The Ávalon legend
Introduction
You can’t talk about Ávalon without mentioning the legend of King Arturo. This legendary character of European literature embodies the ideal of monarch and human being, particularly for the English and the French. It is said that he defended the Great Britain of the invasion of the Saxons at the beginning of the seventh century. However, the first stories that mention King Artur. In this writing, Arturo is presented as a hero full of values whose purpose in the world is to create an empire and protect his people from any threat.
Developing
It has the help of the Merlin magician, fairies, faithful servants and the unconditional support of his people. It is in this series of stories that are born the complementary legends of the Excalibur sword, Lanzarote del Lago and the Holy Grail. This gives rise to what is known as arthuric literature, but everything concludes with the death of Arturo on the island of Ávalon. Ávalon has managed to captivate the imagination and fantasy of entire generations of writers and filmmakers. This has contributed to the general public is not clear if it really existed or not. It has also given rise for several explorers to take the task of looking for the places mentioned in these writings. Because of this, Ávalon has been located in the Mediterranean, in the Atlantic and even south of the planet.
The places that are most frequently cited correspond to the island of Man and Glastonbury. However, and as it was, there is no evidence that this is true. Some scholars of the subject insist that Ávalon is a literary figure, a myth, and not something that is part of reality. They add that most likely this imaginary island has its origin in the old Celtic mythology. In the original legend about Ávalon, they refer to this as an idyllic island, of so fertile lands that apples, grapes and cereals were given everywhere, wild. There was no need to work the land and its inhabitants only lived to enjoy a happy and long life. The word Ávalon has its origin in the primitive term "Abal", of the Celtic language, which means "apple".
The last crusade in which King Arturo participated was the battle of Camlann, in a confrontation against Mordred. As a result, he was mortally injured and taken to Ávalon where he could recover. The legend is explicit in affirming that Arturo is still alive there, waiting for the moment when England needs him again. As mentioned above, Glastonbury is one of the most accepted locations by the followers of the legend to locate Ávalon. Although it is not an island at present, one could say that in the past it seemed. This is because it was in a high place and at the same time surrounded by swamps, which means that at that time it was necessary to cross the swamps to get to Glastonbury.
In this same place, the Abbey of Glastonbury was built, a very well known place then by the Christian pilgrimages, because it was said that it had been founded by José de Arimea and even visited by Jesus. The monks of the Abbey disclosed the discovery of the tomb of King Arturo, along with his wife, called Geneva. This led to the constant pilgrimage of naive believers and contributed to see Arturo’s legend as something real. Today, the city of Glastonbury remains a place of pilgrimage, but increasingly visited by tourists interested in culture. Despite the efforts of the monks to make a credible that there was Arturo’s tomb, archaeological investigations show that this statement is false.
Its purpose was to raise funds to restore the abbey, after a fire that suffered. Experts also point out that at the time when the supposed tomb was discovered, the place was not called Ávalon, but Ineswitrin. Another of the possible locations of the Ávalon island is the one known as the island of Man. Particularly for the association with Emain Ablach, which is translated as ‘El Manzanos Island’. Legend tells that this island was the place where Manannan Mac Lir lived, or the sea god for ancient Irish. It was also claimed that there was no winter in this place, that it was the paradise of healing and where people did not age. Likewise, it is said that it was a place where apples abounded, fruit with magical properties known by all.
conclusion
His association with Arturo’s legend is understandable, especially if he keeps in mind that when he arrives in Ávalon, he recovers from his mortal wounds. Apparently, this theory manages to establish a clear connection between the names of the island and its meaning in relation to Arturo’s legend. However, it was discovered that the island of Man has nothing to do with the god of the sea from the Celtic myth. Everything indicates that the attempts of the followers of Arturo’s legend for demonstrating that Ávalon if they existed always end in failure. The absence of evidence does not even open the possibility that something real to connect it has started.
What apparently is clear is the association of Ávalon with Celtic myths and Christianity, because together they agree on affirming the existence of a "beyond". Similarly, it is worth noting that, both for the British and for the Irish of antiquity, the islands were conceived as portals to another dimension. Probably the best way to define Ávalon is saying that it is a place belonging to a legend and that therefore can only be housed in the heart of his followers. But, on the other hand, that he is also part of an entire tradition that is maintained through literature, cinema, video games and even the so -called spiritual tourism, a recorded mark.
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