AVALON CIVITAS

Avalon has been selected by Roberto Amati in relation to the real history of european integration, then enlisted in the CITY OR CIVITAS category, accompanied by own fact SHEET useful to the comprehension, completed of historical MAPS AND IMAGES or with a direct linking to the related Blog contents dedicated to the entire history of european integration and the future of Europe.

Avalon is one of the most ancient sites of the history of European integration, signed in great part by Christianity. The Civitas Avalon was founded in I century AD by Joseph of Arimatea (a disciple and relative of Jesus Christ, escaped to Britain after the death of the Master where established the 'Round Table' tradition and the 'fisher king' mith) and his followers, probably some relatives of Jesus. Today is quite accepted that Avalon was an hill in the Somerset Levels near Glastonbury at that time an isle surrounded by marsh and connected throught the bridge of Ponter's Ball Dyke (something similar to the Mont Saint Michel Monastir).

Considered for long time a legendary site, Avalon was mentioned for the first time in the book "Historia" of Geoffrey of Monmouth, who narrowed the burial of King Arthur in the site where had been forged his sword Excalibur. After that, many others books of the "Breton Cycle" pointed the origin of the Christian community of Britain with the arrival of Joseph of Arimatea, one of the 70 Disceples of Jesus narrowed in the Bible and a member of the Sanhedrin that condamned the Master, who could remove his body from the cross when died and bury in his private tomb. From this information came the origin of the mistery of Joseph, in particular his magic powers that made miracles and started the pilgrimage to Avalon/Glastonbury in the Middle Age.

It happened when a monk of the Glastonbury Abbey (founded by Britons and dates at least to the early-7th century) claimed the discovery of the bones of King Arthur and a lead cross bearing an iscription related to Avalon island...Since than that place became famous in the Cristianity and related to Saint Patrick and the welsh royal family of Gwynedd. Around it was born a Christian comunity and many religious building were erected as hospitals or almshouses for the poors, so much that the town largely depended on the abbey but was also a centre for the wool trade until the 18th century.

With the conquer of the Romans Avalon-Glastonbury became part of the Britannia Prima province and with the reform of Constantine I (see Christian Empire), was included in the Britannia diocesi. When Romans abandoned the archipelagus in 409 AD, it started the invasion of Anglo-Saxons people that contended the isle to Britons and divided it in many litte reigns: Avalon was part of the Cornwall Ducky held by Roman-Britons families (among there was the Britannic House of King Arthur!) until it was annexed to the Wessex Reign ruled by the homonymous dinasty, that founded the England Kingdom in 890 AD.

The original Holy Thorn was a centre of pilgrimage in the Middle Ages but was chopped down during the English Civil War, while the Glastonbury Abbey remained in ruins although today presents itself as "traditionally the oldest above-ground Christian church in the world" which, according to the legend, was built at Joseph's behest to house the Holy Grail around 65 AD. The legend of Joseph and King Arthur was recovered by Queen Elizabeth I to give basis to her Anglican Church reform in XVI century. Anyway in Glastonbury are buried many english kings and bishops and important monks of the local monastir.

Today the archeological area "Glastonbury Abbey" is one of the most visited in United Kingdom together with the Church of St John the Baptist dating from the 15th century and the remains of the St Michael's Church at the summit of Glastonbury Tor. Avalon is a little town in the south-west of United Kingdom, within the South West region, whose patron is Saint Dunstan the Archibishop of Canterbury who reformed the English Church.

---