Childe the Hunter was Ordulf, son of Ordgar, who was the Anglo-Saxon Earl of Devon in the 11th Century. For their language see Anglo-Saxon language. Anglo-Saxon is the term usually used to describe the invading Tribes in the south Devon is a large county in the South West of England. The county is also referred to as Devonshire, but that is an entirely unofficial name The name Childe is derived from the word Cild meaning Young Lord.
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The legend
Legend has it that Childe was in a party hunting on the Dartmoor when they were caught in some changeable weather. Dartmoor is an area of Moorland in the centre of Devon, England. Childe became separated from the main party and was lost. In order to save himself from dying of exposure, he killed his horse, disembowelled it and crept inside the warm carcass for shelter. He nevertheless froze to death, but before he died, he wrote a note to the effect that whoever should find him and bury him in their church should inherit his Plymstock estate.
William Crossing quotes Tristram Risdon who relates that the original tomb bore the following inscription:
- They fyrste that fyndes and bringes mee to my grave,
- The priorie of Plimstoke they shall have. William Crossing (1847 - 1928 was a writer and documenter of Dartmoor and Dartmoor life Tristram Risdon (c 1580 - 1640 was an Antiquary and Topographer and the author of the Survey of Devonshire. [1]
He was found by the monks of Tavistock, who started to carry his body back to their abbey. Tavistock is a Market town within West Devon, England on the River Tavy, from which its name derives and has a However, they got to hear of a plot to ambush them by the people of Plymstock, at a bridge over the River Tavy which they would have to cross. The Tavy is a River on Dartmoor, Devon, England. It is a Tributary of the River Tamar and has as its own tributaries They took a detour and built a new bridge over Tavy, just outside of Tavistock. They were successful in burying the body in the grounds of Tavistock Abbey and inherited his Plymstock estate. [2]
The first account of this story is to be found in a survey undertaken by Thomas Risden in 1630:
- It is left us by tradition that one Childe of Plimstoke, a man of fair possessions, having no issue, ordained, by his will, that wheresoever he should happen to be buried, to that church his lands should belong. It so fortuned, that he riding to hunt in the forest of Dartmore, being in pursuit of his game, casually lost his company, and his way likewise. The season then being so cold, and he so benumed therewith, as he was enforced to kill his horse, and embowelled him, to creep into his belly to get heat; which not able to preserve him, was there frozen to death; and so found, was carried by Tavistoke men to be buried in the church of that abbey; which was so secretly done but the inhabitants of Plymstoke had knowledge thereof; which to prevent, they resorted to defend the carriage of the corpse over the bridge, where, they conceived, necessity compelled them to pass. But they were deceived by guile; for the Tavistoke men forthwith built a slight bridge, and passed over at another place without resistance, buried the body, and enjoyed the lands; in memory whereof the bridge beareth the name of Guilebridge to this day. [3]
Childe's Tomb
Childe's Tomb is located on the south-east edge of Foxtor Mires, c. Childe's Tomb is located on the south-east edge of Foxtor Mires, c 500 metres north of Fox Tor on Dartmoor, in the United Kingdom at grid reference SX625704. Fox Tor is a relatively minor tor on Dartmoor in the United Kingdom. Dartmoor is an area of Moorland in the centre of Devon, England. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located The British national grid reference system is a system of geographic grid references commonly used in Great Britain, different from using Latitude and Longitude It is approximately 3 feet 4 inches (1 m) tall and 1 foot 8 inches (0. 5 m) at the crosspiece.
Legend has it that the cross was erected over the kistvaen (burial chamber) of Childe the Hunter. A kistvaen is a stone Coffin, usually pre- Christian, derived from the Welsh Cist (chest and maen (stone
The cross has its base in a socket stone, resting on granite blocks over the chamber. The whole is surrounded by a circle of granite stones set up on their edge, in the fashion of a number of kistvaens on the moor. This raises the total height of the cross to 7 feet.
The tomb was vandalised in 1812 by Thomas Windeatt who was responsible for taking many of the stones when building Fox Tor Farm. Year 1812 ( MDCCCXII) a leap year started on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Leap year [4] It is believed that some stones were used to make a clapper bridge across the River Swincombe. A
The site was repaired in the 1880s by Fearnley Tanner as one of the first acts of the Dartmoor Preservation Association. Events and Trends Technology Development and commercial production of Electric lighting Development and commercial production of gasoline-powered The Dartmoor Preservation Association or DPA was founded in 1883. [5]
In popular culture
Devon folk singer Seth Lakeman sang about Childe the Hunter on his 2006 album Freedom Fields. Devon is a large county in the South West of England. The county is also referred to as Devonshire, but that is an entirely unofficial name Seth Bernard Lakeman (born March 26, 1977 in Yelverton Devon) is an English folk singer Songwriter, and Musician Freedom Fields is a music album by Seth Lakeman published twice in 2006
References
- ^ www.legendarydartmoor.co.uk/child_hunter.htm
- ^ www.dartmoor-crosses.org.uk/childe's_tomb.htm
- ^ Survey of Devon, pp 198,199. Edit 1811
- ^ www.legendarydartmoor.co.uk/child_hunter.htm
- ^ www.dartmoorpreservation.com/index.htm
External links
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