Bard of Bath

The Bard 1999:
Kevan Manwaring
~ winning poem

SPRING FALL
The Story of Sulis & Bladud of Bath

by Kevan Manwaring

Sulis:

Pilgrims, pray listen to the Goddess speak:
as Sulis I flow through this Oracle.
Myriads now my healing waters seek,
finding not the secrets to my Temple.

To its subtle locks I possess the keys ~
for I am the pure maiden of the Springs.
Illuminator of the Mysteries;
I Priestess, Prophetess, Maker of Kings.

These misty waters are my scrying bowl ~
ancient Mendip rain heated far below,
rising steaming to sky: as solar souls
always from winter's womb to summer grow...

It was in midnight days the vision came,
of a shining man part-snake, part-winged
who would found a golden city of fame:
Bath- remember your father, bright Bladud.

Bladud:

Raise not head : the day begins without sun.
As Hudibras Spearkeeper is sonless.
Bladud, his first and last born he does shun.
No leprous heir for the house of Brutus.

This wood is now my home, my hearth hoarfrost.
Outcast Prince Royal is now Prince of Swine...
Their breakfast on beechmast forgot ~ now lost!
Where they flew in this fog I must divine.

Through this black marsh their trail I can follow...
Glad sign, snowdrop ~ harbinger of Spring...
There are my herd ~ in the mire they wallow!
Why yes ~ the mud to the scurf is healing...

Perhaps their bath shall be my salvation.
Come Greek scholar ~ a humble lesson learn.
Dear Goddess, these waters have their own sun!
Wise friends, for this warm balm we shall return...

Sulis:

Return he did, my Prince, every day.
Finding within my hot spring his poultice.
Until strong enough to go on his way,
'Always to remember' was his promise.

So with a spring in his step off he set,
Swineherd no more ~ now fit for a kingdom.
Along the way impressing all he met
on flowering road to Trinovantum.

Finally, when day and night were equal,
Hudibras welcomed home his healed offspring.
'Forgive me son' said father prodigal.
'The land has an heir ~ let the minstrels sing !'

Soon the fading father the son outshone.
'Duty done. Time for a fitter steward.'
Thus Albions old Guardian passed beyond.
'Lud is dead,' they cried, 'long live King Bladud.'

Bladud:

Good people ~ now has summer come with May.
This dawn I am torc-crowned your High King.
I declare this always your Holy Day.
Friends, mourn no more ~ let there be rejoicing!

Last night upon hills we leapt the Bel~Fire;
chased lovers who in the greenwood bedded;
cade merry to make the crops grow higher...
Today its to the land I am wedded.

Blessed Goddess, accept my solemn word:
with my life I'll love you and guard your wealth.
By Oak: my oath all here gathered have heard.
You I shall serve as long as I have health.

For my wondrous healing let the bards praise.
My first act is to fulfill a promise:
at her Springs I decree a temple raise,
so all may take the waters of Sulis.

Sulis:

To height of summer did High King ascend,
in majesty and sovereignty shine.
From the misty aldermore he did rend
in thanks and for the greater good my shrine.

With marble and limestone a dome to raise
to equal any form of Athens' fame.
Inside to symbolize Spring's secret blaze,
King Bladud kindled an eternal flame.

Priestess' arrived to tend theTemple,
Pilgrims poured for healing and augury,
to the New Delphi with its Oracle.
Whilst Bladud sought his own fate on Solsbury.

Seeking vision he climbed to the sky,
finding in his shadow a child without fear,
'A Goddess given son !' Bladud did cry.
'Now give me his name.' And the gulls cried,
' Lear!'

Bladud:

Goddess, now are days grown long and golden.
By your bounty are King and country blessed.
To sky have crops reached - like my Caer Badon.
Time to reap what is sown: to start harvest.

In valley I set a shrine to Sulis;
On hill established a city solar.
To this land brought the glories of Greece:
where I soared wishing others to venture.

The first university I began
Where the Four Paths Greek savants came to teach
to untap the vast potential of man ~
for Divine Wisdom is not beyond reach!

With such wings of spirit we can aspire.
Is our mortal lot to toil, breed and die?
Not if man has more than mundane desire...
For the fruits of the Otherworld I fly!

Sulis:

So we reach the sunset of the Great Year,
when the weakening King did fiery wane ~
his heels dogged by the new Prince Royal, Lear:
Shadow growing of father's golden reign.

The crops had been gathered, the apples pressed.
The Sun King's seed had produced a good yield.
After fruitful graft it was time for rest ~
Only the Kingdom's head was not fulfilled.

Bladud's bright vision had made folk afraid.
His once wonders were now necromancy.
The price for soaring high had to be paid.
His crime: showing them what Gods they could be.

...To the music of the spheres all can dance ~
until it is time to drink the dark wine.
Back to your Sulis - redress the balance.
Beloved, come embrace this Earth of mine...

Bladud:

Albion, now is the time of the slaughter,
Samhain's here, take stock and salt your meat.
With wisdom make ready for the winter.
And my work is done with Great Year complete.

Here ~ in mighty temple of Apollo -
I end my span as the land's guardian.
Fiery at dusk falls my golden arrow...
Life, rain: my blood shall be my libation.

For my health restored and my life inspired
Sulis has my gratitude eternally.
To honour this debt cut off my head
and place it facing Springs at Solsbury.

Now this heavy crown I hand to dear son.
The veil thins~ I travel the road Ancestral...
Light pyre~ this flesh returns to the cauldron.
With feathered fire I am set free~ farewell!

Sulis:

Thus noble Bladud rose and fell,
His fortune fixed to Great Wheel.
Burning more than mortal candle...
For within is Flame Eternal.

Premiered at 'Enchanted Wood', A celebration of the Spirit of Nature, Walcot Village Hall, Bath Fringe '98.

Sulis played by Emily Tavakoly
Bladud played by Kevan Manwaring
Direction and musical accompaniment by Caroline Gay Way.

The Solace of Sulis

Weary traveller
find sanctuary near.
Leave the false flow behind ~
take a walk down Bridewell Lane
to the threshold of the White Doorway.

Enter with gentle feet:
for here life flowers from the cracked earth.
Hush and hark the magic gush.
Watch the wise waters rise
which fell as rain a hundred centuries ago...

As though the ancient thoughts
of a dormant giant
bubbles aspire to the air,
steam dreams ascend
to a sky of wings.

Scry the swirling mist:
see what manifests...

Gaze into the eyes of the Goddess:

deep green pools
wherein dwells;
arcane knowledge;
bountiful fertility;
immortal beauty.

To the triple fountainhead of
cronemothermaiden
place your offerings.

Rekindle the temple flame
and honour She-with-a-thousand-names
who heals and inspires
with her sacred cauldron.

Deae Suli
Blessed Be

Awakening The King

Within the Spiral Castle
the sleeping King awaits,
awaits for the Grail of the Fool...

On the Axis of the Stary Wheel,
inside the Glassy Citadel,
at the Head of the Winding Stairs,
the Head of the Winding Stairs.

He Dreams
upon a bed of broken wings ~
an Icuras sunset he fell
( and so must surely rise again ).

Bright King Awake Within.

From a gleam in the eye of night
to a star on the brow of day;

rise and shine
spark to pyre
pentagram man
breath to fire!

Phoenix,
return to the ashes of thy Resurrection.

To the Sacred Spring
where once you bathed as leprous swineherd
to emerge a King.

Bright King Awake Within.

Angle of Bath I invoke thee
Many-feathered Man-God I know thy name:

Bladud.

Bladud; father of Lear, son of Hudibras;
descended from Trojan Aeneas.
Bladud; temple - builder, necromancer;
raise thyself from the dead.
Bladud; magician, mathematician -
teach us your wisdom.
Bladud; Arch-Druid, oak amongst men -

Open thy seer eyes
Shake the snakes from thy hair
Stretch mighty limbs
Spread mended wings
& soar!

Down to us souls,
to restore that which restored you -
the Shrine of Sulis.

Bright King Awake Within.

FURTHER READING

The Winged Man, Moyra Caldecott, Headline, 1993.
The Waters of Sul, Moyra Caldecott, Mushroom, 1997.
Roman Bath, Barry Cunliffe, English Heritage, 1995.
Bladud of Bath, Howard C. Levis, West Country Ed. 1973.
The Waters of the Gap, R. J. Stewart, Ashgrove/Arcania, 1989.
Ballad of Bladud, Caroline Gay Way, Abaris Press, 1997.

INTRODUCTION

Countless visitors to the beautiful city of Bath enjoy the legacy of the Georgians and Romans, yet most leave without being aware of its Celtic heritage. It is not as apparent, yet true treasure is always worth seeking, even when it hides in plain sight...

The hot springs are the obvious reason why Bath came into being. The Romans named the city 'Aquae Sulis' because they came across an established settlement with a shrine dedicated to
the indigenous Goddess of the Springs.

Who knows how long Sulis has been worshipped here? Legends tell how Her temple was founded by King Bladud (father of King Lear, later immortalised by Shakespeare) in gratitude for his healing. A larger than life character, to some he was a scholar, to others a sorcerer. He was reputed to have built wings but his attempt to fly ended fatally...yet in his rise and fall I see something more noble than folly or over-reaching ambition.

Bladud is essentially a solar hero, a sun king whose vitality ensures the lands fertility and whose reign mirrored the journey of the sun through the year. Thus, in Spring he grew, in Summer he shone, in Autumn he waned and in Winter died to be reborn at the Solstice ( Dec 21 ). In the Roman Baths museum Bladud can be seen in the winged disc of the solar pediment - the so-called Gorgon's Head whose snakes are in fact flames ( except for the two which form a torc - a Celtic neck ring symbolising high status). His companion can be glimpsed in the Lunar pediment, for Sulis is an aspect of the Moon Goddess, controller of all waters. She presides over the 'Four Seasons'relief, which I suggest could have shown more than the agricultural cycle - did it depict the rites of passage of her consort, the King of the Year?

The Mummers mask also in the museum and the recent discovery of a theatre under Stall Street in what was once the Temple Precinct made me wonder what kind of play would have been performed for pilgrims - surely one concerning the mysteries of the Springs...

TO EMILY

FOR AQUAE SULIS

c Kevan Manwaring 1998
Abaris Press, Bath