vale of Neath, so close to his “ridge, the Tawe abode “. . .”

  (Charles Squire, Celtic Myth and Legend.)

  The ‘Tawe abode’ is Gwyn’s ridge home as described in the poem from the Black Book of Carmarthen. (discussed in chapter 4.) The River Tawe, like the River Neath, flows from the Brecon Beacons down to the sea at Swansea.

  As Christianity grew, the old gods became diminished into beings from folk tales, and just as in Glastonbury’s tradition of Gwyn being the ‘King of the Fairies’ on top of the Tor, so too is he remembered in the Vale of Neath as the king of the ‘Tylwyth Teg’ (the Welsh Fairies). Arthur too, according to Welsh tradition, lies waiting in the Vale of Neath;

  “So Arthur is sometimes thought to be in Avilion, and sometimes to be sitting with his champions in a charmed sleep in some secret place, waiting for the t
rumpet to be blown that shall call him forth to reconquer Britain. The legend is found in the Eildon Hills; in the Snowdon district; at Cadbury, in Somerset, the best authenticated Camelot; in the Vale of Neath, in South Wales; as well as in other places. He slumbers, but he has not died. The ancient Welsh poem called “The Verses of the Graves of the Warriors” enumerates the last resting-places of most of the British gods and demigods. “The grave of Gwydion is in the marsh of Dinlleu”, the grave of Lleu Llaw Gyffes is “under the protection of the sea with which he was familiar”, and “where the wave makes a sullen sound is the grave of Dylan”; we know the graves of Pryderi, of Gwalchmei, of March, of Mabon, even the great Beli, but, “Not wise the thought - a grave for Arthur”.”

  (Charles Squire, ‘Celtic Myth and Legend’ )

  Was Arthur’s body left on Ynys Witrin, to be the possession of his most hated enemies? Or was it taken somewhere else? ‘Not wise the thought - a grave for Arthur’. For centuries after the Saxons had defeated the Britons, the ‘Welsh’ insisted that Arthur was not dead. The finding of Arthur’s grave at Glastonbury has been seen by some to be just a propaganda stunt - a stunt that I’ll debate in the next chapter.

  Although the sacred island of Ynys Witrin was lost to the Britons, they found Gwyn (and Arthur) an awesomely beautiful new home. At the source of the River Neath is a proud mountain called Fan Nedd. A multitude of fresh water springs flow out of the gentle slopes of Fan Nedd. To the east and to the west of this mountain, these springs trickle down to the adjoining valleys. In each valley the springs form small streams, thus the mountain of Fan Nedd creates two streams that flow southwards, through the Brecon Beacons passing through both barren land and woodland forming waterfalls here and there, each stream gradually becoming a river, and bigger, as more springs join the congregation. Eventually, both rivers join up with each other and become the River Neath. The River Neath forms the ‘Vale of Neath’, the last abode of the Faeries.

  Gwyn’s father’s name, Nudd, and the ‘Nedd’ of the mountain, Fan Nedd, are one and the same word and in Welsh are both pronounced as ‘Neath’ (the name of the magic fairy Vale).

  At the base of Fan Nedd there is a great standing stone called Lias Mael; it is 9 foot high and pulses vibrantly. It is alone in a barren valley surrounded by the mountains.

  Where the two rivers from Fan Nedd come together is the village of Pont Nedd Fechan and here there is ‘Craig y Ddinas’ (‘the Rock of the Fortress’) that was once an ancient hill fort, a massive rocky outcrop. Here, in a cave, lies Arthur and his men, resting, waiting. On top of the outcrop resided the last of the Fairies, until (it is said) the Methodists banished them!

  Last year (Spring 2006) I made a startling discovery. I had felt a strong desire to visit the beautiful waterfall of Saint Nectan’s Glen, in the fairy-haunted ‘Rocky Valley’ near Tintagel in Cornwall. On my way there I visited the church and holy well of St. Nectan, at Hartland Point. I found out that ‘Nectan’ was just the Cornish rendering of the Latin name ‘Nathanus’, which itself was the classical variant of the Welsh name ‘Neath’. Furthermore, Saint Nectan was said to have come from the Brecon Beacons, where lies the Vale of Neath!

  The description ‘Nectan’s Glen’ is exactly the same description as the ‘Vale of Neath’! Both place names mean the ‘Valley of the river god Nudd’. Did Britons from Ynys Witrin retreat to Tintagel too?

  Chapter Eight

  The Gate is Shut

  “. . . Many years later along with his brethren of Wells, he penetrated through the thick woods, and with great difficulty climbed to the top of the mountain in that island . . . St Patrick and the brethren of Wells fasted three months in prayer and vigil, dominating the devils and the wild beasts of many forms which appeared to them there . . .

  And I, Patrick, by the advice of my brethren, do grant to all who shall fell with axe and hatchet in pious intention the wood in any part of the said mountain, in order that the approach may be easier for Christians . . . “

  (St Patrick’s deeds upon Glastonbury Tor, as given in the ‘Antiquities of Glastonbury’ by William of Malmesbury, 1135 A.D.)

  On June the 19th and 20th of 1906, at Butleigh Court near Glastonbury, local dignitaries and clergy held the ‘Butleigh Revel’ - an amateur theatrical performance based on local myths and legends. The introductory verse ran thus;

  (A.D. 63) “Lo! from the East the dawn of the White Christ Is slowly breaking; Pagan darkness flies; The power of Gwyn, the demon-king is broken. To Ynyswytryn’s shores, by god directed, Comes now great Joseph, with his twice-six saints.”

  It was not enough for the once great protector God of the Celtic Paradise to be diminished to the twee status of ‘King of the Fairies’ - no, ironically he would finish up at the opposite end of the spectrum as the ‘demon-king’ in the pantomime mentality of the Edwardians. His name, ‘Gwyn’ means ‘white’ and now he is erased by the “White Christ”. But how did it come to this? “Pagan darkness fleeing” in AD 63, as part of an Edwardian morality play?

  There is far more evidence to show that Ynys Witrin functioned as a sacred pagan site well up to the 4th century (and possibly beyond) than there is to prove that Joseph of Arimathea ever came here at all. In fact, as shown in chapter 6, there is plenty of evidence to illustrate that Christianity could not possibly have survived here until the late 3rd century at best (as it was actively persecuted by the Roman Empire.) But alas! The eternal truth - history is written by the victorious.

  William of Malmesbury’s ‘Antiquities’ is the only source for the early period of contention. He claims to have written his manuscript from studying the ‘Charter of the Blessed Patrick’. It is from this charter that the story of the gifting of Ynys Witrin to Joseph of Arimathea and his companions is derived. According to the Charter they build a small church and when their time came ‘they were at last liberated from the prison of the flesh!’

  There was no continuation of Christianity from Joseph’s disciples. After they had all died, the ‘Antiquities’ tell us that;

  “The place then began to be a covert for wild beasts.”

  Then William quotes the ‘Charter of St. Patrick’ again, in which he tells how, at the end of the second century, two saints, Phagan and Deruvian, had been sent by Eleutherius the ‘thirtieth Pope after St. Peter’ to be missionaries in Britain. Apparently, a British King called Lucius requested these missionaries.

  There is no evidence whatsoever to support this story. There was no British king called Lucius and the Roman Empire still did not permit Christianity to be practiced until 313 A.D. Furthermore, it is now known that the source for this story was a mistranslation - that ‘Britanio’ (Britain) should have been ‘Britio’ (the fortress of Edessa) and the king in question was actually Lucius Aelius Septimus Megas Abgar IX of Edessa, (a kingdom situated between Syria and Turkey) but William of Malmesbury didn’t know this.

  The ‘Antiquities’ goes on to tell how Saints Phagan and Deruvian (on finding evidence of the first twelve Christian settlers) settle with their friends, maintaining a commune of twelve for many generations until St. Patrick arrives. Patrick becomes their Abbot and teaches them how to live as monks in a monastery.

  Even the tale of Patrick’s stay in Glastonbury is fraught with contention because Irish traditions say nothing of it and has him being buried in Ireland at Downpatrick. The Glastonbury tradition has him being buried there! In order to get round this difficulty, there was even a ‘Two Patricks’ theory put forward to try and explain things.

  What is interesting in Patrick’s story at Glastonbury is the finding of a small building on top of the Tor, by Patrick and his brethren. It is described as a derelict place of Christian worship. However, if we look at it as a sacred hill after the end of Roman rule in Britain it was probably more likely to have been a Romano British temple.

  “. . . he penetrated through the thick woods, and with great diff-culty climbed to the top of the mountain in that island, where they found an old oratory, almost in
ruins, yet fitted for Christian worship, and, as it seemed to him, chosen by God. When they had entered they were “filled with a sweet odour such as we believe is to be found in the pleasant fields of paradise . . . “

  (Antiquities of Glastonbury)

  How apt these words, ‘pleasant fields of paradise’, when we think of Gwyn as being the Lord of the Celtic paradise, (the name for which is ‘Gwynfa’,) and of Paradise Lane still among the fields below the Tor.

  According to the ‘Antiquities’, Patrick and his brethren found a book written by Saints Phagan and Deruvian (which is of course impossible because the King Lucius story is a mistranslation) claiming that they had built this oratory and dedicated it to the Archangel Michael. Without knowing for sure whether Patrick really came to Glaston-bury or not, it is worth quoting the Oxford Dictionary of Saints, which says of him.

  “Although he had little learning and less rhetoric, Patrick had sincere simplicity and deep pastoral care. He was concerned with abolishing paganism, idolatry, and sun-worship.”

  After finding the ‘oratory’ on the Tor, Patrick and his companions spend three months fasting, and praying there, dominating the ‘devils and wild beasts of many forms which appeared to them there’. A very strange activity for Patrick at a place that smelt of paradise and was already deemed holy! Indeed, it ‘seemed to him, chosen by God’. Reading between the lines and assuming that one of the ‘Two Patricks’ is the first historically accepted Christian to be present on Ynys Witrin, how curious is it that he and his friends should spend so long fighting ‘devils’ on top of the Tor. This abolisher of ‘paganism, idolatry and sun-worship’?