Post by Jenny on Jan 20, 2020 14:49:58 GMT -5
Permission granted by forest_blight to post his and Stercox's solution
Station VIII (June 6, p. 80)
ST. MICHAEL'S MOUNT, CORNWALL. The travelers are told to "seek beginnings" on p. 79, and a map is drawn: "All this is sea, and here and here is land, and here is the isle." What can we learn from the "large stone cross" on p. 81, described on p. 82? There are at least 4 very old stone crosses on St. Michael's Mount. "Gum biodh ràth le do thurus" (p. 81) is Celtic for "May your quest be fruitful" or "May your search be successful."
The cross looks very much like St. Martin's Cross on the holy isle of Iona, Scotland (above). It is an example of the "high cross," "Celtic cross," or "Celtic high cross," of which there are many examples. Milesian, the friar on the Mount, is of the Celi De, an early Christian order. He mentions the Benedictines, and indeed there was a Benedictine monastery on the Mount. As if this were not enough, Milesian says on p. 87, "...do watch your step – the tide is rising." A pertinent comment at St. Michael's Mount. At low tide (and only at low tide), one may traverse a stone causeway to and from the mainland. On p. 88 the Mount is described as a "lofty perch" from which one may view the Atlantic:
"I rose and stood for some time at the window. The sun was already high in the sky, and streamed in the opening, which faced south. I must have remained there for some time, bathed in a tranquil state, gazing out into the bay which cupped the mount."
It is called "The Mount" on p. 82. It has an iron shod gateway and battlements, and a spiral stair. St. Michael's Mount, off Cornwall, fits the description nicely. "Diodorus Siculus, the Greek historian writing in 70 CE called this island Ictis [or Ictis Insula], and it was from here that Cornish tin was traded with Mediterranean countries." [from Celtic Britain by Homer Sykes, 1997]
Station VIII (June 6, p. 80)
ST. MICHAEL'S MOUNT, CORNWALL. The travelers are told to "seek beginnings" on p. 79, and a map is drawn: "All this is sea, and here and here is land, and here is the isle." What can we learn from the "large stone cross" on p. 81, described on p. 82? There are at least 4 very old stone crosses on St. Michael's Mount. "Gum biodh ràth le do thurus" (p. 81) is Celtic for "May your quest be fruitful" or "May your search be successful."
The cross looks very much like St. Martin's Cross on the holy isle of Iona, Scotland (above). It is an example of the "high cross," "Celtic cross," or "Celtic high cross," of which there are many examples. Milesian, the friar on the Mount, is of the Celi De, an early Christian order. He mentions the Benedictines, and indeed there was a Benedictine monastery on the Mount. As if this were not enough, Milesian says on p. 87, "...do watch your step – the tide is rising." A pertinent comment at St. Michael's Mount. At low tide (and only at low tide), one may traverse a stone causeway to and from the mainland. On p. 88 the Mount is described as a "lofty perch" from which one may view the Atlantic:
"I rose and stood for some time at the window. The sun was already high in the sky, and streamed in the opening, which faced south. I must have remained there for some time, bathed in a tranquil state, gazing out into the bay which cupped the mount."
It is called "The Mount" on p. 82. It has an iron shod gateway and battlements, and a spiral stair. St. Michael's Mount, off Cornwall, fits the description nicely. "Diodorus Siculus, the Greek historian writing in 70 CE called this island Ictis [or Ictis Insula], and it was from here that Cornish tin was traded with Mediterranean countries." [from Celtic Britain by Homer Sykes, 1997]