With the sun reborn for another year, I want to touch upon a few news things I've come across in recent research relating to Arthur and the Winter Solstice.
Investigations have lead me to believe, even more strongly, that Arthur has a much older, deeper root than just that of a Dark Age warlord.
Apparently Arthur was meant to have been born on the winter solstice. One old solstice greeting is "alban arthuan" (trans. The Light of Arthur) I must admit I had not ever heard of what time of year his birth was, but checking my sources this does indeed appear to be consistent.
I am wondering if he is in fact not just a bear god, but a solar god. He is either the deity of the setting sun or the morning sunrise. I note in some versions his shields name translates as "The Face of the Evening" which I have used in STONE LORD. I'm wondering if that name implies the sunset.
Gawain is probably also a dwindled solar deity. As mentioned in an older post on this Blog, it's mentioned that 'his powers waned with the descent of the sun.'
More research yet to be done, but some interesting food for thought ...
J.P.R
Thanks for this post: Some great new ideas that I wasn't aware of.
ReplyDeleteThis train of thought makes Arthur a deity via a completely different route to the one I used, but comes to the same conclusion. (for example I have Arthur as the "Arlth-Thor" in the novel).
Congrats of the book and best of wishes for the new year
Thanks Jon. Happy Christmas too and I hope the new year brings you success! Yes, it's funny when a group of people come to the same conclusions via different avenues. It makes it seem like we're on the right track if a number of people have also thought this way too. We are currently reading an old Stonehenge pamphlet written in the 60's which puts forward a very interesting idea of the course of the blue stones and their mythological ties to welsh legend, including those in the Arthurian cycle.
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