In memory of Chinggis Khaan’s 840th Birthday Celebration! The medieval period. This was a time when the true symbolic Arthur was formed. The Arthur who fought with dragons or serpents; the Arthur who married his Guinevere – the Queen of Serpents; the Arthur who would have a shape-shifting father named Uther, another term for Zeus. This was also the time when another character emerged who was also joined with a peculiar female counterpart and who materialized from the mists of history as a mythical hero. This hero was Robin Hood. Etymologically Robin comes from the Norman ‘Robert,’ a form of the Germanic Hrodebert and it originally meant ‘famous’ or ‘bright’ or even and more pertinently ‘to shine.’ This is and has always been an indication of one who has achieved illumination or enlightenment. Robin Hood is therefore the ‘Bright Hood,’ a similar name to the Naga serpent worshippers or deities of India, with their illuminated serpent or cobra hoods. As many have previously stated there are strong links between the origins of Robin Hood and the Green Man, who is also the ancient Egyptian god Osiris and the Greek-Roman god Dionysus/Bacchus, and so we should hope to find something of interest in the many stories surrounding this enigmatic character. There are elements of the Robin Hood myth that relate to other legends. The ‘tree of life’ is seen as ‘Robin’s Larder Tree,’ supplying all that could be required like the ‘Horn of Plenty’ or the ‘cauldron’ of Celtic folklore …
Since medieval times Cross Bones Graveyard, Southwark has been used as an unconsecrated graveyard for prostitutes and paupers. The Musuem of London has dug up a 148 skeletons of women and children, and estimate that this is only 1% of those buried there. John Constable has been campaigning to stop this land being built on. He holds monthly meetings on the 23 at Cross Bones, Redcross Way, SE1 to help the dead rest in peace. This short documentary follows a shamanic ritual held here in October 2006. For further details about Cross Bones Graveyard and the campaign to protect the Cross Bones Graveyard Memorial Gates www:crossbones.org.uk
Video Rating: 5 / 5
I was a RAC Patrolman around this area and involved working night times. I always had an uneasy feeling around this place. Never knew about this until now.
Certainly makes you think. I never hung around, always felt cold there.
Thank you Sylphequeen , and a happy Samhain to you too xx
this is a wonderful way to help the spirits, and now is the time to be working with them, Samhain….ALl the best with this:)
Maybe with a water feature and a statue of a goose in the middle? (Winchester Geese).
The whole place should be made into a beautiful area of rest, tranquility and calm in memory of the deceased. Across the road is a perfect example of what should be done with the grounds in Red Cross Gardens. To dig the place up for research surely would be good for our knowledge of the area but would also show a lack of respect for those that have already suffered more than they ever should have.
I am deeply moved by the story of the cross bones graveyard and the outcast dead. This film honours our ancient dead be we woman or man, for me as a woman of London it is particularly poignant. Thankyou. Please continue with your wonderful films…
any news yet?
Thanks! And BTW, here is an idea: if the fools STILL proceed with building, find a bunch of archaeology grad students (and maybe their professor) grab a few shovels in the night, get a few masks and khakis on (for the dear departed infected with plaguey goodness) and get crackin’! If anyone asks why you’re risking arrest, just give them photocopies of all the “no’s” you received. (The court of public opinion plus blogging the net could be a valuable weapon.)
Has anyone tried to call the Time Team about this? National Geographic? Discovery Channel? ANYTHING??!! (I am sorry, but things like this get me very angry…)
For God’s sake, these people died in ignominy and despair, not like the kings comfortably resting in peace at Westminster! If their deaths cannot be remembered by descendants, can’t they be remembered as having contributed to science/history? Can’t their lives have some value in that?
If this grave was indeed open in the Middle Ages, there is a good chance it was open during 1347, 1665, and 1562: the first two are plague years and the last is a nasty epidemic of smallpox. The poor and downtrodden would have been particularly susceptible to to disease and at least for plague it could unlock valuable information on infection patterns (important when biological weapons are a real threat in this world, and candidates include plague and pox both!)
This is IDIOTIC: they should not be building upon this site, rather, they should be calling in whatever archaeologists they can find to excavate it (ALL of it.) The historical information within could unlock mysteries heretofore unknown about the past and provide valuable information for the present (cont’d)
Hello Squareeye,
Thank you so much for such a lovely comment.
I agree with you Southwark is magical and a place where old London, and centuries old traditions are very much alive.
xxx Sarah
There is something quite remarkable in Southwark where the past overlaps with the present and the heart and soul is very strong. I hope very much that Crossbones will be remembered and I have a funny feeling that if we forget then the past will re-surge, unbidden, to remind us…
A good film and thank you
Aww thank you. xxx Sarah
Love this video! Everyone should see this.
A real experience of being there – so atmospheric
Really like this one – very atmospheric plus good skulls xAT
Scary films, and very interesting. Cheers!