The devil is in the detail

Devil’s Dyke? Satan did it. The Devil’s Shovelful? Guess who. The Devil’s Punch Bowl? Actually that one was giants. recounts some imaginative explanations for our ancient monuments

-  Susan Owens

HAVE you ever asked yourself how Stonehenge came to be built on Salisbury Plain? According to legend, it was transported there from Mount Killaraus in Ireland by the wizard Merlin. He was sent with an army to dismantle the circle and bring it to England, where it would serve as a monument to noble Britons killed in Saxon raids. Merlin had some fun with the soldiers in Ireland, laughing at their futile attempts to move the stones by brute force, before demonstrating his own superior engineering skills that allowed him to take them down with ease and have them carried to the ships and loaded. Once on Salisbury Plain, Stonehenge was set up in the same position as before, as Merlin looked on in satisfaction, making pointed remarks about the superiority of brains over brawn.

Once upon a time, many people would have known this vivid account, because it was included in a history of Britain by 12th-century writer Geoffrey of Monmouth. His book was copied countless times, the stories it contained repeated for centuries. Geoffrey, it must be said, was regarded with withering scorn by contemporary historians for his highly picturesque renditions of things he could have known little if anything about—but that did nothing to dent his popularity with readers.