Second Edition This story is not true in the sense that most people
use that word. It emerges out of the mists of time, rooted deep in
the heritage of Britain and western spirituality. It is a weave of
mythologies, theologies, traditions, and histories. The story
stands upon the traditions of two mythical characters: the Lady of
Avalon, and Joseph of Arimathea. But the land is itself a living
character in the tale, as is the surrounding marsh, the invading
Roman legion, and a very special cup of blue glass that unites them
all. The legend of the Lady emerges from the great body of
Arthurian literature, but predates and underlies the story of
Arthur by some four hundred years. Vivian is a Lady who is already
the stuff of myth by the time Arthur meets the Lady of the Lake.
She is the sovereignty of the land itself, the spirit of the mud
and dark water of the marshes, seer of an ancient people, priestess
of the Isle of Mist, and keeper of the apples. She clings to the
ancient earth for her people at a time when the old Druids are
finding new connections to a Roman culture they are no longer able
to defeat. At the time of the tale, which we would today name as
circa 45 CE, the Roman invasion under Emperor Claudius is two years
old. Vespasian is leading the II Augusta Legion across the
southwest of Britain, fast approaching the great inland sea, which
is the realm of Avalon. Ancient Britain will soon be Roman. Into
this ferment comes Joseph of Arimathea, great-uncle of Jesus of
Nazareth. Traditions of Joseph abound in the Cornwall and Somerset
regions of England; Joseph, the Cornish tin and lead merchant, mine
owner and supplier of metals to the Roman military across the
Empire. In this tale we make use of one particular tradition that
says Joseph was indeed born in Cornwall, a Jew of the Diaspora, and
only later went to Palestine in his capacity of trader in tin.
There he became Minister of Mines for the Roman army, a
worldly-wise merchant who knew the Mediterranean world, and much of
the Roman leadership. In this tale, he is known by a
Cornish-inspired name, Eosaidh (Yaw'-sheh) of Cornualle, or Eos
(Yawsh). According to tradition, Eosaidh made many trips from
Palestine to the mines of Cornwall and the Mendip hills north of
Avalon, and on some occasions brought his nephew with him. Eosaidh,
Vivian, and "the lad" have all met before, years before this tale
begins. And Vivian has already had profound, but different,
influence upon them both. The underlying images in the tale are the
Cup of Life, later to become known as the "Holy Grail," the Apple
trees of sacred and fertile Avalon, and the Hawthorn staff of
Eosaidh's tradition. It is a tale of the coming of the Jesus
tradition to the ancient world of Avalon, and what happens when
these worlds collide. But there is unexpected conflict, too, when
Eosaidh is confronted with the new "church," bringing a cult of
Jesus that even he cannot accept. In the end, Eosaidh must chose
between Avalon and Jerusalem, between two loves. And this is truly
a love story, for the worldviews that meet, and clash, and dance
and clash again do not do so in the abstract. Eosaidh and Vivian
are flesh and blood. Their struggle to understand one another, and
indeed themselves, takes them out of the realm of theological
debate into the whirlwind of human emotion. What would be a work of
theology becomes instead the most powerful of love stories. And
this is as it should be. This second edition contains no changes in
the story line. But numerous typographical and formatting problems
in the original have been corrected. The reader will find this
edition an easier read, especially in discerning the shifts in time
and space. The original edition contained an epilogue, which does
not appear here. Upon consideration, we felt the epilogue did not
add to the original tale, and indeed tended to detract from it. In
this edition, the tale ends where it should.
General
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