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Avalon, ”the Land of Apples”, rendered as Avallach in Welsh; the mythical western Isle of the Blessed in Celtic, and especially Arthurian, legend. Apples symbolize the eternal youth granted to conquering heroes; these include the mortally wounded King Arthur, ferried away by weeping, blackhooded ladies, notably Morgan le Fay and Nimue. Avalon has a feminine aspect which connects Morgan's courtly feminine ideal to the older Celtic “Land of Women” myth. Arthur was said to have been “healed” on Avalon and many followers prophesied his return. His last act was to persuade Bedivere to discard the sword Excalibur, itself forged on Avalon.
The first literary account of this occurs in the Life of Merlin, written by Geoffrey of Monmouth in the 12th century. Avalon here shows the influences of Elysium, the Classical “Fortunate Isle”, and the Erin Celts' “Otherworld”. The Avalon myth belongs to a literary tradition of immran, journeys to islands, including The Voyage of Bran (c. 700) and the Navigatio Sancti Brendani (c. 900-920), which mix geography and mythology.
Possibly in the late 12th century, and certainly by the time Sir Thomas Malory wrote Le Morte d'Arthur (c. 1470), the “vale” of Avalon became associated with Glastonbury—where Joseph of Arimathea is said to have wandered with the Holy Grail—much to the prosperity of Glastonbury Abbey.
Avalon, ”the Land of Apples”, rendered as Avallach in Welsh; the mythical western Isle of the Blessed in Celtic, and especially Arthurian, legend. Apples symbolize the eternal youth granted to conquering heroes; these include the mortally wounded King Arthur, ferried away by weeping, blackhooded ladies, notably Morgan le Fay and Nimue. Avalon has a feminine aspect which connects Morgan's courtly feminine ideal to the older Celtic “Land of Women” myth. Arthur was said to have been “healed” on Avalon and many followers prophesied his return. His last act was to persuade Bedivere to discard the sword Excalibur, itself forged on Avalon.
The first literary account of this occurs in the Life of Merlin, written by Geoffrey of Monmouth in the 12th century. Avalon here shows the influences of Elysium, the Classical “Fortunate Isle”, and the Erin Celts' “Otherworld”. The Avalon myth belongs to a literary tradition of immran, journeys to islands, including The Voyage of Bran (c. 700) and the Navigatio Sancti Brendani (c. 900-920), which mix geography and mythology.
Possibly in the late 12th century, and certainly by the time Sir Thomas Malory wrote Le Morte d'Arthur (c. 1470), the “vale” of Avalon became associated with Glastonbury—where Joseph of Arimathea is said to have wandered with the Holy Grail—much to the prosperity of Glastonbury Abbey.
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