I don't believe there is an ISLAND OF AVALON but I know where it it.

(Part Two)

Just imagine for a moment you are Geoffrey of Monmouth. The year is 1135ad. You have been ordered by a highly influential Norman Benefactor to write a book on the history of the Kings of Britain. Where do you start? It is the height of the Norman explosion of castles, abbeys, churches and monastery construction. All around you, a metamorphosis and it was taking place in Britain. Nearby Tintern Abbey was nearing completion, Monmouth priory itself, Abbey Dore, Monmouth Church and many others. It was an exciting time for anyone aspiring to get on within the Christian community in a very strongly regulated society. It was even more exciting if you could read or write, hardly anyone else could. To add to that if you could speak several languages your value was exceptional. Geoffrey had all of these attributes. He appeared a very ambitious man and it wasn't long before he was ingratiating himself within the rapidly expanding Norman Christian hierarchy.

So why discuss Geoffrey of Monmouth, a man perhaps you may never had heard of before? Well Geoffrey was the man who first introduced icons as familiar today as they were in the medieval world. Merlin the magician, the sword Excalibur and the legendary island of Avalon. All presented alongside the stories of the fabled King Arthur of the Britons. 'Historia Regum Brittaniae' ('The History of the Kings of Britain') ws his greatest book.

It is not too difficult to find the origins of many of Geoffrey's tales, many emanating from early Welsh (British) folk law and writings, but not all. Avalon (Welsh/British – Ynys Afallon. Latin – as written by Geoffrey in the Historia Regum Brittaniae 'Insula Avallonis') was a new name in the 12^th century. Geoffrey tells us that Arthur was taken there after being mortally wounded by Mordred at the Battle of Camlan(n). The investigator though has to go to another of Geoffrey's books, 'Vita Merlini' to find his fuller description and introduction to the mystical world of Avalon. One thing he states categorically is that to get to Avalon one has to undertake a 'sea voyage'. In fact the association with islands of orchards or apples may go back to Spanish writings and perhaps identified as today's Canary Islands. The Welsh for Island is Ynys and some ancient writings have put Ynys Afallach as Avalon. (The Island of Apples – Afal is apple in Welsh, as no 'v' in the Welsh language)

The name Avalon and it's roots could have emanated from ancient languages of not only Wales, but Ireland, Scotland, Cornwall and Brittany. (Breton) All these lands were linked in various ways, not only by British / Celtic origins but by folk lore and storytelling. The Angles, the Saxons and the Jutes were yet to invade so the storytelling was umbillically linked between the aforementioned countries, even prior to Roman times and during.

The Red Book of Hengest, referring to the Mabinogion tales (Welsh/British) appears to contain Welsh folklore stories emanating from the Roman occupation period right up until perhaps the 13^th / 14^th centuries. It was this time the 'Red Book..' was constructed.

Therefore as Geoffrey was the first author to mention Avalon it is to Geoffrey we must go to investigate his knowledge, logic and storytelling prowess. Or in other words, how and where did he find out about Avalon, an island he placed into history from some half a millennia before?

He was a scholar, probably of Breton (Brittany) origins but born in Monmouth. (His father's name was said to be 'Arthur'. (Not proven) It is said he could speak several languages so must have been a brilliant student. Latin, French, Welsh (British) to name three. His education came from his father and his subsequent inclusion into the Monmouth Priory of the Benedictine Monks. The Priory exists today, but heavily altered. Some original pillars of the adjacent original (12^th century) church can be examined and also within the church can be seen a stain glass window dedicated to Geoffrey of Monmouth. (Probably 15^th century) It can be reasonably assumed that Geoffrey knew folk lore and tales from many lands. He could read and write, which was the absolute exception rather than the rule at the time.

It is of course vital with any investigation that the obvious must be proved before any other deliberations take matters further. The simplest explanation is to imagine a Courtroom scene prior to a legal prosecution being commenced. The first question always asked by the Clerk of the Court to the defendant is his or her name, e.g. 'Are you John Albert Frederick Smith?' The man answers in the positive therefore the case proceeds. Thus the initial prong on the enquiry is to ascertain if there really is an island called Avalon then attempt to find where it is. (We can discount much later romantic theories such as inland mystical 'Glastonbury' as that assumption came much later in the 15^th century) If we ascertain that the island of Avalon does not exist then the next step is to construct the mind patterns leading up to the inclusion of the island in early books, especially by our originator, Geoffrey of Monmouth. In other words, 'where did the idea come from?'