Legend tells us that when Joseph of Arimathea arrived in Glastonbury a millennium ago, he stuck his staff into the ground. The next morning it had sprouted. The tree is considered sacred by Druids and Christians alike. After all, Joseph was the uncle of Yeshua ben Yousef, better known as Jesus. In Glastonbury, the Druids and Christians found their teachings to be in harmony.
Beneath the Hallowed Hill is set in Glastonbury, and Anne le Clair visits the tree in the novel.
The tree, or its descendent, still lives and flowers twice a year. That is until just recently when someone took it upon themselves to try to kill it. One morning residents awoke to find the Holy Thorn had been chopped up. Many residents feared the worse and all wondered who would do such a thing and why. But spring has sprung in England, and with it the Holy Thorn has bloomed again. It’s still alive.