Standing
Stones of Cornwall
There
are many standing stones, or longstones, widely distributed throughout
Cornwall. More commonly known by the Cornish term 'menhir' (men
- stone; hir- long) there are nearly ninety in the Lands End peninsula
alone.
These
tall granite blocks often stand alone and the sheer logistics of
moving them to their location and erecting them pay tribute to the
engineers of Bronze Age times. Some were doubtless used for religious
rites whilst others stand as huge gravestones, marking the burial
places of ancient folk. Inevitably, legends have grown up around
them.
The
Merry Maiden Stones
Cornwall is justly noted for its prehistoric stone circles, megalithic
tombs and curious rock formations, many of which have given rise
to both charming and gruesome legends. The Merry Maidens of Boleigh,
Nr. Lands End, a group of 19 stones in a large circle were most
probably originally used for some long forgotten religious rite
but folklore tells a different tale. ... Once, nineteen pretty maidens
on their way to Sunday vespers were distracted by the playing of
The Pipers, now seen as two tall standing stones a quarter mile
distant, and strayed into the field, full of high spirits to laugh
and dance to their music. A mighty thunderbolt transfixed both pipers
and maidens to the spot where they now forever stand, turned to
stone for the sin of dancing on The Sabbath Day.
The
Hurlers of St. Cleer
Further north from the Merry Maidens, not far from Liskeard stand
another group of stones that also serve as a stern warning against
fun and games on the Sabbath Day. The Hurlers are the remnants of
three stone circles whose original purpose was probably Druidical
but is now lost in the mists of time. Many centuries ago the game
of hurling was popular in Cornwall, a sort of primitive rugby game
with goals several miles apart. The folk of St. Cleer loved the
game and would play it whenever the opportunity arose, even on Sundays.
This was their downfall. Despite the disapproving lectures of the
local saint and priest, St. Cleer himself, they continued to play
for the honour of their village and a game was set for a Sunday
against the villagers of nearby St. Ives. St. Cleer went in search
of his errant flock and found them in the midst of a hotly contested
match. He ordered them to cease their game and respect the Sabbath
but they only told him not to be a spoilsport and to return to his
prayers.
Angered,
St. Cleer raised his staff and pronounced in solemn tones that since
they preferred their game to the worship of God they must stay there
forever more as a lesson to others. He lowered his staff and the
players were instantly turned to stone, hurling forever on the wastes
of Craddock Moor. There is also a curious optical illusion connected
with the Hurlers. Try counting them with the naked eye, invariably
you will reach a different total every time?
The
Quoits
Cornwall possesses many megalithic chamber tombs, the last resting
place of warriors from some four thousand years ago. These are probably
the most fascinating of all Cornwall's many antiquities. Known variously
as cairns, dolmens, quoits, tumuli and cromlech there are a particularly
large number of them in and around the Lands End peninsula and on
the Isles of Scilly, but among the most impressive are Trethevy
Quoit, near Liskeard and Lanyon Quoit, situated between Penzance
and Lands End. King Arthur himself is said to have used Lanyon Quoit
as a dining table on the eve of his last battle. These megalithic
tombs were burial chambers not for one but many, some accommodating
twenty or more corpses. They were, in effect, stone charnel houses
constructed of huge stone slabs which were then originally covered
in earth to become burial mounds.
Nature
and local farmers have in many cases conspired to remove the mounds,
to reveal these extraordinary monuments to Bronze Age folk. Throughout
Cornwall, fields are dotted with tumuli, or burial mounds. Many
have been destroyed over the centuries but hundreds still remain,
merely grassy mounds to the naked eye but beneath them lie stone
capped burial chambers, some containing no doubt ancient artefacts
and ornate cremation urns from thousands of years ago.
Men-An-Tol
To the northwest of Madron on the Lands End peninsula stands the
extraordinary holed stone "Men-An-Tol", locally referred
to as the Crick Stone for its supposed curative powers for a crick
in the back or any other part of the anatomy. Flanked by two upright
stones it may once have been a porthole stone allowing access to
some long lost burial vault but has long been regarded as a fertility
symbol. Legend suggested that a crick in the body could be cured
by crawling nine times through the hole in the centre of the stone,
going against the course of the sun. For centuries children suffering
from rickets were brought here to be passed naked through the Men-An-Tol,
then drawn three times on the grass against the sun. A more modern
theory suggests that the stones were once used for astronomy, suggesting
that the upright stones on either side may have been sighting stones
for observing the sunrise and sunset.
Men
Scryfa
One of the most impressive Menhirs is Men Scryfa, a short walk from
Men-an-Tol.
The name means "inscribed stone" and is thought to be
the burial place of a King slain at the battle of Gendhal Moor.
Inscribed are the latin words "Rialobrani Cunovali Filii"
- Rialobran, son of Cunoval. Legend says he was as tall as his grave
stone - nine feet - and lays buried beneath it with his weapons
and treasures.
The
Cheesewring
Legend tells us that the Cheesewring was formed in the time of Saints
and Giants. The Giants reckoned the Saints were setting up too many
preaching crosses, taking too many wells as holy and claiming too
many tithes from the hard won harvest of the land and sea and enjoying
too much attention. The Giants met on Bodmin Moor to decide what
to do. The Giants were annoyed because they had inhabited Cornwall
far longer than the Saints. The Giants elected Uther as their leader
as he had the best brain and broadest shoulders. St. Tue, a rather
diminutive saint, had just claimed a well on the Moor .He heard
the giants arguing over how to rid themselves of these saints without
upsetting the local folk. He decided to challenge Uther to a trial
of strength, he challenged them to a rock throwing contest!
St.
Tue vowed that if the Giants won that all the Saints would leave
these shores forever, but if he won that the Giants must mend their
errant ways, and henceforth follow the sign of the cross. Uther
was a champion rock-hurler, he could toss heavy rocks with great
strength and accuracy, his speciality was to balance bigger ones
on smaller, maintaining perfect balance. The Giants couldn't believe
their luck, they were bound to win against one so small and weak.
They gathered twelve flattish roundish rocks of varying sizes. St.
Tue insisted it was Uther's turn first seeing as he took up the
challenge. So picking up the smallest rock, he pitched it a hundred
feet or so in the direction of Stowe's Hill, where it came to rest
near the southern summit. St. Tue cast his eyes to heaven for divine
assistance, and suddenly the heavy rock in his hand felt like a
feather and it flew towards the first rock and capped it. So the
competition went on. St. Tue managing to throw the heavy rocks one
on top of the other on to Uther's, the Giants couldn't believe their
eyes. Naturally the task got harder as the tower of rocks grew bigger,
St. Tue had the last throw. The Giants were amazed when his rock
hit the target and balanced perfectly.
However
the contest was not over yet, as the unsporting Giants argued that
it was customary to have one more for luck, and that a thirteenth
rock would surely clinch the deal. Uther struggled to lift the final
rock, it took all his strength, but he let fly with all his might.
The rock fell short, stood on end and rolled back down the hill
to land at St. Tue's feet. Now it was his turn! St. Tue prayed silently
as he tried to lift the rock. Then an angel, only visible to him,
clasped the stone and bore it away to crown the top heavy Cheesewring
for mortals to marvel at for evermore. Uther promised to abandon
his sinful ways, most of the others followed their leaders example
although some went off into the hills warning of vengeance.
