Chapter 12: Myths and Legends

Merlin

Merlin is the greatest mage in the history of the tribunal, but a shadowy figure nevertheless. He was closely connected with Arthur's rise to power, but had little to do with Arthur's reign. His ultimate fate is shrouded in mystery, as is his birth. There are many legends about him: he raised Stonehenge (see page 153), created the Wizard's Well (see page150), prophesied before Vortigern (see page 10), and enabled the conception of Arthur (see page 11).

Merlin's mother claimed that his father was a spirit, rather than a human being, and the Church interpreted this as a demon. Hermetic opinion tends to the belief that he was half fay, and some tales connect him to Quendalon and the change of House Merinita. It is notable that, so far as can now be told, House Díedne never tried to claim him, nor would his support of a Christian monarch fit well with association with the druids. Legends of his end mostly have him trapped, sometimes by his apprentice, other times by the fay; no one records his death.

Tales

Saint Oswald, King of the Northumbrians

Oswald was king of the Northumbrians from 633 to 642, and, unlike his predecessor, was a most Christian king. Near the beginning of his reign he fought against the pagans at a place north of Hadrian's Wall. Before the battle, he caused a wooden cross to be set up, supporting it with his own hands while his soldiers filled in the hole at its base with earth. Then he summoned his army, crying,

"Let us all kneel together, and pray that God will protect us from the arrogant savagery of our enemies, for he knows that we fight in a just cause." The whole army prayed with him, and when they advanced at dawn, they won the victory that their faith deserved. Many miracles have taken place at the spot where the king prayed, and splinters from the cross have healing powers themselves.

One monk of Hexham, named Bothelm, slipped while walking on ice and badly fractured his arm. He suffered such pain that he could not even raise his hand, and he asked one of his brothers, who was going on a pilgrimage to the cross, to bring back a piece of the wood, so that he could ask God for healing. The monk fulfilled the request, bringing back a piece of the moss that grew on the side of the cross. Bothelm placed it against his arm, and was healed that very night.

Oswald died in battle in 642, and such was the holiness of his life that the place where he died became a site of miracles. Shortly after his death, a man was riding his horse near the place when it fell ill, rolling about in agony on the ground. When it rolled onto that spot, however, it immediately became well again. The man rode on to an inn, where he found the niece of the innkeeper suffering from paralysis. He told them of the miraculous spot, and they carried the girl there in a cart, laying her on the holy ground. She fell asleep for a while, and when she awoke she was fully restored to health, and walked back to the inn. People came to the place and took dirt away, for the earth from that spot could also heal the sick, so that now there is a pit that a man can stand in.

Oswald's bones were transferred to Bardney Abbey, and at first the monks were reluctant to let them in, for Oswald had been a foreign king. However, as they waited in a cart outside the gates, a light shone down on them from heaven, illuminating them throughout the night, and showing that they should be welcomed with reverence. Accordingly, they were taken in the next day and washed before being placed in a fine tomb. The water with which they had been washed was poured away in a corner of the cemetery, and that dust gained the power to deliver those possessed by evil spirits.

Some time later there was a small boy who had a serious fever, and was anxiously awaiting the next attack. One of the monks told him to go to Oswald's tomb and wait there until the fever left. He did as he was told, and while he waited by the tomb the fever did not dare to touch him. Indeed, it was so scared that it never returned to him, and he was completely healed.

— From Bede's History of the English Church and People

The Conception of Arthur

King Uther Pendragon had gone to war with Duke Gorlois of Cornwall, seeking to take Ygerna for his own. But Gorlois had shut his wife up in the castle of Tintagel, and Uther could not take the castle by force. So the king took counsel with his thanes, and they advised him to seek the aid of Merlin. Uther agreed, and had the magician brought into his presence.
Merlin came before the king and spoke to him, saying, "Give me no land, nor silver nor gold, for I am the wisest of men, and if I desired possessions my skill would become less. But all that you desire will surely happen, for I know magic such that all your appearance shall be as the duke's: your speech, your actions, your clothes, and your face. Thus you will come to Ygerna, and lie with her. I will go with you, and be as Britael, the duke's steward, and Ulfin your knight shall come with us, and be as Jurdan, Gorlois's chamber knight. We shall travel there this very night."
And so it happened. The king, Ulfin, and Merlin left the army in the dark of the night, so that no one knew that they had gone, and by Merlin's magic they were disguised, so that the duke's men let them into the castle, and Ygerna received Uther into her bed, thinking that he was her lord. And on that night Arthur was conceived, who would shine so brightly in the land.
— Adapted from Layamon's Brut

A Vision of the Afterlife

A handsome man in a shining robe was my guide, and we walked in silence towards the northeast, until we reached a deep and broad valley of infinite length. To our left it was filled with raging flames, and to our right with hail and snow, blown about by an unceasing wind. Both sides were filled with the souls of men, which seemed to be tossed from one side to another by the storms. For when they could no longer withstand the heat, they leapt to the cold but, unable to bear that either, they leapt back to the flames, and so on without respite. I could see a countless host of deformed spirits, and their unceasing torment led me to think that this might be Hell, of which I had heard so much. But, as if answering my thoughts, my guide said, "Do not think that, for this is not Hell."

As we proceeded, we reached the end of the valley and it began to grow darker. The darkness thickened until I could see nothing but the outline of my guide. Frequent masses of dusky flame rose on either side of me, and then fell, as if they were coming from a great pit and returning to it. When he had brought me here, my guide suddenly vanished, leaving me in the terrible place. I could now see that the masses of flame contained the souls of men, and a foul stench rose from the pit to fill the air.

As I waited, I heard a terrible noise, and turned to see evil spirits laughing as they drove forward a small group of lamenting souls. These souls included a cleric, a layman, and a woman. They dragged these souls down with them into the darkness, and soon I could not distinguish the laughter of the demons from the laments of the damned. Then some dark spirits rose from the pit and surrounded me, threatening me with the flames that darted from their mouths, and making to seize me with glowing tongs. But, while they threatened, they did not touch me. As I looked around for salvation, I saw a light coming from the distance, which broke among the spirits and scattered them: it was my guide, returned to me.

He led me along a road to the right, taking us southeast, and we soon came into an atmosphere of clear light. In front of us was a great wall, of infinite length and height, and as I could see no door I wondered why we were approaching it. But as soon as we reached the base, we were somehow on the top. Within the wall was a pleasant meadow, from which rose a wonderful scent of flowers. Scattered around were innumerable companies of white-robed figures, sitting together in happy groups. As my guide led me through, I wondered whether this was the kingdom of heaven, but he answered my thoughts once again. "No, this is not the kingdom of heaven."

As we went forward, I heard the most beautiful singing, smelled a fragrance more wonderful than can be described, and saw a light so bright and beautiful that I longed to enter it. But my guide turned and, without pausing, led me back the way we had come. As we passed through the meadow, he explained what I had seen.

"Those souls in the valley are those who repented only at the moment of death. As they did die in penitence, they will enter the kingdom of heaven on Judgment Day, but first they must suffer to purge their sins. The foul pit is the entrance to hell, and those souls who fall into it will never leave, not in all eternity. This pleasant place is the abode of those souls who, while virtuous, were not good enough to enter heaven immediately. They will enter there on Judgment Day. The bright place we did not enter was the kingdom of heaven, and there dwell the souls of the saints. You must now return to the body, but if you weigh your actions carefully, you will join these happy souls when you die."

— From Bede's History of the English Church and People

Yonec

There was a lord of Caerwent, in Britain, who was old but had no heirs. Seeking to continue his line, he spoke to the parents of a noble maiden, who was beautiful and courteous in all things. They consented to the marriage, and the old lord took his young bride back to his castle. Now, he loved her deeply for her beauty, but for the same reason he was very jealous, and refused to let her see anyone else. Instead, he kept her locked within a chamber in his tower, guarded by his old sister.

For seven years the lady endured such isolation, losing her looks as she pined for freedom, for just the chance to talk to someone other than her husband. In all this time, there was no child, and the lady gained no love for her lord. One day, when the lord had left and the old woman was out of the room, she threw herself on the bed to grieve.

"Alas that I was ever born! I would rather be dead than in this imprisonment. Why did my parents marry me to that man? When he should have been baptized, he was dipped in the river of hell, for there is no compassion in his body. I pull against a strong rope, but I can never be free — he will never die! Once, in this country, those in sorrow were relieved. Noble ladies found lovers to their liking, and no one but them ever knew of their pleasure. Oh, I wish that such things still happened!"

As she finished speaking a large hawk flew in through the window, and landed on the floor of the chamber. As she watched it, it vanished, and in its place stood a handsome knight. The lady backed away in fear, but he reached out to reassure her.

"Do not be afraid," he said. "I have loved you for a long time, but I could not come to you until you called for me. Now, I wish to be your lover." The lady was delighted, and they passed the day in pleasure. When it came time for the knight to leave, he told the lady that he would return at her will, but warned her not to call him too often, for they would be discovered.

The lady called her lover every time her husband was absent, and began to take care of her appearance again, so that she was soon more beautiful than she had ever been. Soon, the husband became suspicious, and asked his sister what was going on. She admitted that she was puzzled, so he set her to spy on his wife. The next day, he pretended to leave, while his sister hid behind a curtain. His wife called for her lover, and the old woman saw his arrival, and saw him lie with the lord's wife. His transformations terrified her, and she was barely able to sneak from the chamber to tell the lord what had happened.

When he found out, he was furious, and plotted revenge. He had spikes of iron sharpened more keenly than a razor, and set them about the window through which the hawk would have to pass. Then he pretended to leave, early in the morning before it was light. In the darkness, the lady called her lover, and in the darkness he impaled himself on one of the spikes. When he saw that he was wounded, he went into the room to take leave of his lady. She almost fainted when she saw the blood, but he comforted her, telling her that she was carrying his son, before he changed back to a hawk and flew from the window.

The grieving lady determined to follow him, and jumped from the window, naked apart from her shift, barely surviving the fall. She followed the trail of blood over the fields, and to an opening in a hill. It went inside, so she followed it, and after a while the tunnel opened out into a bright field. There was no one about, but in front of her she could see a walled city, in which all the houses seemed to be made of silver, and through which flowed a shining river bearing three hundred ships.

Next to the city was a castle, and the blood led in through an open gate. Following the trail she passed through two fine bedchambers where knights were sleeping, before coming into the presence of her lover. The four posts of his bed were gold, and it was set about with candles which filled the room with light. When he saw her, he struggled to sit up.

"My love, you must leave, for soon the people will wake, and realize that I have died for your love. Take this tunic, to cover yourself, and this ring. The ring will ensure that your husband will remember none of this, and will not criticize you. Take also my sword, for when our son is grown he will come to my tomb. Then you must tell him the truth about his father, and he will avenge me. You must call him Yonec. Now go."

Weeping, the lady left the city, and before she had gone half a mile she heard the bells ringing, and the voices of the people rising in lamentation. She almost fainted four times from grief, but returned to her husband's castle.

It happened as the knight predicted: her husband remembered nothing, and treated her well. Her son was born and named Yonec, and grew up to be the most handsome and skilled knight in the country, praised by all. Soon after he was knighted, the family was visiting an abbey, and the abbot showed them a tomb covered in a fine cloth, and flanked by twenty candles.

"Here lies our king, who was killed at Caerwent for love of a lady. We have never had a lord since, and seek for his son." When she heard this, the lady took out the sword, and gave it to her son.

"Here lies your true father, betrayed and killed by this old man! Now I give you his sword: I have held it long enough." Then she told them how the king had come to her, and as she finished her tale she fell into a swoon on his tomb, and died. Yonec took up the sword and killed the old man, and then took his father's place as king of that country. As for the lady, she was laid in the tomb beside her lover.

— From the Lais of Marie de France

The Dragon and the Bear

And Arthur the king told his dream to the knights gathered there.

"While I slept, I saw a marvelous beast coming across the sky from the west, loathsome to the sight, wrapped about with storms and lightning. It was a bear so ugly as is seen in no land. Then I saw, from the east, wound about with clouds, a great burning dragon, who swallowed entire cities and lit the whole land with his fire. Indeed, the very sea seemed to burn with the fire that he carried.

"And the dragon and the bear saw one another, and rushed on one another with furious assaults, as flames like firebrands flew from their eyes! The dragon was now above, now below, but at the end he began to rise, then stooped in a fierce assault, driving the bear down to the ground. Then he dived down and slew the bear, tearing him limb from limb. When the bear lay dead and scattered, the dragon rose back into the air, screaming his triumph, and returned to the east."

— From Layamon's Brut

Peredur and the Black Serpent

One day, Peredur was out hunting. He unleashed his hounds on a stag, and they pursued it far from the cities before bringing it to bay. When he had killed the stag, Peredur saw a hall, outside which sat three ugly youths and three beautiful maidens dressed in gold. He went to the hall and sat on the couch next to the maidens, and one of them turned to peer closely at him. As she looked, she burst into tears.

"Why are you crying?" Peredur asked.

"I am crying because such a handsome young man is going to die. My father kills all people who come here without his invitation."

"Then your father is a tyrant, and I will overthrow him." As he said that, there was a great noise, and a tall, black, one-eyed man burst into the hall. The maidens took his armor from him, and he turned to look at Peredur.

"Who is this knight?"

"The noblest and most handsome knight in the world," replied one of the maidens. "Be reasonable with him."

"For your sake, I will spare his life tonight." They ate and drank, and then retired to sleep. In the morning the one-eyed man shook Peredur awake, crying that his time had come to die. Peredur seized his weapons and fought with the tyrant until he was lying on the ground, begging for mercy.

"I will grant you mercy if you tell me how you lost your eye."

"I lost it fighting the Black Serpent of the Barrow. There is a hill called the Mournful Mound, and within that hill a barrow, and within the barrow lives the Black Serpent. In the tail of the serpent is a stone with the power that anyone who holds it in one hand will have as much gold as he wishes in the other."

"How far is the Mournful Mound?"

"The day you leave here you come to the court of the sons of the King of Suffering, who are so called because the Black Serpent kills them every day. Beyond their court, you will come to the Mournful Mound."

Then Peredur struck off the tyrant's head, so that he could not practice his evil any more. The maiden who had spoken to him came up to him again and said,

"If you were poor when you arrived, you are rich now, with the treasure of the Black Oppressor. Further, there are many fair maidens in the court, and you might marry any one you liked." But Peredur refused both treasure and wife, and left the court.

That evening he arrived at the court of the sons of the King of Suffering, but he saw only women. They made him welcome nevertheless, and as they began to talk he saw a horse approaching with a body laid across its saddle. One of the women went to the horse and took the body, and bathed it in a tub of warm water. Then she rubbed the body with precious ointment, and he rose alive and went to Peredur, making him welcome. Two more bodies came in on their horses, and the lady revived them as she had done the first. Peredur asked why this was, and they told him that the Black Serpent of the Barrow killed them every day.

The three lads set out the next morning, and Peredur wanted to go with them, but they refused, saying that if he was killed, he would have no one to revive him. Peredur tried to follow them, but they slipped away from him. As soon as he realized that he had lost them, he saw the most beautiful woman he had ever seen, seated on top of a mound. She spoke to him, saying,

"I know where you are going. You want to fight the Black Serpent. If you go as you are, it will kill you, not by bravery, but by cunning. A stone pillar stands by the door to its cave, and by its magic it sees everyone who approaches, although no one sees it, and from this safety it kills them with poisoned stone spears. But if you will promise to love me better than any other woman, I will give you a stone so that it will not see you, but you will see it."

"I swear that I loved you when I first saw you, and will never love another woman better. Where will I find you?"

"When you seek me, look towards India." She placed the stone in his hand, and vanished.

Peredur rode on towards a river, its banks lined with trees and meadows. On one side was a flock of white sheep, on the other a flock of black. When a white sheep bleated a black sheep would cross the river and turn white, and when a black sheep bleated a white sheep would cross and turn black. On the bank of the river stood a tall tree, and from crown to roots one half of it was wreathed in bright flames, while the other half was in full green leaf. Beside the tree was a bridge, and Peredur crossed the river, following the track until he saw the Mournful Mound.

Then he took the stone in his left hand and his spear in his right, and searched for the barrow. He found it, built on the top of the mound, with great stone pillars standing beside its door. In the darkness he could see the Black Serpent, hissing as it coiled about a sheaf of stone spears, while shimmering poison dripped from its fangs, and glittered on the points of its weapons. He approached carefully, but the lady had told the truth, and the serpent did not see him. Taking courage, he cast his spear and struck the serpent below the head. As it writhed in agony he stepped forward and cut off its head, killing it. He took the head out, and the three lads met him, telling him that it was prophesied that he would kill the creature. They offered him the hand of one of their sisters, and half their wealth, but Peredur refused, taking only the stone from the serpent's tail.

— Adapted from the Mabinogion

The Wife of Eadric Wilde

Eadric Wilde was a lord renowned for his bodily strength and vigorous activity, but still more for the way in which he had got a wife. He went out hunting one day, and he and his page became separated from the rest of the party. Although they were alone in the forest, they were not afraid, but began to make their way home. It grew dark, but they were still not out of the forest.

Around midnight they saw a hall in a clearing, and it was all lit up, while the sounds of music came from within. Eadric went up to the window and looked inside. The hall was filled with women, taller and more beautiful than the daughters of men, and they danced slowly around one another, all the time singing a beautiful tune in low voices, so that Eadric could not make out any words. One among them was more beautiful even than her sisters, and the lord immediately fell in love with her. Although he knew the tales of pagan goddesses who tore apart those who looked upon them, love drove the ideas far from his mind.

He went quietly round to the door, and burst into the hall, springing upon the woman whom he loved and bearing her away. At once her sisters set upon him, but he was able to escape with the aid of his page, although he was wounded on the arms and legs with all the marks that the teeth and nails of women can inflict. Once outside he took the woman on his horse and rode back to his house. There he kept her confined for three days and nights, using her as he would. All that time, he could wring no word from her, and she quietly submitted to his will.

On the morning of the fourth day, she turned to him and spoke.

"Hail, my dearest lord and master. I promise to stay with you and love you dearly, serving you in all things as a wife should, until the day when you reproach me with my sisters, or the wood, or the place where you found me. In that day, I will leave, and your life will fall into sorrow." Eadric promised to love her likewise, and they were married. The lord with his faerie wife became famous, and were even called to London by King William Rufus, who wished to look on them.

But, after many years, Eadric came home from hunting at the third hour, but his wife was nowhere to be found. Angry, he called for her, and finally sent servants to fetch her from wherever she was. When she came into his presence he burst out, "Was it your sisters who kept you so long?" and in that moment the woman vanished, and it was as if she had never been there. Eadric searched for her, weeping and calling her name, but could never find her. All he had left to him was the son she had borne him, named Alnoth, who grew up to be a good and holy man.

— From Walter Map's De Nugis Curialium

The Sons of the Dead Mother

A knight of Brittany lost his wife, and went on mourning for her long after her death. One night he was traveling through a great wilderness, when he came across a large company of women dancing together, and among them he saw his wife. He stood, amazed at seeing her he had seen buried back among the living, and began to debate with himself whether he should attempt to seize her. He feared lest the whole scene might be an illusion, and he should find himself seizing nothing but a phantom, or that it might be a trick of the devil.

At length, however, he decided that he would rather make the attempt than slink away like a coward and never know what might have happened had he taken the risk. So he crept up to the edge of the crowd, and waited for the dance to bring his wife towards him. When it did, he stepped forward, and intercepted her as she was passed from one dancer to the next. He held her in his arms, and she recognized her husband, and fell weeping on his shoulder.

He returned with her to his home, and they remained there many years, in a union as pleasant and open to the day as the first had been, and she bore him children. Their descendants are numerous to this day, and are called the sons of the dead mother.

— From Walter Map's De Nugis Curialium

Places

Roughting Linn

At Roughting Linn in Northumberland there is a rock face carved with strange markings. They consist of cups surrounded by much shallower rings, with some parallel lines between them. Some people think that they are maps, or faerie memorials. Some magi of the tribunal think that Gerfallon of Semitae carved them, although he won't say. Similar carvings can be found elsewhere, but there are over sixty on this rockface, making it the best site.

Carles

These forty two stones form a circle about thirty meters across. It is surrounded by a bank, and the entrance in the north of the circle is marked by two tall stones, flanked by particularly short ones which emphasize them. There are three round barrows within the circle, and in the east a rectangle of stones juts into the circle. This rectangle is called the Porter's Lodge, and it is said that on certain nights of the year there is a house here, and the porter guards the entrance to other places.

Long Meg and Her Daughters

This stone circle stands in the Lake District. It is about a hundred meters across, and contains around seventy stones. The stones are mostly squat, and there are particularly large ones at the east and west points, as well as marking an entrance in the south west, which is emphasized by two extra portal stones. A little way outside this entrance stands Long Meg, a slender sandstone pillar twice the height of a man. Long Meg is carved with spirals and concentric circles, whose significance has been long forgotten. There are two mounds in the center of the circle.

It seems to be impossible to count the stones, with any result between 65 and 75 turning up with some frequency. It is also very dangerous to attempt to harm them, as the forces of nature are turned against those who violate them. If Long Meg is, nevertheless, chipped, the stone will bleed. The stones are generally thought to be the petrified bodies of a witch and her daughters, although the legends are silent as to whether the enchantment was voluntary or a curse, and on whether it could, or should, be broken.

The Black Horse of Busha

High up in the Howgill Fells, between Swaledale and the Cumbrian mountains, there is an outcropping of black shale. Most of the time, it appears as an ordinary mound of rock, but at certain times, especially just after storms, the figure of a proud black stallion can be seen by those who know where to look. Locals say that, at those times, the Black Horse is returning to its home, after traveling the mundane world under cover of the storm. They will not speak of its purposes, but clearly believe that it means them no good.

Merlin's Well

Alderley Edge is an escarpment in Cheshire, rising quite abruptly from the plain. Water constantly runs from a point on the cliff face, falling into a stone trough below. Above the spring an inscription is carved: "Drink of this and take thy fill for the water falls by the wizard's will." Nearby, a face is carved into the rock, and this face is said to represent Merlin. Locals claim that Arthur and his knights sleep under the Edge, and that the spring will serve to water their horses when they awaken. The inscription has always been in a slightly archaic version of the local language, but there is no sign that it has been erased and recarved.

Druids' Circle

These stones stand on a wind-swept moor overlooking the Irish Sea. The circle is about twenty five meters across, and the stones stand on the outer edge of a raised bank of earth. They can be seen for miles around, stark against the sky. There is an entrance to the circle, flanked by two stones, in the southwest of the circle.

These stones are said to particularly sensitive to oaths, moving nearer to anyone who swears an oath in the circle, as if to listen. Tales issue dire warnings about the consequences of breaking such oaths. Still darker tales say that the druids practiced human sacrifice among the stones.

Bryn-Celli-Ddu

This mound, which stands on Anglesey, has a narrow passage leading to a small chamber. In the center of this space stands a smooth stone pillar. On the top of the mound, just behind the internal chamber, there is a pit, and by the pit stands a carved stone. The carvings on three sides depict an intricate labyrinth, part of some sort of warding. Llewellyn, the last primus of House Díedne, was last seen here, and his parting words are carved into the wall of the passage, protected from the elements. Hermetic magi tend to avoid the site.

Grime's Graves

In the top of a chalk hill in Norfolk are about a dozen large pits. Each hole is around thirty feet across, and sinks the same distance into the earth. At the bottom of the pits small tunnels, around three feet in diameter, burrow into the surrounding rock, about a dozen tunnels leading out from each pit. Stone blades are often found near the tops of the pits, and those who wander too close at night tend to vanish. Sometimes, strange lights are seen around the hill, and most people in the area believe that the pits and tunnels are inhabited by faerie folk. Investigations by daylight have revealed little but the bodies of animals which fell in, and no one dares investigate by night.

Rollright Stones

These stones stand in a circle thirty meters across, on the edge of a ridge of land in Oxfordshire. There are twenty five tall stones, the tallest in the northwest and two additional ones just outside it in the southeast, forming an entrance. A short way outside the ring to the north east is a larger stone, hunched at the shoulder of the ridge. This is the King Stone, and the most magical of the lot: Chips from it are supposed to ward against demons.

The stones are said to the be a petrified army and its king, and every New Year's Day they go down the hill to drink from a spring at the base. An elder tree nearby is the current form of the witch who cast the spell, keeping a watchful eye on the warriors to ensure that they remain as rocks.

Belas Knap

Belas Knap is a barrow, 180 feet long and 13 feet high, and 60 feet wide at its northern end, tapering to the south. Set back into the northern face of the barrow is a doorway, blocked by a large stone. On significant nights of the year it is said to open, allowing access to a faerie palace, or the home of some other magical creature. The legends also say that no one ever returns, despite their detailed descriptions of the interior.

The White Horse of Uffington

The White Horse is carved into the hillside below an ancient fortress marked out by earthen banks, and overlooks a small hill, called Dragon Hill, which has a flat top on which nothing will grow. The horse is visible because no grass grows on its form, leaving the white chalk of the subsoil exposed. It is said that at certain times, or if it is invoked in the right way, the horse can rise from the hillside and move about the country, or possibly Arcadia, as a white horse of surpassing beauty. No mortal can control the horse when it moves, but it might agree to take someone anywhere in return for gifts or respect.

Wayland's Smithy

Wayland's Smithy is only a mile from the White Horse, and is the home of an invisible smith. If a horse is left outside the smithy, along with a penny on a certain stone, it will be shod during the night, and the penny taken. It is said that Wayland can shoe the White Horse itself, and that if he does so it will be calm and tractable. Legend credits Wayland with forging magical weapons and armor for great heroes of the past, but he would surely require more than a penny in compensation for such toil.

Llewellyn's Curse

We shall last as long as the wind blows hot on the backs of your necks, as long as the storms pound your tower walls, as long as the waves smash the sides of your ships, as long as the merciless sun looks down upon your abominations, sees your sins, and calls out for vengeance. We will return to haunt you.

Avebury

The area around the village of Avebury contains many mysterious monuments, which local legend connects to the devil and the faeries in equal measure. The village itself lies within the largest of these, a stone circle about a thousand feet across. The outer edge is marked by a ditch, 75 feet wide and thirty feet deep, crossed by four causeways. Within the ditch is a bank which rises to a height of about 50 feet, and is about 100 feet wide. Immediately within the bank stands a circle of stones, almost three hundred of them, all large boulders. Within this is the village and church of Avebury, built around the crossroads formed by the paths from the four entrances. There are two features within the circle: In the north there is a horseshoeshaped arrangement of large stones, while in the south is a single standing stone, 20 feet high and 10 in diameter.

Two avenues of stones lead away from the circle, each following a twisting route. One of these seems to lead nowhere, but the other, going roughly southeast, leads to another, smaller stone circle. This circle is 120 feet across, and there is a smaller circle, 60 feet in diameter, within it.

South of Avebury is Silbury Hill, an artificial mound 500 feet in diameter and 120 feet high. This is the burial place of King Sel, entombed on horseback with his treasury, and it is protected by a curse, which strikes dead those who try to rob it. South of Silbury Hill is a long barrow, 300 feet long and 75 feet wide, running east to west. There is a great stone doorway at the east end, which leads into a passage into the heart of the barrow. Some of the local peasants think this is the dwelling place of faeries, others of demons, and still others don't think it makes any difference.

The tales of the place suggest that following the avenue, entering the barrow, or walking round the circles, on particular days of the year or under particular conditions, will take you somewhere else, not entirely of this world. The stories are different and contradictory, of course, but there is probably something in them.

Stonehenge

Brought from Ireland by Merlin, Stonehenge is one of the most magical places in Europe. The monument stands largely within a ditch and bank, with an entrance in the northeast. An avenue, marked by parallel banks and ditches, runs from this entrance down into the valley. In the avenue stand two stones, forming a portal. The monuments within the back are arranged symmetrically around an axis passing along the center of the avenue.

In the center of the entrance stands a tall, unshaped pillar of stone, and there are two round barrows, one in the north of the enclosure and one in the south. Two smaller stone pillars mark the points opposite each barrow, measured across the axis of symmetry. The main stone structures are very complex. The outer circle consists of 30 upright stones, linked at the top by horizontal lintels. These stones have been carefully shaped, with joints between the lintels and the curve of the circle shaped in the stones. The uprights taper slightly towards the top, making them seem taller than they are. Within these is a circle of 60 smaller bluestones, without lintels.

The Bringing of Stonehenge

After the murder of the flower of Britain at the hands of Hengest and his treacherous Saxons, King Aurelius turned his mind to the construction of a suitable monument. He spoke with his counselors, and they said that he should seek Merlin, and ask him for his advice. Aurelius thought that this was good advice, and sent men to bring Merlin to his presence.
Merlin came, and spoke to the king.
"You want to create a monument to those of your people who died when Hengest and his allies killed them as they ate. You have given thought to producing something that will amaze and last for all time, but none of your ideas will work. There is but one monument that will suffice, and that is the Giant's Ring, in Ireland. It is made of such large stones that no man, nor any number of men, can move them by main strength, and the stones have great virtue, so that wounded men wash the stones, then bathe in the water and are healed."
And Aurelius questioned Merlin, asking how they could be brought, but Merlin said simply that he should send his brother and an army with him to Ireland, and he would bring back the stones. So Uther and fifteen thousand knights set out with Merlin for Ireland, and he led them to the base of a high hill, where they camped.
"The Giant's Ring stands on top of this hill, and we shall take it. But first, let us rest and look to our weapons, for we shall soon need them." And, as Merlin foretold, Gillomaur the king of Ireland heard of their intentions, and swore that they should no take so much as a pebble from his kingdom. Gathering his army, he swept down upon the Britons. But the Irish were naked, and the British wrapped in armor, and seven thousand Irishmen met their end that day, while Gillomaur the king was slain in a wood as he tried to flee.
Then Merlin led Uther and the knights to the top of the hill, and they marveled at the size of the stones that stood there. Merlin turned to the knights and said, "Now, try to move the stones. Bring strong ropes, and levers, and join in large groups. Exert all your strength, ready to bring the stones to England." But he knew what would happen, and watched content as the knights labored in vain, for with all their strength they could not move the smallest stone a hair's breadth. Then he said to Uther, "Lead your men away from the ring, but stand ready for my command, you and one man for each of the stones."
Uther did as he was bidden, and Merlin went among the stones, walking round them and speaking quietly under his breath, as if he were telling the rosary. Once, twice, three times he walked around the stones, and then stopped, calling to Uther.
"Come now, and take up the stones. They shall be as light as feathers to you." And the men came, and each of them took up one of the stones. Bearing the stones they returned to their ships, and sailed back to England. They carried the stones to the high plain where the Britons had been murdered, and Merlin, by his art, set them up again as they had been in Ireland.
— From Layamon's Brut

Within that circle is a great horseshoe of trilithons — structures with two uprights and a lintel. There are five trilithons, and they are not connected to each other. The horseshoe is open towards the entrance of the enclosure, and the trilithons are smallest at the entrance, while the one at the back is the largest, over 20 feet tall and made of stones weighing over forty five tons. Within this is a smaller horseshoe of bluestones, and right at the center is a final upright.

If you stand at the entrance of the enclosure, or in the avenue, then the midwinter sun sets between the uprights of the great trilithon, and the last light of the shortest day shines straight down the avenue.

The Long Man of Wilmington

The Long Man is picked out by trenches dug into a smooth slope in a shallow depression on the side of a hill in Sussex. The figure is about two hundred and forty feet tall, but because of its position in the depression it is completely invisible from many angles. The figure is easiest to see when the sun is low, or when snow starts to melt, when the shadows of its trenches are exaggerated. Sometimes features can be seen in its face, at others it appears as a simple outline. Its hands grasp long vertical lines, which look a lot like staves, or the posts of a door. One legend holds that he represents St. Paul, and that the staves appear as crosses and the figure gains features when the country is pious, but that as wickedness increases it fades away, to disappear completely if the faith is banished from the land. Another says that the figure represents the keeper of the gates of dawn, and that, at the right petition, he will open his gates and let travelers pass beyond.

Wookey Hole Caves

Wookey Hole is a deep cave, much of which is flooded, and there are thought to be further caves, inaccessible beyond the water. The caves are hung with stalactites, and something lives in them, although local legends disagree about the details.

The Cerne Giant

The Cerne Giant is carved on a hillside near an Abbey in Dorset, and his power is made clear by the fact that the monks have not destroyed or defaced so blatantly phallic an image. Barren women who sleep on the phallus become able to conceive, and children may be conceived there with great ease. The figure is said to be the lingering presence of a giant who terrorized the local area, before being pinned to the ground while he slept. He was apparently slain, and his body dissolved into nothingness, leaving the white outline behind.

Maiden Castle

Maiden Castle is a set of earthworks surrounding the top of a large hill south of Dorchester, in Dorset. The enclosure is more than 2000 feet long and 1000 feet wide, and can be entered through twisting passages between the embankments at the east and west ends. The interior seems to be totally deserted, but local tales say that it is a faerie stronghold, and that people going there on the correct night may meet the fay.

Down Tor

This group of stones stands on Dartmoor, and has two parts. The first is a circle eleven meters in diameter, surrounding a circular barrow. The second is a line of almost two hundred stones, stretching a quarter of a mile east down the hill and up another, where it is ended by a larger triangular stone. If the line is continued eastwards, it meets another circular barrow.

It is said that the circle binds a powerful ghost, and that it can be summoned along the line of stones by those who know the proper rituals. Although it is bound, it would be too powerful if the summoner stood by the circle, and it cannot be allowed to roam freely outside. Thus, the line allows it to reach a summoner, without letting it wander, and making sure that it is so weakened that it can do him no harm. Or so the tale goes.

Tintagel

Tintagel, off the northern coast of eastern Cornwall, is very nearly an island, being connected to the mainland by only a narrow neck. This is defended by a great ditch and mound, which creates an entrance that can be defended by only three men. This was the stronghold of Gorlois, and the site of Arthur's conception. Uther Pendragon had made war on Gorlois to take his wife, Ygerna, from him. She was at Tintagel, while Gorlois defended another fortress. Uther consulted with Merlin, and was magically disguised as Gorlois, allowing him to gain entrance to the fortress and father Arthur. The castle was later the seat of King Mark of Cornwall, one of Arthur's under-kings.

Now, the island is almost deserted. The mound and ditch are all that remain of Gorlois's castle, and the only structure on the plateau is a small chapel dedicated to St. Juliot. Most of the time, there is no trace of the earlier castle, and it may be somewhat detached from the mundane world. If so, the isolated church has a further purpose: that of keeping it from reappearing.

Men-an-Tol

The Men-an-Tol stands in a Cornish field. It is a round stone with a large round hole through the middle, with two stone pillars standing a little way behind it, forming a triangle. The stone is said to have healing and divinatory powers. People wishing to be healed must crawl or be passed through the hole, three times for children, nine times for adults. Divination can be performed by placing a gift on top of the stone and asking a question. The item will move in some way that answers the query.

Trethevy Quoit

Trethevy Quoit is a group of standing stones supporting another stone, which acts as a roof. The stones reach up 15 feet, and the capstone is 12 feet long, with a hole in one corner. One of the standing stones has a doorway cut out of one corner, and the whole complex is believed to the home of a powerful faerie, who does not like to be disturbed.

Merry Maidens

This circle stands at Land's End, and consists of nineteen granite boulders, their tops worked level. It is about twenty-four meters across, and there is a large gap in the east, which marks the entrance to the circle. Two immense standing stones, the Pipers, rise a quarter of a mile to the northeast, and another pillar, the Goon Rith, is to the west.

The stones were originally girls who danced on Sunday to the music of the Pipers, who were demons sent to tempt them. The wrath of God turned them to stone, and the demons, trying to flee, found that they could not avoid justice either.

Lyonesse

Southwest of Land's End lie the Scilly Isles, the last, sinking remnants of the land of Lyonesse. This land once stretched from Cornwall to the Isles, and was Tristan's place of birth. Even now, at exceptionally low tides, the remains of the forests and towns of this land can be seen in areas now claimed by the ocean. In the time of Arthur, and the days of the early Saxons, the land of Lyonesse was prosperous, with one hundred and forty parishes and a town, called Lyon, at the place now called Lethoso. This is a dangerous part of the sea, where rocks come close to the surface, but men fishing the area have drawn up parts of windows and other evidence of the houses.

When Lyonesse was drowned only one man escaped to the east, the first Trevelyan. He rode his white horse ahead of the flood, and landed by St. Michael's Mount, where the water finally stopped. To the west, some folk fled to the high ground that is now the Scilly Isles, but they were from the poorer and more remote regions of the land. The disaster is thought to have been due to the anger of the Fair Folk, but no one has spoken of the cause for over three hundred years, and it is forgotten.

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Heirs to Merlin Chapter Twelve: Myths and Legends

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