Thorn tree of Glastonbury....a sad tale

chuck · Post by **chuck** » Fri December 10th, 2010, 8:03 pm

The Thorn Tree a attributed to Joseph of Arimathea, was found chopped down....Authorities say it was vandalism....They are trying establish a motive....I'm sure there will be more information comming out later.....They are trying start the grafting process now to start another tree.....

Madeleine · Post by **Madeleine** » Fri December 10th, 2010, 8:17 pm

I think the original trunk is still there, so it should grow again.

chuck · Post by **chuck** » Fri December 10th, 2010, 8:32 pm

That is great news.....

LoveHistory · Post by **LoveHistory** » Fri December 10th, 2010, 9:00 pm

When was Joseph of Arimathea in England?

Still, a sad thing to desecrate a landmark or an old tree. Doing both is very sad.

SonjaMarie · Post by **SonjaMarie** » Fri December 10th, 2010, 9:53 pm

You know the old myth (or maybe it's true) that Joseph brought the holy grail to England.

Awful that someone cut it down, hope it can grow again!

SM

annis · Post by **annis** » Fri December 10th, 2010, 10:23 pm

How sad. Some people are just naturally destructive and can't resist destroying objects of historical value. For many years we had a historic tree on the top of One Tree Hill in Auckland (which famously received a mention in a U2 song). It eventually fell prey to vandals and couldn't be revived. A new tree has yet to be planted as a replacement - currently the hill is known as None Tree Hill!

Joseph of Arimathea was associated with many myths and legends, but the connection with Arthurian legend and the Holy Grail first appeared in Robert de Boron's 12th century work Joseph d'Arimathie, in which Joseph receives the Grail from an apparition of Jesus and sends it with his followers to Britain. Later retellings of the story claim that Joseph of Arimathea himself travelled to Britain and became the first Christian bishop in the Isles. As the Holy Grail itself is a construct developed from the Cauldron of Plenty of Celtic mythology, it's probably safe to regard this story as fiction

It doesn't diminish the value of the thorn tree as a legendary symbol.

Libby · Post by **Libby** » Sat December 11th, 2010, 8:46 pm

How very sad. There's more about it here:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... ndals.html

LoveHistory · Post by **LoveHistory** » Sat December 11th, 2010, 9:25 pm

I like that idea that it flowered twice a year (at Christmas and Easter). Interesting bit here:

Experts had verified that the tree – known as the Crategus Monogyna Bi Flora – originated from the Middle East.

Divia · Post by **Divia** » Sun December 12th, 2010, 4:19 pm

I hate this stuff. Why would anyone do that? I'm sure it was a strike against religion and not history.

annis · Post by **annis** » Sun December 12th, 2010, 6:56 pm

I love the bit about the local people regrowing the tree from pieces of its root after Cromwell's soldiers hacked the original tree down. I wonder if there are still some of those revived 17th century thorn trees in Glastonbury gardens? I'm curious, though, about why it took so long (1951) to replant one of these trees in the original spot.