Glastonbury Abbey

by Taylor Varn

Glastonbury Abbey

The town of Glastonbury has always been a mysterious town full of legend, it has always been identified with the mysterious isle of Avalon since the 12th century. The Glastonbury Church was said to be founded by Joseph pf Armathea. Legend says Joseph was also the keeper of the holy grail, the Holy Grail was the dish, plate, cup or vessel that caught Jesus’ blood during his crucifixion. The church was the first christain church of Britain after the death of Christ. The church was destroyed in a fire on 1184. A few years later in 1190 monks of Glastonbury Abbey claimed they had found the grave of Arthur and Guinevere in ruins of the church. Arthur was the guardian of Glastonbury, everyone looked up to him as if he was a hero. They apparently found a stone in the ruins that said, “here lies Arthur, king”, under the stone they found large bones which was claimed to be his Queens. Pilgrims and Historians were drawn to this site. It is a huge attraction from medieval theme right up to this day.
Arthur has always been a big deal associated with Glastonbury for 800 years, though today there are no physical remains of him or his queen in the tomb. The Lady Chapel was built over the remains of first church after it burnt down, though the walls of the old church still remain standing. They reconstructed the tomb so people that visited would understand how the tomb look as it was discovered. Finding this tomb was apparently the first evidence that Glastonbury was the isle of Avalon. The bone where then moved to the south isle of the church, and later moved to the black marble mausoleum in front the high alter.
In this article it details the abbey a lot. It reflects on the history of Joseph and King Arthur and how they built the Abbey. It also tells a lot of information on jesus and how the church burnt down. Not only does it tell that, it also tells what you can see today if you go visit the new church that is built over the old Glastonbury Abbey.

Works Cited 

Hampson, Louise. “The Lady Chapel and Crypt Chapel of Joseph of Arimarthea.” Glastonbury Abbey, Archaeology, 26 Feb. 2018.

Urbanus, Jason. “Legends of Glastonbury Abbey.” Archaeology Magazine, 2016.

Sampson , Jerry. “The Lady Chapel and Crypt Chapel of Joseph of Arimathea.” Glastonbury Abbey Archaeology, 26 Feb. 2018.

Other Leads on topic:

http://www.britannia.com/history/arthur/abbey.html This web article gives you more information on the early Britain and the effects the Glastonbury had on Britain in the medieval time, it also gives more information on the myths of the town and the people to relate with it.

https://www.glastonburyabbey.com/lady-chapel.php This article tells about the Lady Chapel, this was the church they built over the remains of the previous Glastonbury church after it was burnt down years ago. It also tells how they built this chapel to what is today. It also describes the sculptures and monuments that are in the chapel, and how they relate back to the first chapel and the history.