Glastonbury: Early Christian History
by Aisling D'Art, © 2003-4, all rights reserved*
Glastonbury, England, is one of the most magickal sites on earth. In this series
of pages, we will discuss the spiritual and historical events which make Glastonbury fascinating.
Glastonbury's unique history covers many centuries. Since the Middle Ages,
Glastonbury in Somerset has been considered a most likely location of Avalon,
the final resting place of King Arthur and Guinevere. However, Glastonbury's mystical
and spiritual history starts far before the era of Camelot.
Glastonbury, the Isle of Glass
Over 2,000 years ago, Glastonbury was an island on the edge of the sea, near the
coast of Britain. In Celtic times, it was a great Pagan sanctuary, shown by its
ruins dating to the third century, BCE, and even earlier.
In Celtic times, Glastonbury was known as Yniswitrin, a Welsh name
meaning "Isle of Glass," also translated "Isle of Apples."
The surrounding county of Somerset was called the Summer Country, which can refer
to its reputed connection to the Otherworldly realm of "the Summerland."
From earliest times, Glastonbury and the Arthurian Kingdom have always been
on the edge of the faery world.
As years passed, the landscape changed. Glastonbury acquired its Saxon name and
became an inland island, surrounded by a lake.
Today, that lake is gone and Glastonbury Tor rises 500 feet above the land around it,
capped by the 14th century chapel of St. Michael. At the foot of the Tor, the serene
town of Glastonbury is both a New Age and Christian landmark, and the home of significant
spiritual history.
Jesus and Joseph of Arimathea in Glastonbury
There are many links between Jesus, his family, and the Glastonbury area.
According to the Herald's Office of England's College of Arms, the
Christian history of Glastonbury begins with Ann, the mother of Mary, and Ann's
brother, Joseph (later called "Joseph of Arimathea").
Ann was born in "Cornouaille," or Cornwall; her father was probably involved in
the mining of tin. Ann's family had relatives in the Nazareth area, which is where
Ann's daughter, Mary (the mother of Jesus) was born. There is evidence that Ann's
family traveled often.
Ann's brother, Joseph, moved first to Marmorica in Egypt. Most likely, it was
his family with whom Mary and Joseph found shelter, when they fled to Egypt during
Herod's "slaughter of the innocents."
In early accounts, Joseph of Arimathea is called Joseph de Marmore in
reference to his years in Egypt.
Joseph later moved to Arimathea, where he was the Minister of Mines
for the Roman government. He travelled to Cornwall and Somerset frequently on business.
(There are tales of Joseph of Arimathea and his nephew, Jesus, in these two
regions, but nowhere else in the British Isles. Coincidentally, these are
the only two areas in Britain where tin is mined.)
Additional evidence supports these legends: Archaeological digs at Ostia, a
seaport of ancient Rome, produced ancient Roman drainpipes. When analysed, the
tin used for the drainpipes came from the Mendip Hills, near Glastonbury, England.
According to legend, Joseph brought Jesus to Glastonbury several times when
Jesus was in his teens. Together, they built the first religious building in Glastonbury,
on the site where Lady Chapel stands, today.
As early as 597 CE, St. Augustin wrote to Pope Gregory, "In the Western confines
of Britain there is a royal island of large extent, surrounded by water...," where
a church was "constructed by the hands of Christ himself." St. Augustin was referring
to the church at Glastonbury.
This church--and the Christianity which flourished here immediately after Jesus'
death--is the reason why, when the world Church Council is seated at the table in the
order in which they received Christianity, Great Britain was traditionally placed first,
even before Rome.
On the next page, Glastonbury and the Holy Grail,
we'll discuss the startling historical links between Glastonbury and the Grail.
glastonbury pages -
aisling's travel index
