Some Folklore from Tintagel

Some Folklore from Tintagel

Alex Langstone

The folklore of Tintagel is dominated by King Arthur, and Geoffrey of Monmouth was the first to document the Arthurian connection with Tintagel in his History of the Kings of Britain (Historia Regum Britnniae) which was written in the 1130s. The Castle, built by Richard, Earl of Cornwall, in the 1230s is also connected, within the tangled web of folklore, to the legendary tales of Tristan and Isolde, as the castle at Tintagel was also the seat of King Mark. My favourite piece of ‘Arthuriana’ in Tintagel is the indentation in the clifftop known as King Arthur’s footprint, where the Victorians claimed that Arthur, as a giant, could stand one foot on the ‘footprint’ and another in the churchyard of St Materiana on the opposite cliff. However, there is much more to the folklore of Tintagel than King Arthur.     

Tintagel has its very own sea serpent. In September 1907 the Aberdeen Journal reported a sighting of a sea serpent by the Rev. T. C. Davies of Sheffield and Mr E Dodgson, Chaplain at Jesus College Oxford. They first sighted the creature about 11.45.am on September 12th. The report came in a letter to the Western Morning News. They were seated on the edge of the cliff at Gullastem when their attention was drawn to a black object moving very quickly along the surface about 200 yards away towards Tintagel Head. In view for about a minute, the serpent was at least twenty-foot-long, and was holding its head above the water which appeared to have a large mane upon it. The two witnesses rued that they had neither a telescope or a "Kodak to take its likeness”.                                                                         

The tales of some of the charmers and conjurors of Tintagel and district are of great interest and one such charmer was called ‘Old Martin’, who was practising his craft in the village in the early part of the twentieth century. He would cure warts using an absent treatment charm, where all he would ask for was the name of the affected person. The warts were invariably gone within a week. He would never accept payment for his services and he continued the old tradition of never being thanked for his treatments as this was widely believed to render the charm useless. He had an interesting charm for curing sprains. He would take hold of the injured limb and say - 

“As Our Saviour went over God’s bridge; he caught his toe in a stone and got a sprain. Then comes Peter who stretched it out, bone to bone, sinew to sinew, skin to skin. I hope every drop of the blood in thy body will run, in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost”

‘Old Martin’ also had a charm to cure boils. The spell was recited over the patient, using his or her name 

“(Patient’s name), three angels came from the west. One had fire; the others had water and frost. Out Fire! In Water and Frost! In the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost.”

Another charm, this time from 1930s Tintagel, gives instructions on how to cure ringworm in humans. Take half a crown and encircle the ringworm three times opposite the sun. The ringworm will dry and eventually all infected skin will fall away leaving clear new skin.

 Fenterleigh Cross, Bossiney

There is an interesting account which reveals that several witch bottles were discovered underneath an old wayside cross at Bossiney in the 1880s. The antiquarian writer, H. Michell Whitley wrote about this discovery in Devon and Cornwall Notes and Queries Vol 2, 1921 –

When on a walking tour through North Cornwall about forty years ago I stopped to sketch a wayside cross near Tintagel; and was told by the farmer of the adjacent land that it was overthrown some time ago, and on setting it up again, he found several bottles full of water, and with many pins in them, buried around its foot. On inquiring the reason of these bottles being buried, I was told at Boscastle that "If you are ill-wished you must take a bottle, fill it with water, and put some pins in it, cork it tight, and then bury it. at the foot of a holy cross; and the ill-wish will fall on the person who ill-wished you.

This is likely to be the cross at Fenterleigh, as this has been moved at least twice. According to Andrew Langdon in his book Stone Crosses in North Cornwall, the cross was standing by a hedge in the 1860s with only the front visible. According to Whitley’s account, it must have been moved by the farmer that he spoke to, circa 1880. This was when the witch bottles were discovered by the farmer. The monument has been moved again, more recently, due to road widening. However, according to Andrew Langdon, it remains close to its original position, at the cross roads, marked by the nearby field name ‘Cross field’.  

First published in Meyn Mamvro No. 92 Winter/Spring 2017. Text taken from my recent book From Granite to Sea: The Folklore of Bodmin Moor and East Cornwall.

Helena

Helena

Divine heavenly host
Sent from above
Beyond the veil of dreams
Helena, ghostly instiller of beauty
In this green and beautiful
Valley, whence
The quicksilver river flows -
Camel of the west
Great snaking river
Moving through the
Sacred enclosure
Of your divine intervention
Landscape Sovereign of
Ancient place
The elbowed river
Travelling towards the north
Silver-singing artery of life
Running from the misty upland moor
To Atlantic rollers crashing
Against the massive darkened
Sea-stained craggy serrated cliffs
This secret celestial valley
Sanctified, soft and peaceful
Hidden site of blissful repose
Fed by the old straight track
From other places, abodes and realms
Lady of dreams
Light up the morn with

Your ancient light
Oh Lady of sunrise
Goddess of sunset
Take us to your eternal home
The secret space from
Whence you perpetually reside
By the flowing river, where the reindeer hide
In your esoteric time-spun enclosure
At the edge of the wild gorse-tangled upland
Of the arcane sea-clad Celtic fringe!
Holy Helena, treasure seeker
Truth inspirer, love desirer
Nature's finest resurrection
Autumn leaves glow introspection
Natural spirit come to me
Eternal quester, confider, jester
Nature's soul-womb eternally,
Quietly found in this
Iconic medieval landscape
By mill and trackway
You travel by half-light
Manifesting through dreams
Where once you were queen
O'er the bridge which spans
Your waterway bright
Sylvan spirit
Light of light!
The cosmic dance of river flow
Elfin track and wind strewn rain
Find us, teach us
Take us back
From whence you came - 

Our landscape lady Elen ran

Through the ancient roads where life began.
Oh Helland Goddess of the
Green-track, guardian of the antlered ones
Show us your story, your mystic ray
Spreading light and joy through the endless day!

from Lucifer Bridge by Alex Langstone

Folklore of Looe Island

 The Folklore of Looe Island

Alex Langstone

Looe Island was once central to the illicit operations of local smugglers and is home to some little known folklore and legend. The island was originally called St Michael’s Island, and an ancient chapel once stood at its summit. The folklore of the isle suggests romantic tales of lost caves and a secret tunnel linking it to the mainland. Some years ago sisters Roselyn and Evelyn Atkins, famous owner-residents of the island, received an astonishing letter from a clergyman in Cumbria explaining that he was in possession of what appeared to be a genuine treasure map, with a clear ‘X’ marking the spot. He sent the map to the Atkins sisters and for years they kept the map, eventually deciding to try to dowse the spot. They did receive some powerful indications that something was buried there and when excavated a large stone was found buried at the spot. Maybe the stone itself is the real treasure?        

On the 15th of September 1900 The Cornish Times reported that a 'Remarkable discoveries at Looe Island' had been made, giving a description of the findings and promising a full detailed article in the next issue, but no such report ever appeared - fuelling conspiracy theorists and treasure hunters curiosity in what, if anything, was actually found beneath the ancient islands rocky shores.                   

The original report that appeared in the newspaper told the story of two young men who had become excited and intrigued with stories of smuggling and treasure whilst on holiday in Looe. Having nothing to occupy their time, these two gentlemen (Mr R. Lawson and Mr F.A. Somers) gained permission to visit the island to investigate further. What they allegedly found was described at the time as astonishing. Hidden deep underneath the island was a huge cave and shortly after this initial discovery an adjoining one was discovered, which was described as resembling the celebrated Etruscan caves at Clusia in central Italy. The investigators quickly suspected that they had accidentally stumbled on a discovery unknown to even the old smugglers themselves and it was decided to make further excavations, where the most remarkable results were obtained, according to the newspaper report of the time. 
                                              

Lawson and Somers went on to describe what they had found in more detail. At a distance of about 18ft below the surface, Looe Island was nothing but an extensive ramification of caves. Everything pointed towards the fact that these caves were originally above the ground as many of the larger ones - of which there were said to be dozens - were built of brick, similar to that used on the Hannafore Estate and probably obtained from the same source. They were evidently very ancient, probably prehistoric structures, several having collapsed over there long history. The style of their 'architecture' was said to be that of a very early pre-mesopelagic or Etruscan design (around 800BC). The last paragraph of The Cornish Times article stated that further important developments were expected, and that the excavations and finds would be thrown open to the public, and that a follow up, more detailed article was to be produced in the next edition of the paper. However, this never materialised, and nothing was ever heard of these extravagant claims again. It is a complete mystery and one that has entered the folkloric records of the islands mysterious past.

            

The island has its own ghost stories too, though these may have been invented by the smugglers to keep the people of Looe town away. One of the ghosts is that of a dark-skinned man, seen wondering the island with blood covering his face. One of the houses on the island is reputed to be haunted by an aristocratic gentleman with grey hair and beautiful hands with very long fingers, which materialises from an ominous blue glowing light. This apparition was first documented in the mid nineteenth century and first appeared after a local dressmaker was visiting and had spent the day sitting on an old seat on the top of the island. The seat was backed by furze and had a wonderful view. However, whilst sitting there sewing, she had some very strange sensations of restlessness and unease. Some years later a skeleton was unearthed by the seat. It was the remains of a tall man with long fingers. Many visitors have reported witnessing a glowing blue light, which manifests after dark and glows eerily before suddenly disappearing, as if it was never really there. 

The ecclesiastical history of the island has a persistent legend that Joseph of Arimathea visited with the young Jesus. It is said that Joseph left Jesus on the small beach whilst he traded with Cornish Tin Merchants on the mainland. It is highly likely that this legend came from the monks at Glastonbury Abbey, as the island was in its possession from 1144 to 1289, and a similar story is told of Jesus and Joseph visiting there. 

Previously published in Meyn Mamvro no. 91 Autumn 2016. 

Montol 2014

Montol 2014

 Reviewed by Alex Langstone. Photography by John Stedman.
First published in Meyn Mamvro 88, Autumn 2015

At the Winter Solstice 2007, a Penzance folk festival, missing from the Cornish calendar for over one hundred years, was re-born. The modern festival is called Montol and seeks to revive some of the ancient mid-winter and Victorian Christmas customs of Cornish culture. The name "Montol" or “An Vontol” means Winter Solstice according to the Cornish language site Teer Ha Tavaz, and is taken from Edward Lhuyd’s MSS Vocabulary from 1700. The festival has undergone many transformations since it began eight years ago. In the beginning was a festival full of Cornish culture, reviving the Victorian Christmas traditions of Guising, and blending it with older pagan traditions of the Winter Solstice. Over the years, different formats and ideas have been tried to greater and sometimes lesser effect. However Montol 2014 saw a welcome return to the festivals origins.

            In the early 1800s, Penzance could boast a Christmas tradition like no other. Guise Bands would cause misrule around the town, and the most well-known of these were the Corn-Market Revellers and Tinkerlers Shop and in the 1830's the Corn-Market Revellers became the most notorious guise band in the whole of Cornwall. The President of the Royal Society wrote about them, the great Christmas books of the era spoke of them highly and they were even mentioned in the Times. William Sandys wrote about the Corn Market Revellers, and much of what we see today is based on his observations.

            
 The modern guise bands, now fully revived and renamed as guise guilds, are flourishing. ‘The Glorious Company of the Egyptian House’, ‘The Corn Market Revellers’ and ‘The Noble Company of the Turks Head’ are the official Montol guilds and they seek to continue the Cornish guising traditions so beloved of Victorian Penzance. Colourful and unusual guise costumes are worn, giving a feel of mystery, unease and misrule. Alongside the costumes of the guilds are the guise beasts. Again William Sandys observed ‘Old Penglaze then comes in on his horse which winces and capers about grotesquely’. In 2014 these beasts have mutated into an interesting and highly mysterious cast. ‘Old Ned’ the crow appears throughout the evening dancing covertly with his teaser to the jingle-jangle of many bells. ‘Ramesses’ the ram-skulled beast of the Glorious Company of the Egyptian House moves between guisers adorned in Egyptian masks and headgear to the haunting sound of a hurdy-gurdy. ‘Kasek-Nos’, the nightmare ‘Oss is teased and conjured from the Admiral Benbow pub, to lead the 10pm procession, which winds its way down to the docks, where a fire is lit and the mock is chalked, before being ceremoniously burned on the Montol fire, symbolising the end of the old and the beginning of the new.

           
Montol 2014 was a spectacular event, full of colour, music, misrule and mystery. The great thing about this festival is the community focus on participation. Alongside the Guise Guilds are many other guisers, who made the night a cornucopia of bizarre artistry, all upon the same collective Montol theme of guise and misrule. Most importantly this community festival brought many folk together from across Cornwall. Penzance truly came alive on the winter solstice of 2014, helping to bring light from dark and colour, music and dance from the deepest recesses of winter, as is the custom at this time of year.    

        

Montol is organised by the Cornish Culture Association. www.cornishculture.co.uk.