Historical Background
Glastonbury has been a centre of worship, pilgrimage and spiritual knowledge since time immemorial and said to be the site of the first Christian Church. In the Middle Ages Glastonbury Abbey was one of the largest and richest in England. It had a great library, a school and links with the universities and political power in London. The Abbey was acknowledged as a powerful centre of academic and spiritual activity. With the dissolution of the monasteries and the closing of the Abbey all this activity ceased.
In the early part of the 20th Century, interest in Glastonbury as a special spiritual place revived and well-known personalities such as Dion Fortune and Rutland Boughton established themselves in the town. The war disrupted these activities but the 1980s saw a renewed interest in Glastonbury as a spiritual place and a centre of learning.
During that period, the Library of Avalon was set up. The library is, to its Trustees' knowledge, the only publicly-accessible esoteric library in the UK, perhaps even in Europe and in 1991 The University of Avalon, with the original vision to re-establish Glastonbury as a great centre of sacred learning was set up. In 1995 it changed its name to The Isle of Avalon Foundation.
The Town Today
Glastonbury has emerged as an example par excellence of a contemporary pilgrimage centre, with traditional and new forms of religion, goods and services producing a distinctive economy and pilgrimage experience.
Many universities are now sending under-graduates to Glastonbury to gain experience of contemporary spirituality and post-graduates to carry out research projects.
Glastonbury Pilgrim Reception Centre is in a unique position to assist researchers in their projects in the town and is currently working with a number of universities and individual students and we are now exploring the possibility of setting up an Academic Research Support Centre in Glastonbury. The objectives of the proposed Centre are to work with service providers and others in order to offer an integrated source support for those interested in research, learning and teaching in this unusual environment. These objectives could be achieved by:
• Consolidating information on the courses and workshops currently available in Glastonbury.
• Working with others to set up courses that might be needed to complete what was thought to be the range of services required.
• Offering practical support to academics wishing to set up research projects in Glastonbury.
• Where needed, offering practical support and help to individuals and projects offering courses and academic services in the town.
If you are interested in learning more about this idea and possibly contributing to how it might be taken forward then please contact us.
The Glastonbury Academic Symposium 2011
Working with both universities and the wealth of local talent who might be able to assist us in taking the vision forward, we hosted an Academic Symposium in the glorious setting of Abbey House on April 15th 2011.
The aims of the Symposium were to:
- Explore with academics and writers from various fields of study useful ways in which research into contemporary spirituality might be carried out, in particular in Glastonbury.
- Explore the possibility of establishing a permanent research support centre in Glastonbury for visiting academics and students.
- Produce a paper in summary of the issues discussed during the Symposium itself.
The scope of the Symposium was to:
Examine the issues raised in an inter-disciplinary context, not only amongst academics, but with those who are involved in a professional capacity with the spiritual life of the town. There were five short presentations and each session was structured by a series of open ended questions designed to explore the viability of each approach within both an academic context and beyond with the intention of developing a sound inter-disciplinary framework for discussion of/research into issues around contemporary spirituality in Glastonbury itself.
It was seen that Glastonbury offers a unique resource as a community, working actively with new concepts of ecological and spiritual awareness and with ways in which a community can helpfully work together. Arising out of this are many interesting economic aspects of how a community can generate sustainable and useful projects in the contemporary new environment where government support is no longer always available.
In particular, it was seen that Glastonbury has a remarkable resource in talented people who would be able to assist in taking forward research projects.
There is already a steadily increasing number of students with placements for research in Glastonbury, either individually or in groups, from universities which include Oxford, Bath Spa, Exeter and the Open University. It was felt that some sort of more coherent support for these students would be helpful.
As a way of taking the concept forward, it was agreed that a small group of our academic friends would get together to explore possible suitable research projects which could be carried out here in Glastonbury.
The PRC will investigate ideas on the best way of supporting such projects and start collating information on talents available and ideas of how these might be used in possible new research projects. It is early days but we are very encouraged by the progress that has been made and look forward to further positive developments in the future.
Download Symposium Summary
Links
The Library of Avalon. An esoteric library and public reading room , the Library of Avalon is, to its Trustees' knowledge, the only publicly-accessible esoteric library in the UK, perhaps even in Europe.
The Isle of Avalon Foundation Ltd. The Isle of Avalon Foundation began life in 1991 as The University of Avalon, with the original vision to re-establish Glastonbury as a great centre of sacred learning. In 1995 it changed its name to The Isle of Avalon Foundation and runs a wide variety of educational programmes and courses.
The Isle of Avalon. A website devoted to the the life, atmosphere, people and traditions of Glastonbury.
Living Religion - Promoting fieldwork placements in Theology and Religious Studies. The Living Religion website is an online resource originating from the Study of Religions team at Bath Spa University and funded by the Higher Education Academy Philosphical & Religious Studies Subject Centre.
The Ian Ramsey Centre for Science and Religion. The IRC conducts research into religious beliefs and theological concepts in relation to the sciences. The Centre is a part of the Theology Faculty at the University of Oxford
British Association for the Study of Religion. The British Association for the Study of Religions (BASR), formerly the British Association for the History of Religions (founded in 1954), is affiliated to the International Association for the History of Religions (IAHR), whose object is the promotion of the academic study of religions through the international collaboration of all scholars whose research has a bearing on the subject.
The Folklore Society. The Folklore Society (FLS) is a learned society, based in London, devoted to the study of all aspects of folklore and tradition, including: ballads, folktales, fairy tales, myths, legends, traditional song and dance, folk plays, games, seasonal events, calendar customs, childlore and children's folklore, folk arts and crafts, popular belief, folk religion, material culture, vernacular language, sayings, proverbs and nursery rhymes, folk medicine, plantlore and weather lore.
