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IheardagainaretellingofthestoryfromtheMabinogionof PrincePwllandthefeastonthemoundofNaberth.Thiswas thethirdtimeI’dheardthesewordsfromtheoldtalesfromthe WelshmythichistoriesandIbecamemoreconvincedthatthere wassomethingsymboliccontainedinthem.Clearlytherewas somethingotherworldlyinthewaythe“BeautifulLady”rode slowly,slowlyalongthetrackandyetcouldnotbecaughtup andtherepetitionandemphasisonthe“whitehorse”brought my mind to the white horse on the hills above us.
Soonthereappeared,levelwiththemound,abeautifulwoman dressedinshininggoldensilkwhorodeonapalewhitehorse. Ataleisurelypaceshemadeherwayslowly,slowlyalongthe track.NoneofthecourtiersrecognisedherandPwyllwishedto knowhername.Hesentoneofthemtofollowandlearnher name.Afteratimehereturnedandtoldtheprincethatthe fasterheranthegreaterthedistancebetweenhimandthe beautifulladygrew.Thenasecondmessengerwassent,this timeridingthefastesthorseinthecourt.Howeverfastherode, evenoverthelevelground,hetoowasunabletocatchupwith the lady.NowPrincePwyllrealisedthatthiswasthemiraculous happeningpromisedtothosewhosatonthegorseddmound. Thenextdayhereturnedwithhiscourttothemound.This timetheprince’smessengerwasreadytomeettheladyasshe arrivedonthetrack.Whenshedrewlevelhemountedhis horseandsetoffrapidlybutagainshepassedslowly,slowlyby andyetcouldnotbecaught.Theprincerealisedthatshecould notbemetbyordinarymeans.So,onthethirddayhereturned again to the mound determined to ride to meet her himself.Againshecameslowly,slowlyalongthetrackandnowthe princedrovehisfastesthorsetowardher.Butthebeautifullady passedbyslowly,slowlyalongthetrackandremainedbeyond him.Atlasttheprince,realisingthatthistaskwasbeyond earthlymeans,calledouttoher.“Oh!Lady,ladywon’tyouwait.” “ItiswellthatyouspokePwyll”shesaid“youshouldhave spokensooner”.ThentheLadyRhiannoncametoconverse withPwyllandmadeanarrangementtoreturnagaininayear’s time when they could be betrothed. It’snotoriouslydifficulttoseethechalkfigureofahorseor “dragon”fromdowninthevalleyanywhereclosetotheslopeof theridgeofgrasscoveredchalkatUffingtonCastle.Itis positionedonthecurveofthehilltopandismosteasilyvisible fromtheNorthwest.AsI’vehadmanyyearsofexperience lookingat“landscapecalendar”sitesitwasimmediatelyevident thatasightlinetothemidwintersunrisewaspossibleoverthe WhiteHorse.Abitofcheckingwiththemapandontheground producedaveryinterestingalignmentupthevalleycalledthe “Manger”andoveraspuroflandwithaflatareajustnorthof theB4507abovethevillageofWoolstone.Furthermoreavisit tothepubinWoolstonewhichisserendipitiouslycalled“The RisingSun”revealed,aroundthepubandinthefootingsof someoftheolderbuildingsinthevillage,anabundanceof “SarsenStones”.Thesespecialstones,belovedofthebuilders ofStonehengeandAvebury,seemtohavebeentakenfrom somewherelocal.Couldtheyhavebeenrolledorsleddeddown the100ydsorsofromasettinginthefieldabove?That’san attractive speculation but not an easy thing to prove.
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Rhiannon rides
again
on the White Horse…
In the vale of the White Horse, to the north of the famous and ancient hill figure of Uffington,
IheardagainaretellingofthestoryfromtheMabinogionof PrincePwllandthefeastonthemoundofNaberth.Thiswasthe thirdtimeI’dheardthesewordsfromtheoldtalesfromthe WelshmythichistoriesandIbecamemoreconvincedthatthere wassomethingsymboliccontainedinthem.Clearlytherewas somethingotherworldlyinthewaythe“BeautifulLady”rode slowly,slowlyalongthetrackandyetcouldnotbecaughtupand therepetitionandemphasisonthe“whitehorse”broughtmy mindtothewhitehorseonthehillsaboveus.Couldtherebea connectionbetweenthestoryandtheancientimagefromthe Bronze Age up on the hill to the south.LongagoPrincePwyll(pronouncedpooch)andthemenofhis courtwerefeastinginArberth,oneofhischiefcourts.Nearby wasthemound“GorseddArberth”.Itwasbelievedthatanyhigh bornmansittingtherewouldexperienceblowsorwoundsor wouldwitnessamiracle.Theprince,havingnofearofblowsor wounds but, hoping to witness a miracle, sat upon the mound.
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Winter Solstice greetings card
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Soonthereappeared,levelwiththemound,abeautifulwoman dressedinshininggoldensilkwhorodeonapalewhitehorse.At aleisurelypaceshemadeherwayslowly,slowlyalongthetrack. NoneofthecourtiersrecognisedherandPwyllwishedtoknow hername.Hesentoneofthemtofollowandlearnhername. Afteratimehereturnedandtoldtheprincethatthefasterhe ranthegreaterthedistancebetweenhimandthebeautifullady grew.Thenasecondmessengerwassent,thistimeridingthe fastesthorseinthecourt.Howeverfastherode,evenoverthe level ground, he too was unable to catch up with the lady.NowPrincePwyllrealisedthatthiswasthemiraculoushappening promisedtothosewhosatonthegorseddmound.Thenextday hereturnedwithhiscourttothemound.Thistimetheprince’s messengerwasreadytomeettheladyasshearrivedonthe track.Whenshedrewlevelhemountedhishorseandsetoff rapidlybutagainshepassedslowly,slowlybyandyetcouldnot becaught.Theprincerealisedthatshecouldnotbemetby ordinarymeans.So,onthethirddayhereturnedagaintothe mound determined to ride to meet her himself.Againshecameslowly,slowlyalongthetrackandnowtheprince drovehisfastesthorsetowardher.Butthebeautifulladypassed byslowly,slowlyalongthetrackandremainedbeyondhim.At lasttheprince,realisingthatthistaskwasbeyondearthlymeans, calledouttoher.“Oh!Lady,ladywon’tyouwait.”“Itiswellthat youspokePwyll”shesaid“youshouldhavespokensooner”.Then theLadyRhiannoncametoconversewithPwyllandmadean arrangementtoreturnagaininayear’stimewhentheycouldbe betrothed. It’snotoriouslydifficulttoseethechalkfigureofahorseor “dragon”fromdowninthevalleyanywhereclosetotheslopeof theridgeofgrasscoveredchalkatUffingtonCastle.Itis positionedonthecurveofthehilltopandismosteasilyvisible fromtheNorthwest.AsI’vehadmanyyearsofexperience lookingat“landscapecalendar”sitesitwasimmediatelyevident thatasightlinetothemidwintersunrisewaspossibleoverthe WhiteHorse.Abitofcheckingwiththemapandontheground producedaveryinterestingalignmentupthevalleycalledthe “Manger”andoveraspuroflandwithaflatareajustnorthofthe B4507abovethevillageofWoolstone.Furthermoreavisittothe pubinWoolstonewhichisserendipitiouslycalled“TheRising Sun”revealed,aroundthepubandinthefootingsofsomeofthe olderbuildingsinthevillage,anabundanceof“SarsenStones”. Thesespecialstones,belovedofthebuildersofStonehengeand Avebury,seemtohavebeentakenfromsomewherelocal.Could theyhavebeenrolledorsleddeddownthe100ydsorsofroma settinginthefieldabove?That’sanattractivespeculationbutnot an easy thing to prove.Somethingelsethatneedsconsiderationistheconnection betweenRhiannon,thebeautifullady,andmidwintersunrise. FirstlywehavetorememberthatfortheCelticpeoplewho preservedthisstorytheSunwasfemale.Thisisstillthecasein Germaniclanguages,DieSonne,DerMundandinmanyother earlyculturesaswell.Secondlyit’seasiesttounderstandthe repetitionofa“beautifullady”repeatedlyridingslowly,slowly alonga“track”whichno-onecancatchupwithheron,asa heavenly body passing across the sky.So,justasprincePwllsetoutwithhiscourtforaceremonialfeast nodoubtonaspecialdayoftheyear,Isetoutwithmypartner onthewintersolsticetostandatthefootofthe“mound”at Uffington.Itwasfortunatelyasparklingcleardaywithnota cloudinthesky.IarrivedearlybecauseIhadn’tworkedoutthe timeofsunriseandspentaverychillycoupleofhourswaitingto seewhatwouldappear.Eventually,atabout9.45am,thefirst gleamofdirectsunlightappearedasasparklerightoverthetail ofthehorse,whichispointinginthesamedirectionasthesun’s travel,andclimbedinlessthanfiveminutesintotheskyoverits head.Thatwasawowmomentifevertherewasone.Wehad beenbroughtbysomecoincidencesandassociationsofideasto aplacewhereseasonalceremonialobservanceswerestill availableafterlyingdormantformaybe3,000years.Thoughone doeswonderwhatbeliefsandconvictionshaveleadthepeople ofthisplacetokeepthehorsescouredandcleanedforallthis time too.Asthesummersolsticeapproachedthisyear,2010,Iwasdrawn backtoUffingtontofollowuponamentalnoteIhadmadewhen doingtheoriginalworkforthewintersolsticesomeyearsago. Onthemapitlookedasifthesteepsidedvalleycalled“The Manger”belowtheWhiteHorsealignedtothepositionofthe settingsunatitsgreatestdeclinationatthistimeofyear.So,ona perfectsummerevening,afteradayseeingthelocalsightswe returnedtotheValeoftheWhiteHorse.Wevisitedthevillageof Woolstonewherethepub,withitsscoresofguardianSarsen stonessatinthesunshine.Itusedtobethe“RisingSun”butnow callsitselfthe“WhiteHorse”.Anopenhousedowntheroad offeredachancetogetacupofteaandenjoythegardenwhere severallandscapedvistasdirectedtheeyeupthehilltothe horse.Finally,throughthevillagewesawthelovelyclearstream that rises in the wooded coombe under Dragon Hill.
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