Glastonbury

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Glastonbury

Glastonbury , town (1991 pop. 6,751), Somerset, SW England. It has a leather industry, but Glastonbury is famous for its religious associations and many legends. One legend tells that St. Joseph of Arimathea founded the first Christian church in England there. On Wearyall Hill he rested his staff, which rooted and became the Glastonbury thorn, blooming annually on Christmas Eve. Another story identifies Glastonbury as the Isle of Avalon of Arthurian legend. Glastonbury Abbey was a center of learning and an object of pilgrimages in the Middle Ages. Extensive remains of an Iron Age lake village have been found nearby.

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"Glastonbury." The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. 2008. Encyclopedia.com. 29 Nov. 2009 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

"Glastonbury." The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. 2008. Encyclopedia.com. (November 29, 2009). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-GlastnbEng.html

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Glastonbury

The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable | 2006 | | Â© The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable 2006, originally published by Oxford University Press 2006. (Hide copyright information) Copyright

Glastonbury a town in Somerset which is the legendary burial place of King Arthur and Queen Guinevere, and the site of a ruined abbey held by legend to have been founded by Joseph of Arimathea. It was identified in medieval times with the mythical Avalon.
Glastonbury thorn a winter-flowering form of hawthorn, said to have sprung up at Glastonbury from the staff of Joseph of Arimathea; it is traditionally said to flower on Christmas Day according to the Old Style calendar.

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ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "Glastonbury." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. Oxford University Press. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. 29 Nov. 2009 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "Glastonbury." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. Oxford University Press. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. (November 29, 2009). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O214-Glastonbury.html

ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "Glastonbury." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. Oxford University Press. 2006. Retrieved November 29, 2009 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O214-Glastonbury.html

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Glastonbury

A Dictionary of Celtic Mythology | 2004 | | Â© A Dictionary of Celtic Mythology 2004, originally published by Oxford University Press 2004. (Hide copyright information) Copyright

Glastonbury. Small town in Somerset with ruined medieval abbey that has extensive Arthurian associations; one of several candidates as the model for both Avalon and Camelot. Artefacts testify to Celtic settlement in the La Tène era, but Glastonbury was also the site of the oldest British Christian community. Known as Ynys Wydrin/ Gutrin/ Witrin [glass island] through a fanciful etymology in early Welsh and also as Ynys Afallon [apple island] in Modern Welsh.

Bibliography

See John Scott , The Early History of Glastonbury (Woodbridge, UK, 1981).
R. F. Traharne , The Glastonbury Legends (London, 1967).

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JAMES MacKILLOP. "Glastonbury." A Dictionary of Celtic Mythology. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. 29 Nov. 2009 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

JAMES MacKILLOP. "Glastonbury." A Dictionary of Celtic Mythology. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. (November 29, 2009). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O70-Glastonbury.html

JAMES MacKILLOP. "Glastonbury." A Dictionary of Celtic Mythology. 2004. Retrieved November 29, 2009 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O70-Glastonbury.html

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