Earliest written and illustrated references to Stonehenge (1130s-1440s). Henry of Huntingdon listed Stonehenge as the second of four wonders of England, alongside Peak Cavern, Cheddar Gorge, and rain on hilltops Geoffrey of Monmouth's Historia Regum Britanniae (1136-1138) contains the earliest known reference to Stonehenge being called the Giants Dance (Chorus Gigantum) Geoffrey of Monmouth introduced the legend that Merlin magically transported the stones from Mount Kildare in Ireland to the Salisbury Plain
People have been writing about Stonehenge for nearly 900 years. Henry of Huntingdon ranked it second among England's four wonders. Geoffrey of Monmouth's 1136 text coined the name "Giants Dance" and spun the famous legend of Merlin magically teleporting the stones from Ireland to Salisbury Plain. The 14th-century Brute Chronicle gave us the first known illustration, while a 1440s Scala Mundi manuscript showed Merlin at work too. Art + mythology = history's most enduring stone circle!
Key Facts
- Henry of Huntingdon listed Stonehenge as the second of four wonders of England, alongside Peak Cavern, Cheddar Gorge, and rain on hilltops
- Geoffrey of Monmouth's Historia Regum Britanniae (1136-1138) contains the earliest known reference to Stonehenge being called the Giants Dance (Chorus Gigantum)
- Geoffrey of Monmouth introduced the legend that Merlin magically transported the stones from Mount Kildare in Ireland to the Salisbury Plain
- The 14th-century Brute Chronicle manuscript contains the first known illustration of Stonehenge, depicting a giant helping Merlin erect the stones
- A 1440s version of the Scala Mundi (Ladder of the World) illustrates the stones with the Latin text referencing the Giants Dance of Ireland conveyed to Stonehenge by Merlin's art
Related site: Stonehenge — view location, images, and history on the Ancient Nerds map.
Source: Stonehenge in Art & Writing Before the 20th Century by The Prehistory Guys