Stonehenge, “The Ruin” and a Distinct Sensation of Deja-Vu

Earlier today, I was mesmerised to read this feature on the BBC news site dealing with Stonehenge and the distinct possibility that the monument may have been described in a mediaeval poem entitled “The Ruin”. This exciting theory has been put forward by Dr Graeme Davis – Author, Mediaevalist, Research Fellow at the University of Buckingham and a Lecturer at the Open University – so I’m overjoyed that this distinguished academic has made such a fascinating discovery, which apparently predates the first known mention of Stonehenge in writing by several centuries. Dr Davis is quoted by the BBC as saying that the name Stonehenge had originated from an 12th Century text from Henry of Huntington, although in her excellent book Stonehenge, Rosemary Hill claims that the name ‘Stanheyeg’ appeared in 937 AD as a boundary marker in a deed.

All the same, I’m delighted that this story has been picked up by the BBC and thence disseminated around the internet, and I’m very happy for all those countless people the world over who now have something of real substance to ponder as far as Stonehenge’s recorded place in the historical record is concerned. I’m pleased for Amesbury Museum, who now have another gem to add to their already formidable cultural arsenal and I’m very pleased for everyone else who’s read this story, enjoyed it and rightly commended Dr Davis on his acumen.

However, I’m particularly pleased that on June 29th 2008, I published a lengthy, detailed study on my temporarily offline Eternal Idol site, and the title of this essay was “The Ruin” – The Earliest Description in English of Stonehenge?’