Magic Undying (Dragon's Gift: The Seeker #1)(69)
Glastonbury Abbey became associated with the story of Arthur and Guinevere in the twelfth century, likely as a publicity stunt to draw more pilgrims to the abbey, which had burned in 1184. According to historian Gerald of Wales (b. 1146 — d. 1223 AD), the abbot of Glastonbury Abbey, Henry de Sully, commissioned a search beneath the abbey in the 1190s. The search discovered two skeletons lying beneath a cross that was inscribed with Hic jacet sepultus inclitus rex Arthurus in insula Avalonia, which translate to “Here lies interred the famous King Arthur on the Isle of Avalon.” Modern historians have determined that this was a hoax meant to draw pilgrims to the abbey, which I think is fascinating in itself.
Richmond Castle, the location of the final quest, is an eleventh century Norman castle. According to legend, Arthur lies asleep beneath the castle, along with his knights, waiting to rise and defend England in its hour of need. Unfortunately, the only sources that I can find for this legend are several sites on the internet. I believe this is because these are primarily oral traditions that have moved to the internet, as is natural, but it’s not nearly as impressive as being able to say that Geoffrey of Monmouth wrote the legend down in the twelfth century.
Some of my research comes from primary sources like Geoffrey of Monmouth, some comes from travel, and the rest comes from Googling things while sitting on my couch. There can always be an element of error, particularly with Google, but that’s not going to stop me from using something if it will improve the story. At least I’ll ‘fess up if I do it, though.
I chose to use Richmond Castle for a few reasons. One, it’s an impressive structure that makes a great final setting. Castles have all kinds of excellent things for an epic fight scene—dungeons, murder holes (that’s really what they’re called!), giants walls, and secret passages. I had to add a few extra rooms and buildings, but the massive wall, courtyard, and great keep are accurate.
Cadbury Castle in Somerset is also said to be a resting place for Arthur, from which he will rise to defend England, and the location is actually a bit better because it is closer to Tintagel. However, Cadbury Castle is an Iron Age hillfort. While hillforts are impressive (and actually more contemporaneous with Arthur than the Norman Richmond Castle), they lack the massive stone castle-like structure that I was looking for as a final setting. So I ditched Cadbury Castle and went with Richmond Castle, even though it was built a few hundred years after Arthur’s death.
I chose Richmond Castle for a couple other reasons as well. According to local legend (according to the internet), there is supposed to be a secret tunnel between Easby Abbey and Arthur’s tomb. Easby Abbey is actually located outside of the castle walls. I wanted to send Del down that tunnel (because how cool is that?), but I couldn’t make her leave the castle and hike a few miles downriver just to get to the tunnel entrance. So I moved the tunnel entrance into the castle and called the abbey “the east abbey.”
Potter Thompson, the ghost who directed Del to the tunnel entrance, is a figure from legend as well. It is said that he found a tunnel entrance into King Arthur’s tomb while out walking. He made it all the way to the tomb where he found the sleeping king and his knights in full armor. On a table, he spied Excalibur and a horn. To prove that he had found the tomb, he decided to take Excalibur (bad idea, right?). Upon touching the sword, the king and the knights began to move. Frightened, Potter Thompson ditched the sword and ran for it. Upon exiting the tunnel, he heard a voice say:
“Potter Thompson, Potter Thompson
If Thou hadst either drawn
The sword, or blown the horn,
Thou wouldst have been the luckiest man
That ever yet was born”
Potter Thompson tried to relocate the tunnel, but could never find it. So I brought him back to life as a ghost and had him assist Del.
It was particularly egregious of me to combine two Arthurian legends. Pictish stones would not have contained a carving of a Norman castle (Richmond Castle). Pictish stones were created between the sixth and ninth centuries AD by the Picts who lived in eastern and northern Scotland. Richmond Castle was built in the eleventh century and is located over 200 miles away in England. So why did I include Pictish stones?
When I first started researching Arthurian legend, I would not have expected to find anything Pictish. However, there is a Pictish standing stone called Meigle 2, which once stood at the entrance to the Meigle Churchyard in central Scotland, just outside of Perth. Carved into it is a figure surrounded by four beasts. It could be a picture of Daniel surrounded by lions (which is honestly the most likely case), but some interpretations say that it shows the execution of Vanora. Vanora is another name for Guinevere. It’s actually a really vile story in which Guinevere is torn apart by wild dogs, so I won’t share it here, but it is the reason that I chose to use Pictish stones as the clue that led Del to the Norman castle.
As for Guinevere taking her fate into her own hands, I made that up entirely. You could probably tell because it involved a concealment charm, which are not real as far as I know. I did it for the reasons that Dr. Garriso stated in the books. I didn’t like how she was treated in the older stories (particularly the Pictish one with the dogs—yikes). Women, particularly noble women, were often pawns in history, and Guinevere was no exception. Sure, she shouldn’t have cheated on Arthur (if you’re going to go with that version of events), but this wasn’t exactly a time when a woman could say, “Hey, husband. We’ve grown apart. We should consider a separation.” And that’s the least of what Guinevere had to deal with. I’m not very familiar with modern stories, which may be better, but the old ones made me want to put Guinevere in control of her own fate. It was one of my favorite parts of the book. In fact, the final scene, with Del, Nix, and Cass sitting by her grave, was my absolutely favorite scene in the book.