R

Ravens  'Bran'- 'raven' occurs frequently in Welsh poetry as an epithet for a warrior. In the 'Dream of Rhonabwy' from the Mabinogion Arthur, again associated with Cornwall, plays a board game against Owain ap Urien while his men fight Owain's ravens ......read more

Rebellion of the Silures against the Romans - In AD 47 trouble developed on the Roman frontier with the Silures in South Wales; and in response the Romans constructed a fortress beside the Severn, at Kingsholm, Gloucester; from where an invasion of the Silurian territory was launched in 50 AD. The Silurian armies were led by Caratacus (British - Caradoc), a Belgic prince, whose homeland lay to the east. Caratacus is believed to have led the British fleet against the Romans in the Channel..........Read More

Religious Similarity There had been a close relationship between the Hellenic world and the British Isles from early times. Around 30 AD Strabo recorded one of the stories of Artemidorus;- "There is an island near Britain where they offer sacrifices to Demeter and Kore, like those in Samothrace." (Strabo, Geography, Bk.IV, ch.4, sec. 6.) ......read more

Restitutus   In 314 A.D., eight years after being proclaimed Emperor by the Roman Legions in York, Constantine convened the Council of Arles. Three British bishops were among those who attended, as described in the following passage:- "Eborius Episcopus de Civitae Eboracensi Provincia Britannia, Restitutus Episcopus de Civitae Londineniensi Provincia Suprascripta...... read more

The Boudiccan Revolt against the Romans - In AD59-60 the Roman military governor of Britain, Suetonius Paulinus, led two legions across North Wales and massacred the druidic sanctuary on Anglesey. At around the same time the Romans decided to annex the kingdom of the Iceni on the death of it's ruler, Prasutagus. Brutality against his widow, queen Boudicca, incited the whole region to rise in revolt, soon to be joined by the neighbouring tribes, the Trinovantes and others. .......Read More

The Jewish Revolt against the Romans - " The Jewish revolt of 66 AD., which had its culmination four years later in the sacking of Jerusalem, the burning of its Temple, and the widespread extermination and humiliation of the Jewish people. As is historically well attested, in 70 AD. the Roman general Titus returned in triumph to Rome, parading through the streets such Jewish treasures as the 'menorah' (the huge seven-branched candelabrum of the Temple), and enacting tableaux demonstrating how he and his armies had overcome savage, ill-advised resistance from this renegade group of the Empire's subjects, many of whom he had to crucify wholesale...... Read More

Robert de Boron - Roman de l'Estoire du Graal    In the Prose Romances, the 'La Queste del Saint Graal' and the 'Estoire del Saint Graal' , written in the thirteenth century Joseph of Arimathea is presented as the ancestor of Lancelot and Galahad.  The Estoire adds to the story of Joseph, bringing him to Britain as an evangelist, and carries the history of the Grail and its successive keepers almost down to Arthur's time.....read more

Robert de Boron – ‘Joseph of Arimathea’    One of the earliest Grail Romances, the poem called ‘Joseph of Arimathea’, was composed by Robert de Boron  between 1180 and 1199. The village of Boron is beside MontbÚliard near the modern Franco -Swiss border. This may have been his property, his birthplace, both, or neither!... read more

Robert Graves  - The White Goddess    Robert Graves, the late British poet and novelist, was also known for his studies of the mythological and psychological sources of poetry. With The White Goddess: A Historical Grammar of Poetic Myth, Graves was able to combine many of his passions into one work. While the book is so poetically written that many of the passages amount to prose poems, it is also frequently plot driven enough to feel like a novel, and it is rich with scholarly insight into the deep wells of poetry.... read more

Knight Templar Rock  Knight Templar Rock is almost midway up the eastern side of Lundy, facing the rising Sun....read more

The Grail Legends  'The Principal Romances associated with the Holy Grail fall into two classes; [1] Those which relate the adventures of knights of King Arthur's time who visit by chance or design the castle in Britain where the vessel is kept. [2] Those which relate the history of the vessel from the time of Christ to the time of Merlin and which account for its removal from the Holy Land to Britain....read more

The Romans - In 43 AD the Emperor Claudius despatched Aulus Plautius with four legions, the IInd Augusta, the XIVth Gemina, the XXth Valeria and the IXth Hispana, and an equal number of auxiliaries to invade and conquer Britain.  Little realising that on this island Roman traditions and values would be preserved long after the rest of the empire, indeed even the eternal city, Rome, had succumbed to the barbarians...... Read More

The Roman Conquest of Britain - In 43 AD the Emperor Claudius despatched Aulus Plautius with four legions, the IInd Augusta, the XIVth Gemina, the XXth Valeria and the IXth Hispana, and an equal number of auxiliaries to invade and conquer Britain.  Little realising that on this island Roman traditions and values would be preserved long after the rest of the empire, indeed even the eternal city, Rome, had succumbed to the barbarians...... Read More

The Roman Fleet - Roman fleets operated under the control of the army. The principle role of the fleet was transport of men and supplies in support of the army. Roman fleets comprised both oared galley warships and sail powered merchantmen....... Read More

Irish Round Towers   As their name suggests most examples of Irish Round Towers are to be found in Ireland; where the remains of nearly seventy are known. However they are found elsewhere.  There are examples on the Isle of Man and in Scotland. The notable monastery of St. Gall in Switzerland had two such towers according to an early 9th century plan. The earliest example of a surviving Round Tower in Ireland is thought to date from 940 AD.....read more

Trade Routes  In ancient, and not so ancient, times the mines of south-western Britain were the source of the world's supply of tin and the coming of the Phoenicians to Cornwall to trade for tin is well attested to.  Most historians, Sir John Evans and Lord Avebury among them, believe that the trade existed as early as 1500 BC.  With trade also go ideas, colonists, travellers, refugees....... read more

Vespasian - The future Roman Emperor Titus Flavius Sabinus Vespasianus was born near Rome in 9 AD. He was the commander of the Second Augusta Legion during their victorious advance across Southern Britain from Kent to Exeter. After leading the Second Augusta Legion during the conquest of Britain he was made consul in 51 AD.......Read More