WHY Avalon?
Cultures and legends
According to Arthurian legend, Avalon is a sacred island where the fairy Morgana is said to be the queen and where the sword Excalibur was forged. Celtic mythological tradition gives Avalon the status of a “home of the dead” where heroes reside after their death. The island is said to be the burial place of King Arthur, awaiting the return of the king to the world of the living. It therefore does not necessarily have a location corresponding to the real world, although its entrance may be in a known place.
It is precisely because it does not belong to the real world that its location is variable and changing according to the sources and the times. Chrétien de Troyes places it in Cornwall. From the end of the 12th century, the most widespread tradition will be to locate it in Glastonbury, in Somerset, at the foot of the sacred hill of Tor
Intercontinental links of Celtic culture
In addition to the United Kingdom, several sites in France with the root “aval”, “aballo”, “aball”, “afal”, etc., meaning apple or apple tree in the ancient Celtic languages, particularly in Brittany but not only, are also plausible places to locate the mythical island, especially as it would be drifting between the earth and the spiritual world. The town of Avallon in the Yonne (the department where I have my roots), which owes its name to the Eduen people of Celtic Gaul and whose name means “apple orchard”, would also be a good candidate according to some interpretations. It is this anchoring in the Celtic worlds of France, Ireland and Great Britain that inspired this name. What better way to represent the link between the English and French-speaking worlds than the elusive island of Avalon, which not only straddles the Celtic territories, but whose mythology continues to feed contemporary culture and imagination.
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