sometimes to be a rough translation of Ynyswytrin, sometimes to mean the town or home of an ancient deity called Glaest, one of the sons of Cunedda. Whatever may be the true one of these two explanations there can be little doubt that Avalon and Ynyswytrin were synonymous terms for one place, and that whether or no that place were Glastonbury, they were so understood. It will be remembered how Chrestien de Troyes says of Maheloas de l'Isle de Voirre that he "de l'isle d'Avalon fu sire," showing that at least the connection was clear in his own mind, l'Isle de Voirre being surely the Glassy Island, Ynyswytrin? This Maheloas has been identified with the Melwas of the Æstiva Regio, that Maelgwn who is said to have taken Arthur's Queen to Glastonbury. I only quote this to show how mediaeval writers may possibly have thought of Glastonbury. The name Avalon may be called, perhaps, a much disputed word. Written sometimes "Avallon," it is now derived from the Welsh word for "apple," now from the name of the god Avallach, who is vaguely said to have dwelt there; but we know that Avallach, though a subaquatic deity, was "he of the apple-tree," so that these two theories should not exclude each other. Mr. Waite's statement in The Hidden Church of the Holy Grail (p. 442) is of interest here:—
"The Druidic secret was symbolized by the term Afalon, which means the Apple Orchard."
May we not conjecture that Avalon, Avallon, or Afalon was a sacred name given to the Island by the priests, and that the other name, Ynyswytrin, was the one used by the ordinary inhabitants of the place who were outside the knowledge of the mysteries? Avallach would, of course, be the god of such a locality, and this is perhaps slightly confirmed by the use of "Avalon" as one of the many names for the Celtic Other Country.
Your readers will remember the papers that formerly appeared in this organ on "The European Sky and Tree God" by Mr. Cook—papers which connected the apple-tree of Avallach with the various magic trees of Irish legend and with the Breaking of the Branch in the Grove of Nemi. Glastonbury tradition now has but one sacred tree, the Holy Thorn of St. Joseph, which
