DOES ARTHURIAN LEGEND LIVE ON IW?

Friday, May 16, 2008

There is still much to be learned about the history of Brading Roman Villa. Picture by ROBIN CROSSLEY.

LETTERS
From Dr Gordon Brooks, 27 Monckton Road, Gosport, Hampshire:
I AM researching a mystery of the IW that has its roots in the Dark Ages and would love to hear from any readers who know local legends involving ancient magic or pagan cults.
As a hobby, I enjoy using my skills as a research scientist to investigate the truth behind folk stories.
For example, the legend of King Arthur, role model for many monarchs of the middle ages, was probably based on the life of a real visionary warrior king of the Dark Ages, who briefly restored peace and order between pagans, Christ-ians, native British and immigrant English, before being betrayed and mortally wounded near Port-chester at the turn of the 6th century.
By Norman times, Breton bards (descendants of the ousted Celtic British nobility) had spread tales round the courts of Europe, claiming Arthur had not died but had been taken by Merlin to an island off the south coast of England called the Fortunate Isle for healing.
Geoffrey of Monmouth included this story in his post-conquest revision of British history, describing the island as having fertile soils and a special climate that allowed wheat, apples and grapes to be grown easily.
He said the island had been ruled by British Celts and had supported a pagan cult led by a high-priestess called Morganna. The priestesses of the cult were seers who had special powers, including shape-changing into animals, control of the weather and an ability to heal wounds, such as Arthur’s, that were beyond normal medical care.
On the surface, this all appears to be pure myth until you discover that Classical explorers had long reported the existence of such a Celtic cult on an island off Britain.
And the IW, our fertile Garden Isle, is the only one with a history of wine production stretching back to Roman times. It is also an easy sail from Portchester, where the real Arthur may have fought his last battle.
Then there is the mysterious local navigator, who was celebrated in Rome (296AD) for having guided imperial troopships along The Solent past an enemy fleet in thick fog, demonstrating his control over the weather.
He may well have been the magician who was given the villa at Brading as a reward, where you’ll see mosaics of a magician, priestesses, the All-Seeing Eye (which happens to be the same shape as the IW) and a shape-changing animal God standing in front of a hill with a temple (or mausoleum) on top, guarded by speared griffins (griffins are guardians of treasure — in this case, probably supposed knowledge of the secret of resurrection).
If you stand at the original entrance to Brading villa at dawn, you’ll see the sun rise over the prominent Bembridge Down. Between this and the villa is a smaller hill, upon which once stood the fort (there’s archaeological evidence) most probably used by the British king of the island and which controlled access to the, now drained, ancient port of Brading.
The magician’s villa site was ceremoniously closed by insertion of ritual Celtic burials at least 30 years before Arthur lived.
But, could the cult itself have survived to produce Morganna? In Arthur’s time, Cerdic, a British-named king (founder of Wessex), possibly involved in reprisals after the coup that deposed Arthur, is recorded as having arrived at Wihtgarabyrg, which quite literally means ‘the seer’s hill (or town)’, on the IW, and having given the island to Wihtgar (the seer).
To the left of Brading Down (from the villa), is another low hill, known locally as the king’s hill, associated with a vanished chapel to the Celtic saint, Urian. Now, here comes the interesting part.
In Arthurian legend, King Urian was a contemporary of Arthur and the estranged husband of the enchantress Morganna. Could it be the real Arthur was ferried to Brading for cure by Morganna, a member of this mystery cult? If so, I haven’t as yet found any memory embedded in local folk stories.
But, there may be a good reason for this. 150 years after Arthur’s disappearance on the Fortunate Isle, Cadwalla, another king with a British name (Geoffrey of Monmouth’s final British king), arrived at Brading harbour with St Wilfred in order to exterminate followers of the last pagan cult in England. There must have been fierce resistance, for Cadwalla was wounded and soon headed for Rome, where he is recorded as having delivered mystical gifts to Pope Sergius before dying in his baptismal robes on Easter day (689 AD).
He was buried in St Peter’s Church under a stone inscribed by the Bishop of Milan (since lost, but wording copied by Bede). Accor-ding to Geoffrey, Pope Sergius was so impressed with Cadwalla, he named him the missing 12th disciple and the voice of an angel decreed Britons would not get their country back until his relics had been retrieved from Rome.
One can only guess at the mysterious gifts (or relics) Cadwalla delivered to the Pope. Perhaps it was something he found, or dug up, at Brading? And there’s a final twist, a legend that has survived, of a seer who lived inside Culver Down itself (via the Hermit’s Hole) and tried to warn locals against Christians praying at Urian’s sacred well (in Centurian’s copse).
So, perhaps the cult survived obliteration after all and there are yet folk stories to be found. After all, pagan rituals, such as bull baiting, continued at Brading into modern times.
If this tale sparks any memory of ancient sorcery or magic, however bizarre, such as the ghostly black knight of a nearby village who was condemned to ride the narrow lanes forever by a wizard, then I’d love to hear about it in case it can shed any light on this Dark Age Arthurian mystery.

DOES ARTHURIAN LEGEND LIVE ON IW?

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