Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1880-09-08
HI1sTI 49, slfI1-1I--r-1
KING ARTHUR's BONES,
a Legend Of GIastonbury---A Monksh Account
Of the ROYAL Coffin.

'' Et.t.@ lfrom the London Ielegraph1 st
The most interesting memories con-
nected with Glastonbury are undoubted-
ly those that gather round the name of
King Arthur. Did the Poet Laureate.
when he sang of "the island valley of
Avihon, fair with orchard lawns, and
bowery hollows crowned with summer
sea, . realize that he was speaking of
place which exists out of Fairyland, and
which even now retains it's old name of
the g Island of Avalon?' It is written
in the old chronicles how King Arthur,
deserted by his wife, Queen Guinvere,
and sore wounded in Cornish battle,
was brought by sea to die at Glaston-
bury. In that glorious old abbey, now
ruined, we are told by historian of the
the twelfth century that the coffin con-
ta1ns the bones of Arthur and his faith
less queen was exhumed by order of
King Henry Ii. King Henry, it ap-
pears, had been fighting in Wales, and
while there had heard the bards singing
the praises of the great British hero, the
founder of the Table Round, /" how he
had been wounded in that last great bat
tie with Mordred, in Cornwall, and how
he was conveyed to Glastonbury by wa
ter, and buried there. So on his return
Henry determined to test the truth of
the bards' story, and ordered search to
be made in the monks burial ground,
and there, sure enough, SO the chronicle
tells us, in the exact place indicated by
the bards, was found huge coffin with
stone lid, on which was inscribed the
legend, "Here lies buried, in the
island of Avalonia, the renowned
King Arthur" The coffin was
of followed oak, (which, when
raised to the surface and opened, was
found to contain two cavities, the kings
bones at the head, while at the feet lay
Queen Guinevere's bone" The kings
relics were of gigantic proportions; the
leg-bone-so the possibly veracious his
torian relates-was three fingers breadth
longer than that of tall monk when
measured beside it, while on the skull
were the marks of ten deep wounds. In
the cavity containing the bones of the
hapless and faithless Guinevere was
a tress of yellow hair, perfect in form
and color, which, on being touched, fell
to pieces. How much of this account is
true it is impossible now to tell, but the
chronicler asserts that he witnessed the
scene of the disentombing of the coffin,
and undoubtedly the story fits in well
with the legend of Arthur's last battle in
the west, when, "because his wound
was deep, the bold Sir Bediven unified
him." and bore him to the barge all
draped in black, rowed by the three
queens, which was to carry the dying
king to the island OF Avalon, OF Avilion
in other words, Glastonbury. In the
old days it was in truth az island, made
by three streams, while the sea-tide came
up to the very foot Of the hill above the
town. The worst of it is that the old
monks were, when the fit took them,
such very mendacious personages that
one can hardly believe their tales i'm
plicitly. Tt is quite on the cards that
they heard the report of the burial of
Arthur in their "place of tombs," and
determined that when their coffin was
searched for it should be found. They
were quite equal to scratching Roman
letters on a stone lid, and filling an old
oak chest with the bones of deceased
quadruped, which in those days of ana
tomical ignorance would pass muster
very well as the bodily relics of OTHERS
mythic son."