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David

Darling

Avalon

Last Sleep of Arthur in Avalon by Edward Burne-Jones

Last Sleep of Arthur in Avalon by Edward Burne-Jones


The island of Avalon, or Insula Avallonis, was the earthly paradise of Celtic mythology. It first appears in connection with King Arthur in  Geoffrey of Monmouth's 1136 Historia Regum Britanniae ("The History of the Kings of Britain") as the place where Arthur's sword Excalibur was forged and also the place where Arthur was taken to recover after being wounded at the Battle of Camlann.

 

Avalon was associated from an early date with mystical practices and figures such as Morgan le Fay. It is often identified as the former island of Glastonbury Tor, which the later English variant of the legend made the place where King Arthur was taken to his final rest.