The decision has not pleased everyone. I expect that is probably always true. Mt. Rushmore and the Crazy Horse monument both have their critics, though they are far larger works to be sure. There is always some question about whether we can really improve upon the beauty of nature, as well as some reason to object to the politics: whenever you honor someone or something, even a myth, you do so by raising it above the things you didn't choose to honor. Rarely will there be no one to object.
When Uther in Tintagil past away
Moaning and wailing for an heir, the two
Left the still King, and passing forth to breathe,
Then from the castle gateway by the chasm
Descending through the dismal night—a night
In which the bounds of heaven and earth were lost—
Beheld, so high upon the dreary deeps
It seemed in heaven, a ship, the shape thereof
A dragon winged, and all from stern to stern
Bright with a shining people on the decks,
And gone as soon as seen. And then the two
Dropt to the cove, and watched the great sea fall,
Wave after wave, each mightier than the last,
Till last, a ninth one, gathering half the deep
And full of voices, slowly rose and plunged
Roaring, and all the wave was in a flame:
And down the wave and in the flame was borne
A naked babe, and rode to Merlin's feet,
Who stoopt and caught the babe, and cried "The King!
Here is an heir for Uther!" And the fringe
Of that great breaker, sweeping up the strand,
Lashed at the wizard as he spake the word,
And all at once all round him rose in fire,
So that the child and he were clothed in fire.
They are contaminating the air and water vapor in those caves with their ideal of modern art and vision. Which has nothing to do with True Power, of course.
ReplyDeleteAt least in America, the Presidents and their servants succeeded in accomplishing the Manifest Destiny that covered from one ocean to another, in terms of power projection.
What has Britain and their servants done recently to deserve the honor of setting their own mark on history?
Angering ancient powers and old blood is probably not a wise thing, when people are already being folded under a foreign invasion led by internal traitors.
At least in America, the Presidents and their servants succeeded in accomplishing the Manifest Destiny that covered from one ocean to another, in terms of power projection.
ReplyDeleteIn Britain too, though it was a while ago. The history of English -- meaning Norman, originally -- use of the Arthurian legends really is the English version of Manifest Destiny. Edward I used such claims to justify conquest and control of Wales and Scotland, and his heirs the Anglo-Norman rule of Brittany.
Angering ancient powers and old blood is probably not a wise thing, when people are already being folded under a foreign invasion led by internal traitors.
It does seem as if Britain is much in need of the Once and Future King again.
Grim, not sure if you ever read historical fiction, but hands down my favorite Arthurian-themed novels are Mary Stewart's 4 novels.
ReplyDeleteThere are small armful of books I read as a young girl that I have re-read (with no less pleasure) every few years for 3 or 4 decades, now. These rank high on that short list.
Generally I'm not a fan of too much scenery/description in a novel, but Stewart's writing is so deft that I've often been surprised to find myself actually "remembering" how a scene felt later, in the real world, almost as though I had lived it myself instead of merely reading about it.
If you're interested, you can read a sample here:
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/legacy-mary-stewart/1030103085
Also, Jack Whyte's Camulod Chronicles series give a very, very different take on Arthurian legend. I didn't love them the way I love Stewart's work, but did find them interesting for very different reasons.
ReplyDeleteMy husband really enjoyed them.
I read several of Whyte's books, but ultimately didn't finish the series. It was an interesting approach, though in a way it reminded me of one of those books about how Jesus and his followers faked the resurrection. Myths that resonate this deeply do so because they are in a deep sense true. Whyte's book is too focused on the ways in which the story wasn't true. It took the historical and physical impossibility of the myth so seriously that it ended up missing the powerful truth at the core of the myth, and instead telling the story of a fraud.
ReplyDeleteStewart didn't make that mistake. :) I should reread her work myself. I haven't read her books since I was very young.
The history of English -- meaning Norman, originally -- use of the Arthurian legends really is the English version of Manifest Destiny. Edward I used such claims to justify conquest and control of Wales and Scotland, and his heirs the Anglo-Norman rule of Brittany.
ReplyDeleteThat would be mighty ironic, though, if the original Arthurian legend was based on a Celtic warlord educated in Roman civilization and warfare. Since that would mean the Anglo Saxons would have pushed out the Bretons/Celts/Welsh using cultural appropriation of legends that didn't even come from them, and later on the Normans would do the same to the Anglo Saxons.
That would explain why Arthur is a powerful mythical symbol in Britain, and it would also explain why so much about it is hazy and in dispute. Legends designed to cement a ruling faction's "Divine Mandate" should be very vague, else there might be enough truth to corroborate and verify it.
That is also why the Left libels and scorns the US Founding Fathers. Your roots and foundations must be broken, before the Tree of Liberty can be pulled out and used as firewood for the evils of humanity and their domination. Because there is so many facts and eye witness testimonies vis a vis the Founding Fathers, it has taken the Leftist alliance many many decades to deconstruct that creation legend.
Whyte's book is too focused on the ways in which the story wasn't true.
I often read religious texts and run two simulation tracks. One that assumes everything is true, but that the writers misinterpreted some of the things they saw or experienced. One that assumes it is a false prophet, like Mohammed, using religious power as a pretext for gathering the powers of evil. They run independent of each other, to avoid contamination and crossing the streams.
I often wondered why it was never mentioned in text, that people verified X was dead because their heart no longer beat. Do they check for the pulse? Are there situations where the pulse cannot be felt because it is too weak? How did the ancients even verify death to begin with, when the body becomes rigid and starts to stink?
These are all details which are necessary, but long forgotten, to the truth. Without the details supporting the conclusion. there can be no verification of the conclusion.
It would be easy for the skillful to interrogate the ancient prophets, now, using modern methods to verify things. But the old prophets are gone and the old records, besides the Dead Sea Scrolls, are either destroyed or kept out of our hands by the power of Islam.