E-Book Overview
In the summer of 1966 an archaeological organization began digging the hill of Cadbury Castle in the hope of finding some evidence which would substantiate that King Arthur was an ancient royalty and that Cadbury was his Camelot. The secretary of the organization was Geoffrey Ashe who in "Camelot and the Vision of Albion" records his own personal search for the historicity of the legends of King Arthur and Camelot.
Very little of the book, in fact just a few pages, tells of archaeological finds. The bulk of the book deals with Mr. Ashe's theory that the King Arthur legends although centered around an historical figure are grounded in ancient myths of the Celts, Romans, Greeks, Anglo-Saxons, Druids and Hebrews. The remainder of the book deals with a common ideal Mr. Ashe finds in the philosophies of Confucius, Lao Tzu, Voltaire, Rousseau, the French Revolution and even the Hebrew Messiah. The literature of Shelley, Robert Owen, Chesterton, the Fabian Society and Gandhi are brought into parallelism as further proof that the Arthur legends are influenced by psychological desire for a better age.
E-Book Content
Cam elot and the Vision o f Albion
BOOKS BY GEOFFREY
ASHE
King Arthur's Avalon Land to the West Gandhi The Quest for Arthur's Britain King Arthur in Fact and Legend Camelot and the Vision of Albion
CAM ELOT AN D THE VISION OF ALBIO N
Geoffrey Ashe
ST.
M A R T I N ’S PRESS NEW YORK
Copyright © 1971 by Geoffrey Ashe A ll rights reserved. For information, write: St. M artin’s Press, Inc., 175 Fifth A ve., N ew York, N .Y . 10010 Printed in Great Britain Library o f Congress Catalog Card Num ber: 74-166481 First published in the United States o f America in 1971
AFFILIATED PUBLISHERS: Macmillan & Company, Lim ited, London— also at Bombay, Calcutta, Madras and Melbourne — T h e Macmillan Company o f Canada, Limited, Toronto
CO N TEN TS
Prologue: Unanswered Questions
i
P a rt O ne : T he M aking o f a M y th 1 A n Atlantic Realm
19
2 T h e A g e o f the Druids
39
3 T h e Irrepressible C elt
56
4 A Prince o f the Fifth Century
70
5 T h e British M y th
94
P a rt Tw o : T h e G lory and the Enem y 6 P lu s ça Change . . .
109
7 T h e Anatom y o f Compulsion
120
8 T h e Undercurrent
134
P a rt T h ree: T he Succession 9 Albion in Transition
147
10 T h e Immortal C ity
168
11 T h e Dissentient Radicals
186
Epilogue: T h e Return o f Arthur
210
Bibliographical N ote
221
Index
223
Prologue
Unanswered Questions
i The hill, o f course, is far more than a hill. It is a presence, an enchantment, a challenge; and it eludes, though not for ever. When we first met, Cadbury Castle and myself, I walked threequarters o f the way round under its earthwork defences, wonder ing where there was a path that went up. Â t last I found a path and it went up. But this hül, which has so long maintained its claim to be Camelot, has subtler gestures o f evasion. I f you stand on its crest, looking out from the ghostly walls o f King Arthur’s palace, you can see Glastonbury Tor rising far away above Avalon like a misplaced M exican pyramid. Yet if you traverse the space between and stand on the T or, looking back over the same Somerset levels, Cadbury Castle w ill escape you. It is there, but from that angle it blends expertly into the hills behind it. T o start out from Camelot to Avalon - the way, perhaps, o f Arthur’s passing - is no more than following your eye. T o start out from Avalon to Camelot - the way (one presumes) o f his return - is an act o f faith. Going in that