1000 Years Of Cnut
Firstly, do not read this if you are dyslexic. And no tittering in the back row. This is mostly a serious bit of history. You there, no tittering at the word tittering. It means to giggle, foolishly. No, you ca... Read More...
A Diary of Anne Boleyn A Poem by James Walton
A Diary of Anne Boleyn
My ladies weep in the vernacular tongue
kneeling in the French style
I caught the wren as another’s head fell
and later perched for witness
at the place near the abbey a hear... Read More...
A Call For Grand Emojis
We all know what emoticons and emojis are, they are the cute little images that are part of operating systems and social media, a succinct way of expressing a feeling or reaction, or strung together, symbols th... Read More...
Fuckin Abbot
The first recorded use of the word in English occurs in a 1528 manuscript copy of Cicero's epic work of moral philosophy, De Officiis. In the margin an anonymous monk has written, "fuckin Abbot". It is not imme... Read More...
The Mystery Of The Sword At The Crossroads
In pagan times a river was seen as the crossroads between worlds, the life giving property of water, the power of flood, the mystery in reflection. It is no wonder than that rivers and lakes became sites of off... Read More...
Shakespeare Or Not Shakespeare, That Is The Question
Historian and botanist Mark Griffiths in a recent article in Country Life Magazine claimed to have discovered the only verifiable portrait of Shakespeare made during the bard's lifetime. The editor of Country L... Read More...
Richard III – For A Horse
CATESBY
Rescue, my Lord of Norfolk, rescue, rescue!
The king enacts more wonders than a man,
Daring an opposite to every danger:
His horse is slain, and all on foot he fights,
Seeking for Richmond in the t... Read More...
How A Lost Sherlock Holmes Helped Almost Save The Selkirk Bridge
In 1902 the Ettrick Water swelled and flooded and washed away the Bannerfield's Bridge, an old rickety wooden structure that joined Bannerfield with Selkirk proper.
Some two years later, lacking funds to reb... Read More...
A Bit Past Australia Day – Or How The Kangaroo Got His Tale
A traditional Aboriginal creation story may tell you the tale of how, in the Dreamtime, there was a particularly greedy and troublesome young man who was always fighting, and how he was chased away from the res... Read More...
1666 A Witch’s Eye View Of The Great Fire Of London
History records that the Great Fire Of London began in the early hours of the 2nd of September, 1666, in the Bakehouse of Thomas Farrinor in Pudding Lane. A dry summer and an exceeding cold autumn saw the Thame... Read More...
Sleepy Hollow – Was Benjamin Franklin Really A Nudist?
The new season of Sleepy Hollow began in spectacular fashion, with our heroes Ichabod, Jenny and Abbie racing against time to thwart a plot by demon Moloch and his minions raising an army of lost souls in Purga... Read More...
The Short And Startling History Of Animals Without Pants
Archaeologists and anthropologists will tell you; humans wear clothes for warmth, protection and decoration. Psychologists will tell you we wear clothes to enhance our naughty bits, religious types will tell yo... Read More...
Henry VIII’s Diabolical Portrait
16th Century Mural of Henry VIII has a diabolical secret
When Angie and Rhodri Powell found a near life size portrait hidden under the plaster of their 16th century home a few years ago, it was described as... Read More...
Damned Richard
Richard The Third as portrayed by Aneurin Barnard in the TV adaptation of Philippa Gregory's The Cousins' War trilogy, The White Queen, is far from the misshapen figure of the Shakespearean archetype,
Cheate... Read More...
What Is History?
It is said speculation is the spice on the lumpy porridge of history. Satire is the plums. History itself is a morass, a bowl from which a spoon may hold juicy raisins as likely as recalcitrant nuts. With the c... Read More...
Varlet – From Medieval Servant to Medieval Insult
A varlet or squire holding a Knight’s halberd. Beside him a crossbowman. Image from the 15th Century Chroniques Of Froissart.
var·let
/ˈvärlət/
1. A man or boy acting as a menial servant
... Read More...