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Sacred Sites  'For a culture to whom the timing of seasonal events was particularly important, the culture which produced Stonehenge, for example, the observation of heavenly bodies was a central part of their religious ceremonies. Any place which possessed such alignments was holy. The movements of heavenly bodies is regular and can be calculated and thus predicted. Throughout time the coincidence of a sunrise or sunset with a natural feature such as a mountain or an island has always been, and indeed still is, awe inspiring. Any site which possessed such an alignment was a natural indicator of a heavenly event and thus sacred'. ....read more

Celtic sacred isles 'Many of the islands off the west coast of Britain, including Lundy, were known to the Celts as 'Isles of the Dead'. They were regarded as holy islands which formed gateways to the otherworld and to which the illustrious dead were ferried, there to be buried with solemn rite amid the spirits of their forefathers' ......read more

Gods, Saints and Heroes   In Greek mythology Apollo was the son of the god Zeus and  Leto, both children of Titans. Apollo was not a native Greek god. His cult and that of his twin sister Artemis were imported from the north. His name Apollo (Apple -Man) is understood to be derived from the Celtic word 'Abal' - apple ( as is Avalon). Apollo was a gifted musician, who delighted the gods with his performance on the lyre......read more

St. Ann  The cult of St. Anne is thought to have begun in Devon in the 14th century. She was the mother of the Virgin Mary and the patron saint of mariners. St. Anne is often depicted carrying a ship in her arms.....read more

St Bernard of Clairvaux   In 1128, Bernard of Clairvaux "was just twenty-eight years old when the Council of Troyes asked him to help create a Rule for the Templars. He did more than that. He became their most vocal champion, urging that they be supported with gifts of land and money and exhorting men of good family to cast off their sinful lives and take up the sword and the cross as Templar Knights." ....read more

St Brendan   A historical early Irish Christian, St. Brendan, was born in Tralee c. 484 or 486 AD. He had a reputation as a traveller or wanderer and he is reputed to have visited St. Columba at Hinda (Argyle) on which visit he may have founded a Scottish monastery. ....read more

St. Brychan   St. Brychan, or Brychain, was a legendary welsh king. Brychan was the ancestor of a proliferate saintly family. He is said to have fathered between twelve and sixty -three children, most of whom are linked to churches / chapels / wells in North Devon. ......read more

St. Elen   St Helen   St. Helena, the mother of Constantine the Great and traditionally the discoverer of the True Cross while on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem. There is no direct evidence to indicate a connection between St. Helena and Britain, yet the tradition is well established not only in early welsh writings but in early English sources as well.....read more

St Helen Triangle    "There are only three known dedications to St. Helen in Devon, all in North Devon, all close to the sea, and all within sight of each other: the chapel on Lundy, the parish church of Abbotsham, and the ancient chapel (now ruined) on the high ground just W. of Croyde village.......read more

St. Margaret  Saint Margaret, also known as Margaret of Antioch (in Pisidia), virgin and martyr, is celebrated by the Roman Catholic and Anglican Churches on July 20. Her historical existence is dubious; she was declared apocryphal by Pope Gelasius in 494, but devotion to her revived in the West with the Crusades. ....read more

St. Michael    Michael is one of the seven archangels in Judaism, Islam and Christianity (to Christians he is St. Michael). Although St. Michael ranks sixth in popularity as a patron saint, he only appears in the Bible once - Revelations 12; 7- 9.  In the Book of Enoch (part of the Apocrypha) Michael leads the defeat of the rebellious archangel, Lucifer, and casts him down. In art St. Michael often appears flourishing a sword against a dragon. .....read more

St. Nectan    St. Nectan is said to have settled in a forest near Hartland in the 6th century. The respected Devon historian R. Pearse Chope writing in 'The Story of Hartland' (1908) details the tradition that St. Nectan was beheaded by Arthur, the leader of the Britons at the nearby hill fort of Clovelly Dykes. ....read more

St. Patrick   'About 389 a son was born to Concessa, wife of a Romano-British deacon called Calpurnius. Calpurnius was a decurion,a Roman citizen of some standing. His father Potitus had been a Christian priest. The family lived at Banna Venta Bernia. The son had two names; Magonus and Patrick'. ......read more

St. Michael Lines 'A High rocky place on the top whereof stands a church, full bleak and weather beaten, all alone, as it were forgotten.'  ...read more

The Quest for the Sangreal - La Queste del Saint Graal   ‘La Queste del Saint Graal’ is part of the group of tales called the Vulgate Cycle of which ‘L’Estoire del Saint Graal’ is the first. La Queste is generally believed to have been compiled by Cistercian monks in the first quarter of the thirteenth century.... read more

Phoenicia / Sarras When Phoenicia came under the protection of Rome in 65 BC there seems to have been a resurgence of trading activity. as the ships of Phoenicia traded from port to port all over the known world with less danger than at any other time......read more

Sea Levels In "The Age of Arthur," John Morris notes, "There is ample evidence for a drastic change in the sea level of Europe and the Mediterranean towards the end of the Roman Empire; its severity affected the coast and rivers of southern and eastern Britain."  "When the Britons wrote their plea to Aetius, they said: "The barbarians push us back to the sea; the sea throws us back to the barbarians; thus two modes of death await us, we are either slain or drowned." .....read more

Dragons & Serpents 'A dragon is a legendary creature, typically depicted as a large and powerful serpent or other reptile, with magical or spiritual qualities. Western representations typically have wings, whereas Eastern ones typically do not..... read more

But Lancelot mused a little space; He said, 'She has a lovely face;

God in his mercy lend her grace,

The Lady of Shalott.'

......read the full poem here

Caer Sidi In his authoritative study 'Celtic Folklore' Professor Rhys writes that in Scotland and in Ireland the words 'sid' or 'sith' refer to faery folk. He considers that these words share a common origin in the Latin word 'sedes' meaning 'a seat' or 'settlement,' but that it came to signify an abode of the faery folk. 'Caer Sidi' means  'the Fortress of the Faery folk.'  ....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

Sirius ( from the Greek - scorching), the brightest star in the night sky, also known as the Dog star is situated in the constellation of Canis Major. Sirius was venerated by the ancient Egyptians. The heliacal rising of Sirius coincided with the start of the annual Nile floods.....read more

Sone du Nansai    The 'Sone de Nansai' tells of the adventures that befall the hero, Sone, after he enters the service of Alain, king of Norway. Alain is a manifestation of Arawn lord or head of Annwn and Norway is a confusion of Llychlynn which first meant ' the fabulous land beneath the lakes or waves of the sea' (Rhys) (Arthurian Legend,II). but when the Norse sea raiders began to ravage the coasts it became the name for the land of fiords or Norway.....read more

'Preiddeu Annwfn' - 'The Spoils of Annwyn'  The Book of Taliesin is a collection of prophetic, religious and historical poems ostensibly written by the sixth century Welsh bard Taliesin. The earliest surviving copy has been dated to 1275. Experts agree that some, but not all, of the material included in the book of Taliesin originated in the sixth century. The poems include 'Preiddeu Annwfn' - 'The Spoils of Annwyn'

Spread of Christianity into early Britain 'The next noticeable point is that while the lives of the Celtic saints and the Celtic records contain many allusions to saints and missions associated with Damnonia, they are entirely silent about the saints and bishops who are associated with Exeter and the district east of it, and, on the other hand, the traditions and legends associated with Exeter and Glastonbury show no knowledge of such people as St. Petrock, St. Brannock, St. Nectan and other famous Devonshire missionaries who came from South Wales.' ....read more

Stonehenge Around 2000 BC, when the priests in Babylon were conducting, and recording, their observations of the celestial bodies, the building of the first phase of Stonehenge was begun.  Over the next six hundred years a series of successive structures were erected and Stonehenge as we know it finally arose around 1400 BC. ...read more

Stonehenge History   Around 2000 BC, when the priests in Babylon were conducting, and recording, their observations of the celestial bodies, the building of the first phase of Stonehenge was begun. Over the next six hundred years a series of successive structures were erected and Stonehenge as we know it finally arose around 1400 BC.....read more

The Bluestones, Stonehenge   The  'bluestones' consist of over 80 stones weighing up to five tons each and form part of Stonehenge.  The much maligned early historian Geoffrey of Monmouth, in his  'History of the kings of Britain', recounts how, at the request of Ambrosius Aurelanius, Merlin used his magic arts to transport enormous stones, the 'Choir of the Giants', from Ireland to form Stonehenge on Salisbury Plain. ...read more

The Hele Stone, Stonehenge   Unlike earlier stone circles oriented on natural features like prominent hills, Stonehenge aligns with no natural features all the alignments being man-made. The builders had to provide an outlier to mark the rising of the sun at midsummer as seen from the centre of the circle. The Hele stone....read more

Stonehenge and Other British Stone Monuments Astronomically Considered by Norman Lockyer The scientific study of the orientation of the remains of temples and other sites in the Middle East and Europe, including the pyramids of Egypt, began early last century. With his pioneering work on Stonehenge in the late 19th century Sir Norman Lockyer brought this and other megalithic monuments under scrutiny.  read the full text here

Celestial Stuff  The scientific study of the orientation of the remains of temples and other sites in the Middle East and Europe, including the pyramids of Egypt, began early last century. With his pioneering work on Stonehenge in the late 19th century Sir Norman Lockyer brought this and other megalithic monuments under scrutiny. .... read more

......read Stonehenge and Other British Stone Monuments Astronomically Considered by Norman Lockyer

Historical Stuff  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, refugee ......read more

Mythological Stuff  'For a culture to whom the timing of seasonal events was particularly important, the culture which produced Stonehenge, for example, the observation of heavenly bodies was a central part of their religious ceremonies. Any place which possessed such alignments was holy. The movements of heavenly bodies is regular and can be calculated and thus predicted. Throughout time the coincidence of a sunrise or sunset with a natural feature such as a mountain or an island has always been, and indeed still is, awe inspiring. Any site which possessed such an alignment was a natural indicator of a heavenly event and thus sacred'.......read more

Sun Gods The noted authority R.S.Loomis stated that in his view a study of Classical mythology demonstrated a "A powerful belief that the islands not far from the British coast were regarded as the homes of the various gods of the sun." ...read more

The Sword in the Stone  The Sword in the Stone is not eXcalibur.  Arthur was twice gifted magical swords, first the sword in the stone from Merlin, then eXcalibur from the Lady of the Lake. Arthur received eXcalibur from the Lady of the Lake   after the sword from the stone, Merlin's gift, broke in battle......read more