Explorations in Arthurian
History
The Importance of Geography
Part 8: Stonehenge
Continuing with the theme of
Merlin, we turn to Stonehenge. That Giants' Ring or Giants' Dance,
according to Geoffrey
of Monmouth, they were
stones brought from Ireland under the direction of Merlin
and plopped down on the Salisbury plain. Why?
Merlin says they are needed to
help memorialize the 460 nobles that Saxon
leader Hengist
had murdered at a supposed peace conference. Irish tradition said
that the stones were brought long ago from Africa by giants who
inhabited Ireland and Britain. The stones were used in religious
rites, and water poured over them was said to have cured the sick.
Uther
led the expedition to Ireland, and his forces dispatched the Irish
defenders with ease; but the Britons could not move the stones.
Merlin used what Geoffrey called "devices" to dismantle the stones,
which were then transported across the water and land to Salisbury to
honor the dead. (Ironically, Ambrosius
and Uther were both later buried inside the Ring.)
How did the stones get
there? Could a magician have brought them? Why not? Geoffrey
doesn't say Merlin used magic. Perhaps Merlin was wise in
the ways of transportation physics. The Matter of Britain is
filled with stranger possibilities.
|
|
Excavations and examinations of
Stonehenge have proven that the stones are older than Arthurian
times. However, some of the stones in the inner circle do seem to
have been brought from a long way off, most likely Wales. If they are
of Welsh origin, then they would have been transported on rafts up
the Bristol Channel to make land transport as minimal as possible.
Here again we see a legend tied to a fact.
Add a
place
|
Other relevant
links
|
Back to
Explorations in Arthurian History and
Legends
Main
Page
Other
Contact
author
© 2000 DW and DDTMedia
Productions, Ltd.