Geowhat?
Do you know what a geoglyph is? I did not. Never heard the word before.
So, from Wikipedia…
A geoglyph is a large design or motif produced on the ground by durable elements of the landscape, such as stones, stone fragments, gravel, or earth.
It’s basically land art. Here’s an image of The Hummingbird, found among the Nazca Lines in Peru.
Geoglyphs are found in various parts of the world, but seem to be concentrated in the Amazon rainforest and in England.
Theories abound as to their creation and purpose. Some legends say they were designed by ancient astronauts. I’ll leave it to you to do the research and draw your own conclusions.
So now you (and I) know all about geoglyphs. Might come in handy in some trivia game somewhere, someday.
Here’s another geoglyph. It’s called The White Horse of Uffington. GK Chesterton wrote an epic poem about called The Ballad Of The White Horse. Which I read recently.
The poem is not about the white horse geoglyph. It’s not about any white horse in particular. It’s about how Alfred was able to defeat the Danes at the Battle of Ethandune in 878, inspired by an appearance of the Virgin Mary. Chesterton places the battle in the Vale of the White Horse (i.e. in the fields immediately below the geoglyph), although the battle probably didn’t take place there.
So the battle was real, Alfred was real, but the actual location is in doubt. Chesterton freely acknowledges that the poem is not historical. Rather, it’s meant to be the stuff of legend (akin to King Arthur’s various exploits for example).
The Ballad is an epic poem. Published in 1911, it consists of 8 “books” that depict the various events surrounding the battle.
My main purpose in posting about The Ballad is to suggest that the epic poem is a literary form that is now mostly lost to us – but is perhaps something you might challenge yourself with reading. The epic poem’s complexity, language and form will rewire your brain. You’ll almost assuredly need an heavily annotated version to decipher the events in play. It’s hard work and exhausting to work through.
But it’s pretty cool. When you’re done, there’s a really satisfying feeling that you have reached back and touched the ancient. That you’ve engaged with distant voices and in some way have absorbed their language. That you’ve connected with universal constants that have transcended time.
So that’s pretty much it. I read a book & learned some new stuff. About Alfred. About geoglyphs. About epic poetry.
Not sure that the White Horse geoglyph will make my bucket list, but if I’m ever in Uffington, I’ll check it out.
P.S. – If you want to check out some epic poetry, maybe take a look at Tolkein’s Beren and Luthien. I read this earlier this year.