Paganism in Arthurian romance - John Darrah

Ask anyone what are the special features of the Arthurian legend and you are likely to be told: the sword from the stone; Lancelot and Guinevere; Tristan and Yseult; Excalibur thrown into the pool after the last battle; the departure to Avalon; and the doubtful death of Arthur. All the characters and activities on this list, and many others, can be interpreted as originating in paganism. They have nothing to do with the historical Arthur, but stem from an oral tradition of indeterminate age.;Like the "Iliad", the Arthurian legend is more than just a story: it includes recollections of prehistoric and mythological material; in Arthurian legend, certain elements can be recognized as belonging to a heroic Bronze Age (again as in the "Iliad"), while some are earlier, others later. Some figures, such as Diana and Faunus, appear in the romances in forms which correspond to their classical counterparts; and a large number of native deities are recognizable, often bearing the familiar names of Arthurian heroes and heroines.;However, Darrah's most original contribution to an unravelling of a pagan Arthurian past lies in his appropriation of the fascinating evidence of standing stones and pagan cultic sites. The magical attributes of stones are exemplified in prehistoric standing stones, the real counterparts of the "perrons" of the French romances. This is dark and difficult territory, but certain events in the Arthurian cycle, which take place on and around Salisbury Plain, have correspondences with known prehistoric events. Building on these elusive clues, and tracing a range of sites around the river Severn and south Wales, Darrah has added a significant new dimension to the search for the sources of England's great epic, the legends of Arthur and his court.