King Arthur dominates the mythic landscape of Britain, the Once and Future King who reigns in the psyche of the English and Welsh peoples. He is the “Shadow in the Mist” of British history and legends, glimpsed through numerous accounts, tales and place-names since his battles were first recorded in the 9th and 10th centuries in the ‘History of the Britons’ and the ‘Welsh Annals’. Cutting through centuries of arguments based on medieval romance and poetry, August Hunt presents a challenging and convincing argument for both the existence of a historical war-leader named Arthur and his presence on the borders of England and Scotland. He also examines and integrates the evidence for Irish influences in the tales and life of King Arthur. By thoroughly considering the place-names associated with Arthur’s battles and other significant sites such as towns and Roman forts, the author shows through onomastics, geography, archaeology and philology how they are all based on real historical places in northern England and southern Scotland. Not only this, but they also point to both the location of Camelot and to Arthur’s final resting place of Avalon. From this basis, the author explores traditional genealogies, chronicles, myths and folklore to present the possible identities of the important figures of Ambrosius, Cunedda and Vortigern, as well as that of the hero who was transformed into a mythic leader exemplifying chivalric ideals and the hope of national rebirth.
The Mysteries of Avalon is a unique and ground-breaking book which challenges many of the accepted views of the Arthurian tradition. From clues in old tales and documents, place-names and the mythic landscape, August Hunt weaves a tapestry of the Celtic gods and goddesses and of the Arthurian tales that heralds a new chapter in the interpretation of the deeds and existence of the greatest heroes of British legend - King Arthur and Merlin. Not only does the author place these figures in the British landscape, he also dispels many of the older inaccurate ideas about them and demonstrates which of their tales have been assimilated with other early sources to produce the popular images that exist today. By applying his wealth of knowledge and exploring the obscure and unresolved areas of the Arthurian tales, August Hunt provides new and provocative interpretations leading to startling conclusions about many subjects including the nature of Merlin, the dragon spirit of Britain, the real Holy Grail, the location of Avalon and the identities, human and divine, of the major characters in the Arthurian tales. Amongst these the author also focuses on the significant but often shadowy female figures of the myths like the Lady of the Lake, the mother of Arthur and the nine goddesses of Avalon. The quest for the hidden mysteries leads from Wales to Cornwall to Scotland, from Ireland to France to Italy, but most of all from the forgotten fragments of the past to the unfolding of the myths that dwell at the heart of the British psyche. The author includes fascinating appendices on a new interpretation of the Ogham alphabet and how to use it for divination, the symbolism and ritual uses of the Thirteen Treasures of Britain, and the zodiacal correspondences of King Arthur's battles.
Cerdic of Wessex has long been recognized as the traditional founder of the English Kingdom of Wessex. While in the past scholars have been perplexed over the indisputably Celtic origin of the name Cerdic, Arthurian researcher August Hunt offers a solution to the problem: Cerdic is none other than Ceredig, son of Cunneda of Gwynedd in Wales. And not only was this war chieftain Celtic, he was either Irish or Hiberno-British! A commander of a federate or mercenary army – the Gewissei - he served the Welsh high-king in his wars against fellow Britons. Eventually the Gewissei formed an alliance with the Anglo-Saxons and may have ousted the Welsh high-king himself. Outlandish and controversial as these revelations may seem, Hunt’s argument is supported with real evidence derived from historical, archaeological and philological sources. This book presents us with a bold new look at early English history, and tells a fascinating story hitherto unknown.
The study of Norse or Germanic mythology has long been the guarded province of scholars. Unfortunately, few breakthroughs in terms of new interpretations have been forthcoming in recent years. Neopagan groups referring to themselves as Asatruar, literally those who believe in the Aesir or “Gods”, have charted their own course in regards to deciphering the symbols and motifs found embedded in Norse myth, but these approaches, though admirable in intent, have often yielded wildly undisciplined or simplistic and naïve analyses. The present volume strives to achieve a “middle ground” between the severe strictures of academia and the ever-evolving and very individualistic belief systems of modern-day spiritual Vikings. It is with this goal in mind that the author presents thirty essays that he hopes will serve to fill the void in critical yet creative approaches to the unresolved problems posed by key elements of Norse myth.
https://www.amazon.com/New-Theory-Atlantis-Mythology-Archaeoastronomy/dp/1985796015
Few subjects generate more of a mixed sense of wonder and disdain than that of the Lost Continent of Atlantis. For centuries now, scholars and charlatans and “True Believers” have launched upon an Indiana Jones’-like quest to be the first to discover what Ignatius Donnelly in 1882 called the antediluvian world. The myth of Atlantis has evolved considerably since Plato’s time. It is now often thought of as a sort of high-tech or magical utopia, ruled over by super-sophisticated beings. Often the city or country of Atlantis is associated with aliens or ancient astronauts, UFOs, crop-circles, imaginary planets and the like. Psychics such as Edgar Cayce, J. Z. Knight and Gordon Michael Scallion have weighed in, and national or ethnic pride has encouraged many a patriotic pseudo-scientist to “find” this sunken land pretty much everywhere and anywhere. So silly has become the study of Atlantis that professional academics now inevitably choose to shun the topic entirely, rather than have their reputations tarnished by the stigma of New Age nonsense that drowns the Lost Continent just as surely as the sea did all those millennia ago. This is a shame, of course, for certainly Plato’s account is worth examining critically and objectively. In this book, author August Hunt presents a logical analysis of Plato’s story. Boring though logic can be, if logical fallacies can be avoided, a person has a fighting chance to obtain a workable hypothesis. And, sometimes, especially when dealing with arcane matters for which little or no evidence exists, a workable hypothesis is all one can really hope for.
In this slender volume the author seeks to decipher the REAL meaning of Christianity, as opposed to the literalist approach which fails utterly to delve into the obvious symbolic nature of the religion. Belief always clouds judgment, and so August Hunt starts from an avowed stance of agnosticism. Over the course of his life he has witnessed one after another “authority” offer ridiculous interpretations of the Christ story and its culmination in the book of Revelation. These interpretations were based, of course, on a combination of ignorance, subjectivism and the inability to critically analyze intentionally encrypted texts.In truth, there is not much about early Christianity that is genuinely mysterious. Certainly, generations of Christians and theologians have done their best to hide the original meaning of the religion. And they have succeeded so well at their efforts that the underlying significance of Christianity has been completely forgotten, even among the initiate. In place of this meaning is a monstrosity, a perversion if you will, that has taken on a tragic life of its own. It bears little resemblance to the cosmic message residing beneath the layer of symbolic language. And this false faith has been defended to the death for thousands of years now. While the author does not expect to change anyone’s mind, and knows that his work will either draw fire from certain quarters or even be ignored, he would rest content knowing that those who are more susceptible to reasonable conjecture may find something of value in a balanced presentation of New Testament “cryptography”.
Moses and the religious revolution he instituted in the Sinai have long fascinated theologians, archaeologists and the general public. Countless theories have been proposed seeking to identify the founder of Judaism with known historical personages. His god has likewise been subjected to a great deal of speculation. But none of the candidates for this most enigmatic of Old Testament heroes have stood the test of time and scholarly scrutiny. Nor have countless studies done much to add significantly to our understanding of the nascent Yahweh cult. In this controversial study, August Hunt makes his case for the first historically plausible Moses. At the same time, he reinterprets the events leading up to and including the Theophany from a syncretic Egyptian-Hebraic standpoint. This process yields a startling discovery on the very nature and significance of the divine being who became God for much of the Western world. Two appendices reveal the actual locations of the Garden of Eden and the mountain of Noah's ark.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.