Avalon

Whereabouts is Avalon

Most historians put the Isle of Avalon in Glastonbury where the Glastonbury TOR is. It is also suggested the two other locations, Island of Man and Bardsey were possible locations of this mysterious Avalon. It is noted it was a place of healing and rejuvenation from any sickness or injury. When King Arthur sustained his fatal wounds it was said that they sent him to Avalon so that the Priestesses could take care of him.

Glastonbury claimed that it was the true location of Avalon. The TOR is said to be a portal to The Other World, where the Jewel in the Lotus of the Soul is.

If you look at the picture above you will notice some tiers on the hill. There is supposed to be seven that you can see and many more that you can't because of land erosion and the like. Each level is a part of a labyrinth left by the ancient people who lived there. The labyrinth depicts and show a universal pattern made my many ancient peoples such as the Hopi Indians, Kretens, and Ceylons. Weather these are a true representation of ancient sculpturing or not remains to be see, Until they dig up the hill we might never know. The truth is, however, the longer we wait to make an archaeological dig, the more likely that we will not find the answers we seek.

Glastonbury Abbey was the second place to be mentioned beside the Tor in buildings that still stand on the Island. There has been much reading on this and that they also consider Avalon being part of Cornwall.

Yet another place puts it on the Island of Mont Saint Michael, Brittany, France. Avalon was a school for training druids, Priestesses and Bards. According to Meaning of the Name Avillion states:  

“At the beginning Avalon was called Apple Island  - where the most delicious golden-red apples grew.  Among the local people it became known as "E’main Ablach",  a mystical place only visible to some and at certain times. Long before King Arthur, this legendary Isle is said to have been the home of the Priestesses of Great Mystery, Center of Magical Practices and home of the Holy Grail. It was also a Center of Healing Arts where the finest herbs were harvested for healing work extended by its priestesses to the local community. Avalon was a school from which arose Merlin, Druidic Magicians, and Bards.

Energy is always a timing factor and when the alchemical balance rotated a vibrational stimulant that was felt as threatening, or inspired envious curiosity, Avalon disappeared from the third dimensional access, to retain its safety for such times when its true service is required. Mist and wind and more veils of mist conveyed all and everything into the 5th dimension." 

Biblically 

Jesus Visits Avalon

When Jesus was just a boy he would visit his Mother's brother, Joseph of Arithmathea often. His Grandmother went back to live in Brittany. One year when hew just a teen he wanted to go with Joseph to visit his grandmother, but his parent's had turn down that trip. They wanted him to stay and finish learning his father's trade of ship building. It was also after he went astray to the churches in Jerusalem and gave his parent's a scare.

Later, when he was older and after his father's death he and his mother did go to Britain to visit his grandmother. His Uncle Joseph was a very important person being the major trader of metals for Rome. This trip was for Joseph to do some important trading and while they were there Jesus made his way from Brittany to the Isle of Avalon. They traveled in many ships that went from Antioch, Cyprus, Ephesus, Sicily, Cyrenia, Sardinia , Massilia (Marseilles) where they would leave the ships to walk and horseback over the land to Brittany, Cornwall for tin and then to Somerset.

When Joseph finished his dealings and trading’s they (Joseph, Jesus and his mother, Mary) sailed up the coast to Looe Island, mining districts around Warleggan on the Bodmin Moor, traveled west into Penwith, St Just and Ding Dong mine (the oldest mine in Cornwall) to Whitesands Bay and finished the trip to a place called Pilton on the Severn estuary.

Jesus listened and learned of the way of the Druids. The Druids also learned from him too as they also revered him as a great teacher. 

Jesus liked it so much that he stayed for a while and making preparations for his mission that he was sent to do. While there it is reported that he made a wattle and daubed hut to live in. Just by hitting his cane on the ground he made a small spring of water come up to the surface.  After his death Joseph did come back and they built the first Christian church. There is a report of the many Reverends, notably the Rev. H.A. Lewis, which wrote some of this information down and how Rome came to the Island and Brittany. You can read that and much more on Cornish Legends.  There is also new information on DailyMail about a Church that Jesus supposedly built in the town of Somerset in England.

The Apple

Avalon's meaning is that of The Land of Apples and has a rich tradition from the Druid’s the High Priestess that used them in their ceremonies to other Welsh and Celtic Traditions. Avalon is also the land of the Faeries and the dead. We know about the King Arthur legends as I have stated above.

Druid's used the Apple's as a way to get to the Other world and had the powers to bring about healing and youth. It is also a very holy and sacred tree to the Druids. Mistletoe is one of the Druid's sacred plants that they infuse into an Apple Tree branch and have silver shaped apple bells sing melodies. In doing this they were able to go to the Other world.

Merlin was said to have work in a magical Apple Grove guarded by birds. He was said to receive the gift of prophecy from the Faerie Queen, (Morgan Le Fay), by eating her magic apples. Merlin was also said to take have laid under the holy apple tree while he was sick with madness.

The medieval church believed that apples could bring about possession of demons to whomever they were given too.

In Welsh Battle of the Trees the apple tree possesses poetic immortality and is known as the Nobelist tree.

“In Druid lore, the essence of three sacred apples growing on the Tree of Knowledge came from three drops that fell from Cerridwen’s cauldron, which correspond with the Druid’s most holy symbol, the Three Rays of Light.” Lots more information about the apple in lore and recipes and much more can be found on Druidry. Org: APPLE by Susa Morgan Black now a PDF file, but here is an excerpt from that article:

"Apples were the fruit of the other world (Avalon or Avallach - the Isle of Apples). They are often used for magic and fortune telling. A young woman would peel an apple all in one paring, and throw it over her shoulder. The peeling would take the shape of the first initial of the man she would marry. Eating an apple in front of a mirror while combing your hair will conjure your true love's image in the mirror. Another tradition is "dunking for apples". Apples are placed in a tub or barrel of water, and dunkers will try to retrieve these apples with their teeth. Those who succeed will have good fortune the following year. (Another traditional way to do it is to hold a fork in your mouth and try to retrieve the apple by piercing it.) Hazel nuts were also used in matrimonial divination. Two groups of "Sweetheart" hazel nuts were placed within the hearth fire; one group was marked with the names of the village's eligible maidens, and the other with the eligible bachelors."

What They Have Found

During some archaeological digs around the year 1190 Arthur's grave was found. A Welsh or Breton bard supposedly gave the location of the grave site to Henry II. He said that Arthur was buried in the old graveyard at Glastonbury between two pyramids. They found a stone slab about 7 feet down with an inset lead cross. At 16 feet down they found a hollowed out log that contained the skeletal remains of an very large man and a small, delicate woman. The cross with the words 

"Here lies buried the famous King Arthur with Guinevere, his second wife, in the isle of Avalon." has eroded over time. Excavating the site in modern times brought about a grave site that was much earlier than that one. It is said that this was manipulated so that they could raise funds to re-build the Abbey, which suffered a devastating fire in 1184 and was in desperate need of money.

This too is considered a myth, even though we do have accounts by clergy and those grave sites as possible evidence.

What Was Good To Eat In Camelot

https://en.wikipedia.org/

You would be astonished at all you could eat in the Dark Ages.  They knew how to cook over an open flame and in their own ovens better than most of us do today.

They had bake houses that were not in each house but in a separate building.  It was low to the ground the floor was of clay, mostly.  Some flint was used and the thickness was about 15 inches.  They used it mostly to bake breads, but on occasion they would roast or bake other things such as cuts of meat and the like.

The meats that they had were fresh because it was what they could catch that day.  Dried meats and fish were common to the inland parts of the country while they caught fresh seafood on the coastal parts.  Some peasants had chicken and pigs and would use the eggs and eat the chickens and the pigs.  It took lots of land, but some did this.  They would also sell their wares and their foods for other things.  It was a bartering society back then and worked well for them.

Wild Boar, Deer, Rabbit, Pheasants, Sheep, Goats, fish were mostly what they hunted and ate.  So that is the reason peasants would raise pigs as their meat.  They did hint for food and gathered berries and other food during the the year. The lords would have feasts, which fed the people but it was also a political move in that it would show the peasants and other territories or villages the power that they had.  You had to be very careful not to hunt or fish on the Lord's land because if you were caught “stealing” from them your hands would be cut off.

There were many fruits and nuts that they gathered from the land.  Apples, chestnuts, blueberries, capers, turnips, kale and cabbage were standard fare.  The grains that were mostly used in their baked goods were wheat, barley and rye.  Some of them had enough land to grow their own grains, but it was a rare commodity in those days.  Reading about all this I found that they used almonds a lot.  They used them as thickeners for soups and stews and they even used almond milk to drink because not many could afford a dairy cow.  I find it funny that this is all the rage today when in the medieval times it was considered standard whereas today dairy milk is the standard.  They used many types of nuts in their recipes.  

https://en.wikipedia.org

Ale was the drink of choice because there was no refrigeration and whatever they drank fresh, from fruits would ferment pretty quickly. They were fine connoisseurs of wine making.  Many fruits and grains were made into Ale, Beers, Wine and the like

How would you like to make things like:

• Caudell, an ale or frothey wine tyoe drink
• Roast Pork With Oranges and Onions
• Hedgehogs Small meat pudding/pies covered with almonds
• Yalanei Dolmes Rice in Grape leaves

For these and many other recipes that were made in the 5th century and later you can go to the best recipe database there is on the net: Original Medieval Recipes  Have fun trying to cook the way they did back in medieval times.  All the recipes are written with the original game and vegetables they would have used.  You will not find modern day bovine or any of the kind of meat there that we have today. Some have been translated from the language of that time period to modern day for you.  Have fun there!

How They Trained for Battle In The Land Of Camelot

Le Livre de la Chasse: 
Slaying the Boar
(Morgan Library, c. 1407)

In today world they send many young men off to what are called boot camps.  These boot camps train you in how to use a weapon, how to obey your superiors and other warfare tactics in staying alive and doing as you should if you come up to the enemy.  In medieval times in the Land of Camelot they did things way different that we do them today. 

Young men trained dogs.  

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greyhound

They had three different types of dogs.  One was for short distance running, Those would include the Greyhound that we call today.  They were called Deerhound or sighthounds.  Whippets, Afghan Hounds, Borzoi, Irish Wolfhound, Scottish Deer Hound, Slauki and Sloughi would also fit into this category.  They were known for their keen sight and their speed. They could run up to 40 mph and very good at distance running as well.  Imagine keeping up with this dog.

http://dogs.wikia.com/wiki/Labrador_Retriever

Another one that they trained and used were Labrador Retrievers which would flush out the prey and hold until the owner coud get to it.  So these young men would start out training the dogs that would be used for the hunt.  The took breeds with good hunting andskills and rasie them from pups and train them for agility, speed and holding of the prey.  In actuality they were really being train to hunt both for food and for warfare.

Weaponry

http://gallery4share.com/

They also had training in weaponry.  This was elaborate in itself.  They had more weapons and other things they used to bring down the animal they were hunting. They did all the cutting up in the field before they brought it home to cook and eat.

They also made their own weapons they were using so they had to be very good if not almost perfect.  You did not want to go out and try to catch a wild boar and your sword broke.  Wild boars are a ferocious animal and you had to be swift with the kill else they turn back on you and kill you or others.

These same weapons were later used in their battles and wars.  This is how they trained their young men to become soldiers.  It was hard work taking down the huge beast, like wild boar, deer, large fowl and other beasts they found roaming around in the forest outside of the Castle.
They had to have the stamina and the knowledge and wisdom to take these beasts down without getting killed yourself.

They always brought back their kill for the family and villages they lived in.  That was whats for dinner.

They also had ways to get under the fortress walls of the people they were fighting against.  They dug tunnels under them.  They had a whole arsenal of attacking and winning against the opposition.  They learned all this while learning how to hunt for food.