Glastonbury Abbey: The Isle of Avalon

The ruins of Glastonbury Abbey in Somerset dominate the skies. Glastonbury is long associated with the Arthurian legends of the Isle of Avalon. In the 12th century, the bones of a king reputed to be Arthur were exhumed and reburied in the Abbey church. After the dissolution of the abbey in 1539, the abbey fell into ruins, although some of the outbuildings survived.

C. A. Ralegh Radford, a noted Arthurian scholar and archaeologist, has written the text for the Pitkin series, The pride of Britain. He includes much historical and archaeological detail about the Abbey and the outbuildings, a plan of the Abbey as it existed in the 16th century, numerous photographs (most in color, with extensive captions. Although there is no bibliography, show more Radford has written much on Glastonbury and the Arthurian place names in the West, including Wales; any of these titles would supplement this books as well as his chapter in The quest for Arthur’s Britain.

For those who cannot travel to Somerset to see the ruins, this book is a good alternative. show less