Tuesday, April 9, 2013 - Litany Lane Blog:
Grapevine, Psalms 93:1-5, Acts 4:32-37, John 3:7-15, Pope Frances Daily Homily - Thinking and Acting Like Christ, St Materiana, Tintagel Cornwall England, Catholic Catechism Part Two: THE SEVEN SACRAMENTS OF THE CHURCH - Article 2:1 Sacrament of Confirmation
Good Day Bloggers! Wishing everyone a Blessed Week!
Year of Faith - October 11, 2012 - November 24, 2013
P.U.S.H. (Pray Until Serenity Happens). It has a remarkable way of producing solace, peace, patience and tranquility and of course resolution...God's always available 24/7.
The world begins and ends everyday for someone. We are all human. We all experience birth, life and death. We all have
flaws but we also all have the gift of knowledge and free will,
make the most of these gifts. Life on earth is a stepping stone to our eternal home in
Heaven. Its your choice whether to rise towards eternal light or lost to
eternal darkness. Material items, though needed for sustenance and
survival on earth are of earthly value only. The only thing that passes
from this earth to Purgatory and/or Heaven is our Soul, our Spirit...it's God's perpetual
gift to us...Embrace it, treasure it, nurture it, protect it...
"Raise not a hand to another unless it is to offer in peace and goodwill." ~ Zarya Parx 2012
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Prayers for Today: Tuesday in Easter
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Papam Franciscus
(Pope Francis)
Pope Francis April 9 Homily : Think and Acting like Christ
POPE FRANCIS
GENERAL AUDIENCE
Saint Peter's Square
Wednesday, 9 April 2013
Wednesday, 9 April 2013
(2013-04-09 Vatican Radio)
In our continuing catechesis on the Creed during this
Year of Faith, we now consider the meaning of Christ's resurrection for
us and for our salvation. The Lord's death and resurrection are the
foundation of our faith; by his triumph over sin and death, Christ has
opened for us the way to new life. Reborn in Baptism, we receive the
gift of the Holy Spirit and become God's adoptive sons and daughters.
God is now our Father: he treats us as his beloved children; he
understands us, forgives us, embraces us, and loves us even when we go
astray. Christianity is not simply a matter of following commandments;
it is about living a new life, being in Christ, thinking and acting like
Christ, and being transformed by the love of Christ! But this new life
needs to be nourished daily by hearing God's word, prayer, sharing in
the sacraments, especially Penance and the Eucharist, and the exercise
of charity. God must be the centre of our lives! By our daily witness to
the freedom, joy and hope born of Christ's victory over sin and death,
we also offer a precious service to our world, helping our brothers and
sisters to lift their gaze heavenward, to the God of our salvation.
I am pleased to greet the visitors from the NATO Defense
College and I offer prayerful good wishes for their service to
international peace and cooperation. I also extend a warm welcome to the
group of "Wounded Warriors" from the United States, with heartfelt
prayers that their pilgrimage to Rome will bear rich spiritual fruit for
them and their families. Upon all the English-speaking visitors present
at today's Audience, including those from England, Scotland, Denmark,
Australia, the Philippines, South Korea, Thailand, Canada and the United
States, I invoke the Risen Lord's gifts of joy and peace.
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Liturgical Celebrations to be presided over by Pope: April–May
Vatican City, 3 April 2013 (VIS)
Following is the calendar of celebrations scheduled to be presided over by the Holy Father in the months of April and May, 2013:
APRIL
7 April, Second Sunday of Easter, or Divine Mercy Sunday: 5:30pm,Mass in the Basilica of St. John Lateran for the Bishop of Rome to take possession of the Roman cathedra.
14 April, Sunday: 5:30pm, Mass in the Basilica of St. Paul Outside-the-Walls
21 April, Sunday: 9:30am, Mass and priestly ordinations in St. Peter's Basilica.
28 April, Sunday: 10:00am, Mass and confirmations in St. Peter's Square.
MAY
4 May, Saturday: 6:00pm, Recitation of the Rosary in the Basilica of St. Mary Major.
5 May, Sunday: 10:00am, Mass for Confraternities in St. Peter's Square.
12 May, Sunday: 9:30am, Mass and canonizations of Blesseds Antonio Primaldo and Companions; Laura di Santa Caterina da Siena Montoya y Upegui; and Maria Guadalupe Garcia Zavala.
18 May, Saturday: 6:00pm, Pentecost Vigil in St. Peter's Square with the participation of ecclesial movements.
19 May, Pentecost Sunday: 10:00am, Mass in St. Peter's Square with the participation of ecclesial movements.
Following is the calendar of celebrations scheduled to be presided over by the Holy Father in the months of April and May, 2013:
APRIL
7 April, Second Sunday of Easter, or Divine Mercy Sunday: 5:30pm,Mass in the Basilica of St. John Lateran for the Bishop of Rome to take possession of the Roman cathedra.
14 April, Sunday: 5:30pm, Mass in the Basilica of St. Paul Outside-the-Walls
21 April, Sunday: 9:30am, Mass and priestly ordinations in St. Peter's Basilica.
28 April, Sunday: 10:00am, Mass and confirmations in St. Peter's Square.
MAY
4 May, Saturday: 6:00pm, Recitation of the Rosary in the Basilica of St. Mary Major.
5 May, Sunday: 10:00am, Mass for Confraternities in St. Peter's Square.
12 May, Sunday: 9:30am, Mass and canonizations of Blesseds Antonio Primaldo and Companions; Laura di Santa Caterina da Siena Montoya y Upegui; and Maria Guadalupe Garcia Zavala.
18 May, Saturday: 6:00pm, Pentecost Vigil in St. Peter's Square with the participation of ecclesial movements.
19 May, Pentecost Sunday: 10:00am, Mass in St. Peter's Square with the participation of ecclesial movements.
Reference:
- Vatican News. From the Pope. © Copyright 2013 - Libreria Editrice Vaticana. Accessed 04/09/2013.
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April 2, 2013 Our Lady of Medjugorje Message to the World:"Dear children, I am calling you to be one with my Son in spirit. I am calling you, through prayer, and the Holy Mass when my Son unites Himself with you in a special way, to try to be like Him; that, like Him, you may always be ready to carry out God's will and not seek the fulfillment of your own. Because, my children, it is according to God's will that you are and that you exist, and without God's will you are nothing. As a mother I am asking you to speak about the glory of God with your life because, in that way, you will also glorify yourself in accordance to His will. Show humility and love for your neighbour to everyone. Through such humility and love, my Son saved you and opened the way for you to the Heavenly Father. I implore you to keep opening the way to the Heavenly Father for all those who have not come to know Him and have not opened their hearts to His love. By your life, open the way to all those who still wander in search of the truth. My children, be my apostles who have not lived in vain. Do not forget that you will come before the Heavenly Father and tell Him about yourself. Be ready! Again I am warning you, pray for those whom my Son called, whose hands He blessed and whom He gave as a gift to you. Pray, pray, pray for your shepherds. Thank you."
March 25, 2013 Our Lady of Medjugorje Message to the World:
“Dear children! In this time of grace I call you to take the cross of my beloved Son Jesus in your hands and to meditate on His passion and death. May your suffering be united in His suffering and love will win, because He who is love gave Himself out of love to save each of you. Pray, pray, pray until love and peace begin to reign in your hearts. Thank you for having responded to my call.”
March 18, 2013 Message to the World via Annual Apparition to Mirjana:
"Dear children! I call you to, with complete trust and joy, bless the name of the Lord and, day by day, to give Him thanks from the heart for His great love. My Son, through that love which He showed by the Cross, gave you the possibility to be forgiven for everything; so that you do not have to be ashamed or to hide, and out of fear not to open the door of your heart to my Son. To the contrary, my children, reconcile with the Heavenly Father so that you may be able to come to love yourselves as my Son loves you. When you come to love yourselves, you will also love others; in them you will see my Son and recognize the greatness of His love. Live in faith! Through me, my Son is preparing you for the works which He desires to do through you – works through which He desires to be glorified. Give Him thanks. Especially thank Him for the shepherds - for your intercessors in the reconciliation with the Heavenly Father. I am thanking you, my children. Thank you."
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Today's Word: grapevine grape·vine [greyp-vahyn]
Origin: 1645–55; 1860–65, Americanism for def 2; grape + vine
noun
1. a vine that bears grapes.
2. Also called grapevine telegraph. a person-to-person method of spreading rumors, gossip, information, etc., by informal or unofficial conversation, letter writing, or the like.
3. a private or secret source of information.
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Today's Old Testament Reading - Psalms 93:1-2, 5
1 Yahweh is king, robed in majesty, robed is Yahweh and girded with power.
2 The world is indeed set firm, it can never be shaken; your throne is set firm from of old, from all eternity you exist.
5 Your decrees stand firm, unshakeable, holiness is the beauty of your house, Yahweh, for all time to come.
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Today's Epistle - Acts 4:32-37
32 The whole group of believers was
united, heart and soul; no one claimed private ownership of any
possessions, as everything they owned was held in common.
33 The apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus with great power, and they were all accorded great respect.
34 None of their members was ever in want, as all those who owned land or houses would sell them, and bring the money from the sale of them,
35 to present it to the apostles; it was then distributed to any who might be in need.
36 There was a Levite of Cypriot origin called Joseph whom the apostles surnamed Barnabas (which means 'son of encouragement').
37 He owned a piece of land and he sold it and brought the money and presented it to the apostles.
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Today's Gospel Reading - John 3:7-15
Jesus said to Nicodemus: "You must be born from above. The wind blows where it pleases; you can hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit." 'How is that possible?' asked Nicodemus.
Jesus replied, 'You are the Teacher of Israel, and you do not know these things! 'In all truth I tell you, we speak only about what we know and witness only to what we have seen and yet you people reject our evidence. If you do not believe me when I speak to you about earthly things, how will you believe me when I speak to you about heavenly things? No one has gone up to heaven except the one who came down from heaven, the Son of man; as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so must the Son of man be lifted up so that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him.
Reflection
• Today’s Gospel speaks about the
conversation between Jesus and Nicodemus. Nicodemus had heard people
speak about the things Jesus did, and he was struck, surprised. He
wishes to speak with Jesus in order to be able to understand better. He
thought he knew the things of God. He lived with the booklet of the past
in his hand to see if this agreed with the novelty announced by Jesus.
In the conversation, Jesus says that the only way in which Nicodemus
could understand the things of God was to be born again! Sometimes we
are like Nicodemus: we only accept as something new what is in agreement
with our old ideas. Other times, we allow ourselves to be surprised by
facts and we are not afraid to say: “I am born anew!”
• When the Evangelists recall the last words of Jesus, they have before them the problems of the communities for which they write. The questions of Nicodemus to Jesus are a reflection of the questions of the communities of Asia Minor at the end of the first century. For this reason, the answers of Jesus to Nicodemus were, at the same time, a response to the problems of those communities. At that time, the Christians followed the catechesis in this way. Most probably, the account of the conversation of Jesus with Nicodemus formed part of the Baptismal catechesis, because he says that the persons have to be reborn from water and the Spirit (Jn 3, 6).
• John 3, 7b-8: Born from above, born anew, again, and born of the Spirit. In Greek, the same word means anew, again and from above. Jesus had said: “No one can enter the Kingdom of God without being born through water and the Spirit” (Jn 3, 5). And he adds “”What is born of human nature, is human (flesh); what is born of the Spirit is Spirit” (Jn 3, 6).Here ‘flesh’ means that which is born only from our own ideas. What is born from us has our own mark, our own measure. To be born of the Spirit is another thing! And Jesus, once again reaffirms what he had said before: One has to be born from above (born again)” That is, one must be reborn of the Spirit who comes from above. And he explains that the Spirit is like the wind. Both in Hebrew and in Greek, the same word is used to say spirit and wind. Jesus says “The wind blows where it pleases; you can hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit. The wind has within it a direction. We are aware of the direction of the wind, for example, the wind of the North and the wind of the South, but we do not know nor do we control the cause why the wind moves in one direction or another. The Spirit is like this. “No one is the master of the Spirit” (Qc 8, 8).That which best characterizes the wind, the Spirit, is liberty. The wind, the Spirit, is free, it cannot be controlled. It acts on others and nobody can act on it. Its origin is the mystery; its destiny is the mystery. The fisherman has, in the first place, to discover the direction of the wind. Then he should place the sails according to that direction. This is what Nicodemus should do and what all of us should do.
• John 3, 9: Question of Nicodemus: How is that possible? Jesus does nothing more than summarize what the Old Testament taught concerning the action of the Spirit, of the holy wind, in the life of the People of God and which Nicodemus, Teacher and Doctor, should know. And just the same, Nicodemus is frightened in hearing Jesus’ response and acts as if he was ignorant: “How is that possible?”
• John 3, 10-15: The answer of Jesus: Faith comes from witness and not from the miracle. Jesus changes the question: “You are the Teacher of Israel and you do not know these things?” Because for Jesus, if persons believe only when things are according to their own arguments and ideas, then the faith is not perfect. Faith is perfect when it is the faith of one who believes because of the witness. He leaves aside his own arguments and gives himself, because he believes in the one giving witness.
Personal Questions
• Have you had some experience in which you have had the impression of being born again? How was it?
• Jesus compares the action of the Holy Spirit with the wind. What does this comparison of the action of the Spirit of God reveal in our life? Have you already placed the sails of your life according to the direction of the wind of the Spirit?
• Jesus compares the action of the Holy Spirit with the wind. What does this comparison of the action of the Spirit of God reveal in our life? Have you already placed the sails of your life according to the direction of the wind of the Spirit?
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Featured Item of the Day from Litany Lane
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Saint of the Day: Saints Materiana
Feast Day: April 9
Patron Saint:
Attributes: n/a
Materiana is said to have been a princess of the 5th century, the eldest of three daughters of King Vortimer the Blessed, who, after her father's death, ruled over Gwent with her husband Prince Ynyr.
However the Hymn to St Materiana in use at Tintagel calls her "Materiana, holy Mother" and prays her to "Over thy people still preside, over thy household, clothed in scarlet vesture of love and holy pride" and continues "Thy children rise and call thee blessed, gathered around thee at thy side." This prompts comparisons with the mother goddess Matrona, known in Welsh as Modron.The 'Hymn to St Materiana' is not an ancient hymn, and of Anglican use.
Minster church
The mother church of Boscastle is Minster, dedicated to St Materiana, and nestling among the trees of Minster Wood in the valley of the River Valency half-a-mile east of Boscastle at grid reference SX 110 904. The original Forrabury / Minster boundary crossed the river so the harbour end of the village was in Forrabury and the upriver area in Minster. The churches were established some time earlier than the settlement at Boscastle (in Norman times when a castle was built there). The Celtic name of Minster was Talkarn but it was renamed Minster in Anglo-Saxon times because of a monastery on the site. Until the Reformation St Materiana's tomb was preserved in the church. Traditions of the saint were recorded by William Worcestre in 1478: he states that her tomb was venerated at Minster and her feast day was April 9.[1] However the parish feast traditionally celebrated at Tintagel was October 19, the feast day of St Denys, patron of the chapel at Trevena (the proper date is October 9 but the feast has moved forward due to the calendar reform of 1752).Tintagel and Trawsfynydd churches
The first church at Tintagel was probably in the 6th century, founded as a daughter church of Minster: these are the only churches dedicated to the saint though she is usually identified with Madryn, Princess of Gwent, who has a church dedicated to her at Trawsfynydd in Gwynedd.[2] At Tintagel Parish Church there are two memorials which portray St Materiana: a statue in the chancel and a stained glass window in the nave.References
- Attwater, Donald & John, Catherine Rachel. The Penguin Dictionary of Saints. 3rd edition. New York: Penguin Books, 1993. ISBN 0-14-051312-4.
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Today's Snippet I: Tintagel, Cornwall , England
Tintagel or Trevena (Cornish: Tre war Venydh meaning village on a mountain) is a civil parish and village situated on the Atlantic coast of Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The population of the parish is 1,820 people, and the area of the parish is 4,281 acres (17.32 km2).[1]
The village and nearby Tintagel Castle are associated with the legends surrounding King Arthur and the knights of the Round Table. The village has, in recent times, become attractive to tourists and day-trippers from many parts of the world and is one of the most-visited places in Britain.
Toponymy
Toponymists
have had difficulty explaining the origin of 'Tintagel': the
probability is that it is Norman French as the Cornish of the 13th
century would have lacked the soft 'g' ('i/j' in the earliest forms: see
also Tintagel Castle). If it is Cornish then 'Dun' would mean Fort. Oliver Padel proposes 'Dun' '-tagell' meaning narrow place in his book on place names.[3] There is a possible cognate in the Channel Islands named Tente d'Agel, but that still leaves the question subject to doubt.[4]
The name first occurs in Geoffrey of Monmouth's Historia Regum Britanniae (c. 1136, in Latin) as Tintagol, implying pronunciation with a hard [g] sound as in modern English girl. But in Layamon's Brut (MS Cotton Otho C.xi, f. 482), in early Middle English, the name is rendered as Tintaieol. The letter i in this spelling implies a soft consonant like modern English j; the second part of the name would be pronounced approximately as -ageul would be in modern French.
An oft-quoted Celtic etymology in the Oxford Dictionary of English Place-Names, accepts the view of Padel (1985) that the name is from Cornish *din meaning fort and *tagell meaning neck, throat, constriction, narrow (Celtic *dūn, "fort" = Irish dún, "fort", cf. Welsh dinas, "city"; *tagell = Welsh tagell, "gill, wattle").
Tintagel, Trevena and Bossiney
The modern-day village of Tintagel was always known as Trevena (Cornish: Tre war Venydh)
until the Post Office started using 'Tintagel' as the name in the mid
19th century (until then Tintagel had been restricted to the name of the
headland and of the parish).
The village also features the 'Old Post Office',
which dates from the 14th century. It became a post office during the
nineteenth century, and is now listed Grade I and owned by the National Trust.
Arthurian Myth
 |
Remains of Tintagel Castle,
legendary birthplace of King Arthur
|
King Arthur is a legendary British leader of the late 5th and early 6th centuries, who, according to medieval histories and romances, led the defence of Britain against Saxon invaders in the early 6th century. The details of Arthur's story are mainly composed of folklore and literary invention, and his historical existence is debated and disputed by modern historians. The sparse historical background of Arthur is gleaned from various sources, including the Annales Cambriae, the Historia Brittonum, and the writings of Gildas. Arthur's name also occurs in early poetic sources such as Y Gododdin.
The legendary Arthur developed as a figure of international interest largely through the popularity of Geoffrey of Monmouth's fanciful and imaginative 12th-century Historia Regum Britanniae (History of the Kings of Britain).Some Welsh and Breton
tales and poems relating the story of Arthur date from earlier than
this work; in these works, Arthur appears either as a great warrior
defending Britain from human and supernatural enemies or as a magical
figure of folklore, sometimes associated with the Welsh Otherworld, Annwn. How much of Geoffrey's Historia (completed in 1138) was adapted from such earlier sources, rather than invented by Geoffrey himself, is unknown.
Although the themes, events and characters of the Arthurian legend
varied widely from text to text, and there is no one canonical version,
Geoffrey's version of events
often served as the starting point for later stories. Geoffrey depicted
Arthur as a king of Britain who defeated the Saxons and established an
empire over Britain, Ireland, Iceland, Norway and Gaul. Many elements and incidents that are now an integral part of the Arthurian story appear in Geoffrey's Historia, including Arthur's father Uther Pendragon, the wizard Merlin, Arthur's wife Guinevere, the sword Excalibur, Arthur's conception at Tintagel, his final battle against Mordred at Camlann and final rest in Avalon. The 12th-century French writer Chrétien de Troyes, who added Lancelot and the Holy Grail to the story, began the genre of Arthurian romance that became a significant strand of medieval literature. In these French stories, the narrative focus often shifts from King Arthur himself to other characters, such as various Knights of the Round Table.
Arthurian literature thrived during the Middle Ages but waned in the
centuries that followed until it experienced a major resurgence in the
19th century. In the 21st century, the legend lives on, not only in
literature but also in adaptations for theatre, film, television, comics
and other media.
In Geoffrey of Monmouth's Historia Regum Britanniae (c. 1136), Gorlois Duke of Cornwall puts his wife Igraine in Tintagol while he's at war (posuit eam in oppido Tintagol in littore maris: "he put her in the oppidum Tintagol on the shore of the sea"). Merlin disguised Uther Pendragon as Gorlois so that Uther could enter Tintagol and know Igraine, who thought him her husband. Thus Uther fathered King Arthur on her.
Tintagel is also used as a locus for the Arthurian mythos by the poet Alfred, Lord Tennyson in the poem Idylls of the King.
History
In Norman times a small castle was established at Bossiney, probably before the Domesday Survey of 1086; Bossiney and Trevena were established as a borough in 1253 by Richard, 1st Earl of Cornwall. In Domesday Book there are certainly two manors in this parish (for a probable third see Trethevy).
Bossiney (which included Trevena) was held from the monks of Bodmin by
the Earl of Cornwall: there was land for 6 ploughs and 30 acres
(120,000 m2) of pasture (before the Conquest it had been held
from the monks by Alfwy). The monks of Bodmin held Treknow themselves:
there was land for 8 ploughs and 100 acres (400,000 m2) of pasture. Tintagel was one of the 17 Antiqua maneria of the Duchy of Cornwall. The parish feast traditionally celebrated at Tintagel was October 19, the feast day of St Denys,
patron of the chapel at Trevena (the proper date is October 9 but the
feast has moved forward due to the calendar reform of 1752). The market
hall and the site of the fair were near the chapel.
The borough of Bossiney
was given the right to send two MPs to Parliament ca. 1552 and
continued to do so until 1832 when its status as a borough was
abolished. The villages of Trevena and Bossiney were until the early
20th century separated by fields along Bossiney Road.
The Tithe Commissioners' survey was carried out in 1840-41 and recorded the area of the parish as 4,280 acres (17.3 km2), of which arable and pasture land was 3,200 acres (13 km2). The land owned by the largest landowner, Lord Wharncliffe, amounted to 1,814 acres (7.34 km2), and there was 125 acres (0.51 km2) of glebe land. Precise details of the size and tenure of every piece of land are given. Sidney Madge did research into the history of the parish and compiled a manuscript Records of Tintagel in 1945.
On 6 July 1979, Tintagel was briefly subject to national attention when an RAF Hawker Hunter fighter aircraft crashed into the village following an engine malfunction. The unusual incident caused significant damage and consternation, but no deaths.
Treknow is the largest of the other settlements in the parish, which include Trethevy, Trebarwith, Tregatta, Trenale and Trewarmett.
Archaeology and architecture
The Ravenna Cosmography,
of around 700, makes reference to Purocoronavis, (almost certainly a
corruption of Durocornovium), 'a fort or walled settlement of the
Cornovii': the location is unidentified, but Tintagel and Carn Brea have both been suggested. (If this is correct then it would have been on the site of Tintagel Castle.)
Excavations
Major excavations beginning with C. A. Ralegh Radford's
work in the 1930s on and around the site of the 12th century castle
have revealed that Tintagel headland was the site of a high status Celtic
monastery (according to Ralegh Radford) or a princely fortress /
trading settlement dating to the 5th and 6th centuries (according to
later excavators), in the period immediately following the withdrawal of
the Romans from Britain. Finds of Mediterranean oil and wine jars show that Sub-Roman Britain
was not the isolated outpost it was previously considered to be, for an
extensive trade in high-value goods was taking place at the time with
the Mediterranean region. Finds from the excavations are preserved at the Royal Cornwall Museum in Truro. In 1998, excavations discovered the "Arthur stone"
which has added to Tintagel's Arthurian lore though historians do not
believe the inscription refers to King Arthur himself. Two seasons of
excavation work were undertaken in Tintagel churchyard in the early
1990s.
Antiquities
The largest of the Bronze Age barrows is at the highest point in the
parish, Condolden, another is at Menadue, and there are a number of
others along the cliffs. In the Iron Age there were probably fortifications
at Willapark and Barras Head, and inland at Trenale Bury. Two of the
Roman milestones found in Cornwall are at Tintagel (the earlier of the
two is described under Trethevy):
the later one was found in the walls of the churchyard in 1889 and is
preserved in the church. The inscription can be read as '[I]mp C G Val
Lic Licin' which would refer to the Emperor Licinius (d. 324).
There are many other relics of antiquity to be found here such as the
so-called King Arthur's Footprint on the Island and a carved rock from
Starapark which has been placed outside the Sir James Smith's School at Dark Lane, Camelford. Rodney Castleden has written about these as Bronze Age ritual objects.
"King Arthur's Footprint" is a hollow in the rock at the highest point
of Tintagel Island's southern side. It is not entirely natural, having
been shaped by human hands at some stage.
It may have been used for the inauguration of kings or chieftains as
the site is known to have a long history stretching back to the Dark
Ages. The name is probably a 19th century invention by the Castle guide.
Stone crosses, of which there are two, have both been moved from
their original positions: the plainer of the two is described under Bossiney.
Aelnat's cross which was found at Trevillet and then moved to Trevena,
is finely carved. The inscription can be read as 'Aelnat fecit hanc
crucem pro anima sua' (Ælnat made this cross for [the good of] his soul)
(the back of the stone has the names of the four evangelists): the name
of this man is Saxon (together with Alfwy mentioned in 1086 he is the
only Anglo-Saxon recorded in connection with the area).
Notable secular buildings
Tintagel Primary School was built at Treven
in 1914 to replace the old church school (founded 1874) and has been
extended since. Those who go on to a comprehensive school attend Sir James Smith's School, Camelford. The Gift House was purchased by the Trustees of Tintagel Women's Institute in 1923 from Catherine Johns and not donated as previously thought. It adjoins the Old Post Office.
The former Vicarage was built in the early 17th century and
substantial additions were made in the late 18th and mid 19th centuries.
In the grounds is Fontevrault Chapel and a columbarium which is one of the best preserved in Cornwall. In 2008 the Diocese of Truro decided to acquire new accommodation for future vicars and to sell the vicarage.
However the site and glebe lands were the home of the vicars as early
as the mid 13th century when the benefice came into the hands of the Abbey of Fontevraud in Anjou, France.
King Arthur's Hall
 |
| King Arthur's Hall |
King Arthur's Hall at Trevena is an impressive building of the early 1930s.
It was built for Mr F. T. Glasscock as the headquarters of the
Fellowship of the Knights of the Round Table, behind Trevena House. A
variety of Cornish stones are used in the construction and the 73
stained glass windows illustrating the Arthurian tales are by Veronica Whall; there are several fine paintings also of scenes from the life of King Arthur by William Hatherell.
In 1927, the Order of the Fellowship of the Knights of the Round
Table was formed in Britain by Frederick Thomas Glasscock (a retired
London businessman, d. 1934) to promote Christian ideals and Arthurian notions of medieval chivalry. Glasscock was resident at Tintagel (in the house "Eirenicon" which he had built) and responsible for the building of King Arthur's Hall (an extension of Trevena House which had been John Douglas Cook's residence and had been built on the site of the former Town Hall and Market Hall). The hall is now used as a Masonic Hall, and is home to four Masonic bodies:-
- King Arthur Lodge No. 7134 which was warranted on 13 November 1951;
- St Enodoc Lodge No. 9226 which was consecrated on 30 May 1987;
- King Arthur Royal Arch Chapter No. 7134 which was consecrated on 31 March 1962;
- Tintagel Castle Lodge of Mark Master Masons No. 1800 which was consecrated on 23 April 1999.
Churches and chapels
Tintagel parish church
The Parish Church of St Materiana is Anglican and was built in Norman times (tower late medieval). Nikolaus Pevsner
(writing in 1950) is uncertain about the dating and suggests that the
Norman work has some Saxon features, while the tower may be 13th or 15th
century in date. It stands on the cliffs between Trevena and Tintagel Castle and is listed Grade I. The first church on the site was probably in the 6th century, founded as a daughter church of Minster: these are the only churches dedicated to the saint though she is usually identified with Madryn, Princess of Gwent.
The existing church may be late 11th / early 12th century: the tower is
some three centuries later and the most significant change since then
was the restoration in 1870 by Piers St Aubyn.
Later changes include moving the organ (twice) and a number of new
stained glass windows: many of these portray saints, including St
Materiana, St George and St Piran. The font is Norman, rather crudely
carved in elvan. There are three modern copies of Old Master paintings, and a Roman milestone (described above under Antiquities). The tower has a peal of six bells, ranging in date from 1735 to 1945.
An area of the churchyard was excavated in 1990-91 by the Cornwall Archaeological Unit.
The parish war memorial stands at the western end of the churchyard and
a modern churchyard cross (ca. 1910) near the south entrance.
Select list of Vicars since 1850
- Richard Byrn Kinsman—1851 - 1894
- Arthur Grieg Chapman—1894 - 1916
- Archibald B. Blissard-Barnes—1920 - 1938
- Arthur C. Canner—1950 - 1976 (also curate 1941 - 1945)
- David Rake—1996 - 2008
Castle chapel
There was a Norman chapel of St Julitta at the castle, now in ruins,
which was excavated in Ralegh Radford's excavations. It is a simple
rectangular building and the chancel is of a later date than the nave.
Chapels at Trethevy and Trevena
At Trethevy is St Piran's Chapel and there was formerly another Anglican chapel at Treknow. In the Middle Ages there was also a chapel of St Denys
at Trevena: the annual fair was therefore celebrated in the week of his
feast day (Oct 19th). From 1925 until 2008 part of the Vicarage
outbuildings were also in use as a chapel (the Fontevrault Chapel). The
name commemorates the abbey in France which held the patronage of
Tintagel during the Middle Ages (the commune is now known as Fontevraud-l'Abbaye), founded by Robert of Arbrissel.
Methodist churches
The Methodist Church has chapels at Trevena & Bossiney. Formerly there were more chapels of various Methodist sects (Wesleyans, Bible Christians), for example at Trenale
and Trewarmett: the Methodist Cemetery is at Trewarmett. Wesleyan
Methodism in Tintagel began in 1807 at Trenale and over the next sixty
years gained many adherents though divided among a number of sects
(Wesleyan Methodist, Methodist Association, Bible Christian): chapels
were built at Trevena in 1838 and Bossiney in 1860. In the 1830s and
1840s the Camelford Wesleyan Methodist circuit, which included Tintagel,
underwent a secession by more than half the members to the Wesleyan Methodist Association. The various Methodist churches were united again by the agreements of 1907 and 1932. Mary Toms, a Bible Christian from Tintagel, evangelised parts of the Isle of Wight.
Roman Catholic church
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| 30,000 piece mosaic of St Paul regaining eyesight |
The Catholic church of St Paul the Apostle, in Bossiney Road, Tintagel, Cornwall, was built in 1967 and consecrated by the Bishop of Plymouth, Cyril Restieaux,
in February 1968. It was originally a CRL mission administered by the
Canons Regular of the Lateran based in Bodmin, services being held in
the Social Hall.[1]
It is now administered as part of the Plymouth UK Diocese and is part
of the Parish of Bodmin which consists of churches in Bodmin,
Wadebridge, Padstow and Tintagel. Fr. Bryan Storey has been priest here
since 1973.
Tintagel has also the Catholic church of St Paul
the Apostle which has a thirty-thousand piece mosaic of the saint
within its walls. From January 2008 when the church celebrated its 40th
anniversary, a modern day version of Leonardo Da Vinci's
"Last Supper" by local artist Nicholas St John Rosse has hung above the
main altar in the church. The statue of the Blessed Virgin was carved from serpentine stone from Cornwall and the stained glass windows made by the monks of Buckfast Abbey
It has made international headlines due to
its use of modern clothing and local people as the apostles.
People from many other countries also come to Tintagel to view the
names of their babies who have been lost due to miscarriage, stillbirth
or other cause. The names are recorded in the Miscarriage & Infant Loss Memorial Book which is kept at the church.
Government and politics
For the purposes of local government Tintagel is a civil parish and
councillors are elected every four years. The principal local authority
in this area is Cornwall Council, but until March 2009 the parish was in the area of North Cornwall District Council. Parish council minutes can be found on Tintagel Web. From 1894 to 1974 the parish was in the Camelford Rural District.
Geology, scenery and sea bathing
Geology and geography
The coastline around Tintagel is significant because it is composed of old Devonian slate; about a mile southwards from Tintagel towards Treknow
the coastline was quarried extensively for this hard-wearing roofing
surface. Quarries inland at Trebarwith and Trevillet continued to be
worked until the mid 20th century. Apart from the Island headlands on the coast include Willapark and Start Point.
The turquoise green water around this coast is caused by the
slate/sand around Tintagel which contains elements of copper: strong
sunlight turns the water a light turquoise green colour in warm weather.
The rocks contain various metal ores in small amounts: a few of these
were mined in the Victorian period.
Though very near the coast the hill of Condolden (or Kingsdown) is among the very few areas in Cornwall outside Bodmin Moor which exceeds 1000 feet. At Trethevy is the waterfall known as St Nectan's Kieve in a wooded valley. The beach at Bossiney Haven is close by and Trebarwith Strand,
just half an hour's walk south of Tintagel, is one of Cornwall's finer
beaches, boasting clear seas, golden sands, and superb surf: there is a
small beach at Tintagel Haven immediately north of the castle. The
voluntary life-saving club is based at Trebarwith Strand and also has members from Boscastle, Camelford, etc. The cliffs from Backways Cove, south of Trebarwith Strand to Willapark just to the south of Boscastle are part of the Tintagel Cliffs SSSI (a Site of Special Scientific Interest), designated for both its maritime heaths and geological features. There are also four Geological Conservation Review sites.
Tintagel lies within the Cornwall Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB). Almost a third of Cornwall has AONB designation, with the same status and protection as a National Park.
Bird and plant life
The birds of the coast are well worth observing: in 1935 an anonymous
writer mentions Willapark as the scene of spectacular flocks of seabirds (eight species); inland he describes the crows (including the Cornish chough and the raven) and falcons
which frequent the district. 'E.M.S.' contributes: "Within easy reach
of Tintagel at least 385 varieties of flowers, 30 kinds of grasses, and
16 of ferns can be found ... a 'happy hunting ground' for botanists" and
a list of thirty-nine of the rarest is given.
(by the 1950s there were no longer choughs to be seen). This bird is
emblematic of Cornwall and is also said to embody the spirit of King Arthur. B. H. Ryves mentions the razorbill as numerous at Tintagel (perhaps the largest colony in the county) and summarises reports from earlier in the century. In 1942 another amateur botanist recorded 262 species of flowering plants at Tintagel.
In 1991 a local bird keeper, Jon Hadwick, published Owl Light about his experiences keeping ten owls and a buzzard.
In the early days of the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds
Charles Hambly (also known for saving shipwrecked sailors) was a
correspondent for the Society. A hundred years later Harry Sandercock
observed that even modern agricultural changes had not reduced the bird
populations.
Shipwrecks
Trebarwith was the scene of the shipwreck of the Sarah Anderson in 1886 (all on board perished), but the most famous of the wrecks happened on December 20, 1893 at Lye Rock when the barque Iota
was driven against the cliff. The crew were able to get onto the rock
and apart from a youth of 14 were saved by four men (three of these from
Tintagel: one of them Charles Hambly received a Vellum testimonial and
three medals for bravery afterwards). The story is told in verse in
'Musings on Tintagel and its Heroes' by Joseph Brown, 1897; the youth
was buried in Tintagel Churchyard and the grave is marked by a wooden
cross (his name is given in the official Italian usage, surname first:
Catanese Domenico).
National Trust properties
These include the Old Post Office, Trevena (see above) and fine
stretches of the cliffs along the coast including Glebe Cliff, Barras
Nose and Penhallick Point. The coastal footpaths include part of the South West Coast Path.
Hotels
The most notable of the hotels is the King Arthur's Castle Hotel
(Castle Hotel) (more recently the Camelot Castle Hotel) which was an
enterprise of Sir Robert Harvey and opened in 1899: the architect was Silvanus Trevail. It stands alone on land previously known as Firebeacon and many fine building stones were used in its construction. In November 2010, an exposé of the hotel's business practices was broadcast by the BBC television programme Inside Out South West.
At Trevena are the Wharncliffe Hotel, which has now been converted
into flats (next to the King Arthur's Hall): the Aelnat Cross
(Hiberno-Saxon) stands in the grounds. It is named after the Earl of Wharncliffe
who was the largest landowner in the parish until his holdings were
sold at the beginning of the 20th century. Opposite the Wharncliffe is
the former Tintagel Hotel, once commonly known as Fry's Hotel: this was
the terminus for coaches in the days before the railway to Camelford Station and stands on the site of the medieval chapel of St Denys.
Near Dunderhole Point on Glebe Cliff stands a building from the former slate quarry: this has been used as Tintagel Youth Hostel (managed by YHA (England and Wales)) for many years.
Social and cultural life
Social and sporting activities and associations
The Social Hall established by Mrs Ruth Homan and the Old School in
Fore Street have been the chief meeting places during most of the 20th
century. Both the Women's Institute and the football and cricket teams
are well-supported. Tintagel A.F.C. were champions of Cornwall in
1955/56 and have been in existence over a hundred years; their most
notable player was Harry Cann who was goalkeeper for Plymouth Argyle F.C.. Until the 1930s there were two golf courses and a few tennis courts: neither golf course reopened in the postwar period. Camelford Rugby Football Club was formed in 2008 and plays its home matches at Parc Tremain, Tintagel.
Choir
The Tintagel Orpheus Male Voice Choir was founded in 1926 by Jack
Thomas, a Welshman who worked at Trevillet Quarry. The choir has
rehearsed weekly, and performed frequently, ever since.
Literary associations
Tintagel is used as a locus for the Arthurian mythos by the poet Alfred, Lord Tennyson in the poem Idylls of the King and Algernon Charles Swinburne's Tristram of Lyonesse is one of the versions of the Tristan and Iseult legends where some of the events are set at Tintagel. Another version is Thomas Hardy's The Famous Tragedy of the Queen of Cornwall at Tintagel in Lyonnesse,
a one act play which was published in 1923. Hardy and his first wife
visited Tintagel on various occasions: she drew a sketch of the inside
of the church as it was about 1867 R. S. Hawker's poem about the bells of Forrabury
refers also to those of Tintagel, but more notable is his one on the
Quest for the Sangraal (first published at Exeter in 1864).
The novelist Dinah Maria Craik visited Tintagel in 1883 and published an informative account of her journey through Cornwall the following year. William Howitt's
visit is quite different: his account is called 'A day-dream at
Tintagel' (in 'Visits to Remarkable Places'). Relatively few works of
fiction have Tintagel as a setting: these include Anthony Trollope's short story Malachi's Cove and the Williamsons' epistolary novel Set in Silver, 1909 (by Charles and Alice Williamson). Ernest George Henham
was a novelist resident in Devon who used the pseudonym, John Trevena,
for many of his books. It is probable that the surname he chose was
derived from the original name for Tintagel, though his writings are
concerned mainly with Devon. Tintagel was the venue for the Gorseth of Cornwall in 1964.
Musical associations; location filming
Arnold Bax was inspired to compose his symphonic poem Tintagel after a visit to the village. Edward Elgar also composed while on a visit to Tintagel.
The film Knights of the Round Table
had some sequences filmed near Tintagel Castle with local people as
extras: this was in 1953 though it was not released until 1954. Some
other filming has been carried out in Tintagel, e.g. Malachi's Cove[64] at Trebarwith. The exterior of the Camelot Castle Hotel was used to portray Dr. Seward's asylum in the 1979 film, Dracula starring Laurence Olivier and Donald Pleasence.
Notable people
The Earls and Dukes of Cornwall (to whom the castle belonged) were
never resident at Tintagel though a few of them are known to have
visited. From 1552 to 1832 Tintagel was a parliamentary borough
(generally known as the Borough of Bossiney) sending two members to the
House of Commons. These included Sir Francis Drake, Sir Simon Harcourt and James Stuart-Wortley, 1st Baron Wharncliffe. During the same period there were also mayors of the borough of whom the best known is William Wade (fl.
1756-1786). Contemporaries of Mayor Wade were the Rev. Arthur Wade
(vicar 1770-1810) and Charles Chilcott (d. 1815) (known for his gigantic
stature). The Rev. R. B. Kinsman (vicar 1851-1894) was also honorary constable of the castle. During the 19th century Tintagel was visited by many notable writers, including Robert Stephen Hawker, Charles Dickens, Alfred, Lord Tennyson and Thomas Hardy. It was also the occasional residence of John Douglas Cook, founder editor of the Saturday Review
(d. 1868) who is buried at Tintagel. He bought Trevena House as an
occasional residence: it later became the front part of King Arthur's
Hall (see above, Archaeology and architecture). Henry George White, the
village schoolmaster for many years was also a prolific amateur painter. Harry Cann was a footballer who played for Plymouth Argyle (as goalkeeper). The Very Rev. Clifford Piper, Dean of Moray, Ross and Caithness was born at Tintagel.
References
- Canner, A. C. (1982) The Parish of Tintagel: some historical notes. Camelford: A. C. Canner.
- Craik, Dinah Maria (1884) An Unsentimental Journey Through Cornwall. [New ed.] Newmill, Penzance: Patten Press for the Jamieson Library, 1988. ISBN 0-9507689-6-0
- Dyer, Peter (2005) Tintagel: a portrait of a parish. Cambridge: Cambridge Books. ISBN 0-9550097-0-7
- Maclean, John (1879) The Parochial and Family History of the Deanery of Trigg Minor, volume 3. London: Nichols & Son. Includes very useful summaries of the public documents, etc. available at that time and fine illustrations
- Richards, Mark (1974) Walking the North Cornwall Coastal Footpath. Gloucester: Thornhill Press ISBN 0 904,110 12 5
- Taylor, William (1930) History of Tintagel; compiled from ancient records and modern writers. Truro: Blackford
- Thomas, Charles (1993) English Heritage Book of Tintagel: Arthur and archaeology. London: B. T. Batsford.
- [Various authors] (1989) Cornish Studies; vol. 16. Special issue: Tintagel
- All seven books are illustrated (only those by Thomas and Dyer include colour illustrations) -- Further reading: see the bibliographies in Thomas (1993) and Dyer (2005) above
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Catechism of the Catholic Church
Part Two: The Celebration of the Christian Mystery,
Section Two: The Seven Sacraments of the Church
Article 2:1 Sacrament of Confirmation
SECTION TWO
THE SEVEN SACRAMENTS OF THE CHURCH
Article 2
THE SACRAMENT OF CONFIRMATION
1285
Baptism, the Eucharist, and the sacrament of Confirmation together constitute
the "sacraments of Christian initiation," whose unity must be
safeguarded. It must be explained to the faithful that the reception of the
sacrament of Confirmation is necessary for the completion of baptismal
grace.Cf. Roman Ritual, Rite of Confirmation (OC), Introduction 1. For "by the sacrament of Confirmation, [the baptized] are
more perfectly bound to the Church and are enriched with a special strength of
the Holy Spirit. Hence they are, as true witnesses of Christ, more strictly
obliged to spread and defend the faith by word and deed."LG 11; Cf. OC, Introduction 2
I. Confirmation in the Economy of Salvation
1286
In the Old Testament the prophets announced that the Spirit of the Lord would
rest on the hoped-for Messiah for his saving mission.Isa 11:2 The descent of
the Holy Spirit on Jesus at his baptism by John was the sign that this was he
who was to come, the Messiah, the Son of God.Mt 3:13-17 He was conceived of the
Holy Spirit; his whole life and his whole mission are carried out in total
communion with the Holy Spirit whom the Father gives him "without
measure."Jn 3:34
1287
This fullness of the Spirit was not to remain uniquely the Messiah's, but was
to be communicated to the whole messianic people.Ezek 36:25-27 On several
occasions Christ promised this outpouring of the Spirit,Lk 12:12 a promise
which he fulfilled first on Easter Sunday and then more strikingly at
Pentecost.Jn 20:22 Filled with the Holy Spirit the apostles began to proclaim
"the mighty works of God," and Peter declared this outpouring of the
Spirit to be the sign of the messianic age.Acts 2:11 Those who believed in the
apostolic preaching and were baptized received the gift of the Holy Spirit in
their turn.Acts 2:38
1288
"From that time on the apostles, in fulfillment of Christ's will, imparted
to the newly baptized by the laying on of hands the gift of the Spirit that
completes the grace of Baptism. For this reason in the Letter to the Hebrews
the doctrine concerning Baptism and the laying on of hands is listed among the
first elements of Christian instruction. the imposition of hands is rightly
recognized by the Catholic tradition as the origin of the sacrament of
Confirmation, which in a certain way perpetuates the grace of Pentecost in the
Church."Paul VI, Divinae consortium naturae, 659 Cf. ⇒ Acts
8:15-17; ⇒ 19:5-6;
⇒ Heb 6:2
1289
Very early, the better to signify the gift of the Holy Spirit, an anointing
with perfumed oil (chrism) was added to the laying on of hands. This anointing
highlights the name "Christian," which means "anointed" and
derives from that of Christ himself whom God "anointed with the Holy
Spirit."Acts 10:38 This rite of anointing has continued ever since, in
both East and West. For this reason the Eastern Churches call this sacrament
Chrismation, anointing with chrism, or myron which means "chrism." In
the West, Confirmation suggests both the ratification of Baptism, thus
completing Christian initiation, and the strengthening of baptismal grace -
both fruits of the Holy Spirit.
Two
traditions: East and West
1290
In the
first centuries Confirmation generally comprised one single celebration with
Baptism, forming with it a "double sacrament," according to the
expression of St. Cyprian. Among other reasons, the multiplication of infant
baptisms all through the year, the increase of rural parishes, and the growth
of dioceses often prevented the bishop from being present at all baptismal
celebrations. In the West the desire to reserve the completion of Baptism to
the bishop caused the temporal separation of the two sacraments. the East has
kept them united, so that Confirmation is conferred by the priest who baptizes.
But he can do so only with the "myron" consecrated by a
bishop.Cf. CCEO, Can. 695 # 1; 696 # 1
1291
A
custom of the Roman Church facilitated the development of the Western practice:
a double anointing with sacred chrism after Baptism. the first anointing of the
neophyte on coming out of the baptismal bath was performed by the priest; it
was completed by a second anointing on the forehead of the newly baptized by
the bishop.Cf. St. Hippolytus, Trad. Ap. 21 SCh 11, 80-95 The first anointing with sacred chrism, by the priest,
has remained attached to the baptismal rite; it signifies the participation of
the one baptized in the prophetic, priestly, and kingly offices of Christ. If
Baptism is conferred on an adult, there is only one post-baptismal anointing,
that of Confirmation.
1292
The
practice of the Eastern Churches gives greater emphasis to the unity of
Christian initiation. That of the Latin Church more clearly expresses the
communion of the new Christian with the bishop as guarantor and servant of the
unity, catholicity and apostolicity of his Church, and hence the connection
with the apostolic origins of Christ's Church.
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