Glastonbury Hollywood movie

[Ian Pegler]

mod by I.P. - split from Community in shock as Holy Thorn in Glastonbury desecrated

from the BBC...

Legend of Holy Thorn in Glastonbury goes to Hollywood

A film is set to be made by Hollywood producers on the Glastonbury legend of Joseph of Arimathea and the Holy Thorn.

CLICK HERE to read the article.

Ian

[Ian Pegler]

Here's an interesting quote:

"This [the Joseph of Arimathea legend] is the real historical foundation upon which modern spirituality rides piggyback; the beauty of the past which has been hijacked by consumerism."

It comes from the Glastonbury: Isle of Light website.

So here's my question:

Do you consider it valid to say that "modern spirituality" is "riding piggyback" on Glastonbury's (allegedly) Christian foundation?

Ian


Edited by I.P. 1.4.11 - removed repeated word from quotation

[simonwheeler]

Do you consider it valid to say that "modern spirituality" is "riding piggyback" on Glastonbury's (allegedly) Christian foundation?

No.



Edited by I.P. 1.4.11 - removed repeated word from quotation

[Ian Pegler]

Another interesting quote about this film, from the press-kit...

Support from the film will go to the Welsh Language Board, which endeavors to keep the modern language of Welsh alive.

I notice that the Welsh actor John Rhys Davies is a producer on this film and some of the dialog will be in "Brythonic"

Ian

[Ian Pegler]

Here's an interesting quote:

"This [the Joseph of Arimathea legend] is the real historical foundation upon which modern spirituality rides piggyback; the beauty of the past which has been hijacked by consumerism."

It comes from the Glastonbury: Isle of Light website.

It's a bit of an ironic statement really, considering that the reason the mediaeval monks of Glastonbury embraced the cult of Joseph of Arimathea was in no small part to make a bit of money.

Even today you can still buy all sorts of lovely knick-knacks from the Glastonbury abbey shop including a Joseph of Arimathea statue and an Excalibur paper-knife. One wonders what's changed?

Tickets to see Status Quo and Katherine Jenkins at the Glastonbury Abbey Extravaganza will cost you a few florins more, a mere snip at 32.50 UKP a pop for Day One and a further 32.50 UKP a pop for Day Two, plus a 1.50 handling fee. Bargain !

Ian

[Ian Pegler]

I just found this interview with Daniel McNicoll (writer of Glastonbury Isle of Light) from 2009. According to the webpage, he is the son of a Presbyterian Minister and cites amongst his movie influences Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings and the "Passion of Christ" (which I take to be a reference to the Mel Gibson movie The Passion of the Christ).

a brief quote:

It doesn’t seem like all types of movies are made, and that’s really a reflection upon the type of people that are making them.

CLICK HERE (link broken)
to read the interview.

Ian

[Ian Pegler]

I just came across this document from their website, dated from last April:

Glastonbury continues in this tradition as a profound story passed down from history and legend. Delightfully we discover it, untapped and unexplored; a wonderful saga that has yet to be projected on the silver screen.

CLICK HERE for the PDF (90 KB)

Some interesting quotes:

Other than Christ, no personality looms larger in English, French and German Medieval literature than Joseph of Arimathea.

I wonder if this is true...?

Traditional English myths and legends, including those surrounding Glastonbury were indeed largely subdued by the Norman Conquest of England

Which of the Glastonbury myths/legends predates the Norman Conquest ? If it had been subdued completely, how would we know about it ?

Quite dramatically, the first recorded Welsh Poet, Maelgwyn of Llandaff, had as his first record the Joseph of Arimathea burial at Glastonbury. This above all else was chosen to be the foremost important thing written in Welsh. Thus the connections to Joseph and Glastonbury are quite remarkable.

Actually no. The first geniune written reference to the burial of Joseph of Arimathea at Glastonbury comes from Cronica sive Antiquitates Glastoniensis Ecclesie a.k.a. "The Chronicle of Glastonbury", written by John of Glastonbury. This contains the Prophesy of Melkin or Melchinus whom some authors of olden times (19th century, possibly earlier) speculatively identified with Maelgwyn of Llandaff. However, more recent scholars say that the prophesy itself was a mediaeval invention (circa early 1200's) and has Arabic influences. Maelgwyn of Llandaff never wrote it and the prophesy was in Latin, not Welsh.

Since the document came from Glastonbury abbey, its connection with Glastonbury is quite unremarkable.

Ian

[Ian Pegler]

from thisisbath.co.uk...

The Holy Grail of tourism

Tourist bosses believe Glastonbury: Isle of Light will be their own Holy Grail, showcasing Somerset to a world-wide audience hungry to see first-hand the places portrayed in the film.

And “location vacation” tourism is also expected to boost the Wiltshire village of Castle Combe, following the release this month of Steven Spielberg’s film War Horse.

CLICK HERE to read the article.

Ian

[Ian Pegler]

An interesting blog about the movie...

Mystical Glastonbury

Being the first to know about this new epic movie is a privilege and, dare I say it, a right! I live in Glastonbury and talk has it that Glastonbury, Isle of Light is about to be shot here in my home town. So let me be the first to tell you about how Glastonbury is about to become the centre of attention to the masses.

CLICK HERE to read the blog.

Ian

[Ian Pegler]

There's now a Facebook page and it's clear that this movie is only just entering pre-production.

I can't find any entry for this film on IMDB. The link on their website is broken.

Ian

[Ian Pegler]

A short YouTube promo by Visit Somerset...



Hard to think of Somerset as "undiscovered" Do we not spend enough money in Glastonbury already?

Ian

[Ian Pegler]

This contains the Prophesy of Melkin or Melchinus whom some authors of olden times (19th century, possibly earlier) speculatively identified with Maelgwyn of Llandaff.

I have managed to trace what I believe to be the source of this "Melkin = Maelgwyn of Llandaff" equation.

In a book called the Iolo manuscripts on page 465 there is a reference to a "Maelgyn Hir of Llandaff". This comes with a footnote at the bottom of the page which says that he was "evidently" Melkin. Yet the writer makes no connection with Joseph of Arimathea or with Glastonbury and provides no evidence at all, so it seems to be just speculation. Worse, Iolo Morganwg was a known forger of manuscripts so the whole thing seems a bit dubious.

The book was published posthumously in 1848. Just 13 years later Richard Williams Morgan mentions "Maelgwyn of Llandaff" but calls him the uncle of St. David, whereas Iolo Morganwg called him the uncle of St. Teilo.

Lionel Smithett Lewis followed R. W. Morgan's lead, calling him the uncle of St. David but Morgan dated him to 450 A.D. whereas Lewis dated him to 540 A.D.

The media kit of the "Glastonbury: Isle of Light" website has a partial bibliography which lists Lewis' book, so evidently they got it from there.

But it all traces back to this dubious forger and romanticist...

Ian

[Malcolm]

Wiki says Teilo and David were cousins
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Teilo
so he could still be the uncle of both

[Ian Pegler]

Wiki says Teilo and David were cousins
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Teilo
so he could still be the uncle of both

Or one of them, or neither of them...pity Wiki doesn't go into more detail as to Teilo's family.

The following is taken from the Wiki page on Maelgwn Gwynedd, under the sub-heading "Literary misinformation"...

The Iolo Manuscripts

Maelgwn Gwynedd is mentioned repeatedly in the spurious 18th century Iolo Manuscripts of Iolo Morganwg. His three Chief Bards are named, and he is proclaimed King Paramount over the other kings.[33] A Maelgwn Hir of Llandaff is described, and said to be commonly mistaken for Maelgwn Gwynedd.[34] Taliesin is said to have been dispossessed of his property by Maelgwn, and so cursed him.[35] Saint Eurgain is said to be Maelgwn's daughter.[36] Saint Cwyllog, daughter of Caw Cawlwyd of Twr Celyn, had been given lands by Maelgwn Gwynedd.[37] In 'The Three Holy Families of the Isle of Britain', there is a story of Caw and his children who had been driven from their lands by the Gwyddelian Picts, and who then came to Wales and were given land in Anglesey by Maelgwn.[38] Without independent and reputable verification, the material found in the Iolo Manuscripts is considered to be the product of Iolo's fertile imagination.

According to the same page, Maelgwn Hir was just another title of Maelgwn Gwynedd (Hir means tall). As such, it seems a bit far fetched to link him with Llandaff, which is miles away from Gwynedd. Also he was descended from Cunedda so he is firmly rooted in North Wales.

Ian

[Ian Pegler]

pity Wiki doesn't go into more detail as to Teilo's family.

I've been doing some research in to this. It seems that Teilo and David may have been related but not first cousins, so they can't have shared an uncle.

Sabine Baring Gould's Lives of the British Saints is - alas - influenced by the Iolo Morganwg material. Even so, it doesn't say that Maelgwyn (or variant spellings thereof) is an uncle of either of these two saints. It does suggest that David and Teilo have a common ancestor in Ceredig ap Cunedda Wledig, so perhaps the Cunedda ancestry is less important to geographical location.

Bonedd y Saint almost agrees with Baring Gould's "family tree" but skips Cedig ap Ceredig and makes Sant the son, rather than grandson, of Ceredig. A different version includes Cedig.

The Vita Sancti Dauid has a pedigree of St. David and this also skips Cedig, otherwise it's the same as Baring-Gould.

Maelgwyn Gwynedd is also descended from Cunedda but via a different son, so bottom line, he's not the uncle of either David or Teilo. He was described by Gildas as being very tall in stature, so the appelation "Hir" would certainly have applied to him.

Iolo Morganwg featured on a BBC Wales series quite recently. Here's the iplayer link:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b0 ... of_Change/

"Iolo and his forgeries aren't rumbled until long after his death in 1826"

On the whole I'm inclined to think that "Maelgwyn of Llandaff" is another of Iolo's forgeries.

Ian