Fact to fiction: how the Tuatha de Danaan of history became the fairies of contemporary fantasy
I will show an evolution of the Tuatha de Danaan from historical people into the fairies commonly associated with Irish myth, how the Tuatha de Danaan have changed and morphed into the contemporary fairies of the fantasy genre, and why this change has occurred and been allowed to take its place among fantasy.
Halloween Customs in the Celtic World
In Wales it is known as Hollantide, in Cornwall Allantide, and in Brittany Kala-Goanv. Samhain’s equivalent on the Christian calendar is All Saints’ Day, introduced by the Catholic church partly to supplant the pagan festival of the dead.
Magiferous Plants in Medieval English Herbalism
This study examines thirteen English vernacular medical texts, dating from approximately the tenth to the fifteenth centuries, for evidence of magiferous healing plants.
The Thread of Life in the Hand of the Virgin
The motif of the Virgin at the loom occurred with frequency in Western art only after the Feast of the Presentation of the Virgin (celebrated by the Byzantine Church on November 21 from the seventh or eighth century onward) was introduced into the West in 1372.
A Reassessment of the Feast of Fools: A Rough and Holy Liturgy
A younger contemporary of Richard of St.-Victor, Jean Beleth (fl. 1160), acknowledged the popular name of the feast: “The feast of the subdeacons, which we call ‘of fools’, by some is executed on the Circumcision, but by others on Epiphany or its octave.’
Folk narratives and legends as sources of widespread idioms: Toward a Lexicon of Common Figurative Units
On the one hand, stories (particularly fables) have been de- rived from already existing proverbs, from antiquity up to early modern times. On the other hand, a story in its summarised form can live on in a proverb or an idiom, even if the knowledge of this story has been forgotten for a long time.
The demise of the walking dead : the rise of purgatory and the end of revenancy
Imagine a time when people actually believed in the existence of revenants, that is, the walking dead; there are records of people having heard them, seen them and partaken in countermeasures against these monsters, or at least those who recorded the stories fully believed the people who said that they had.
The Lebor Gabála Érenn at a Glance: an Overview of the 11th Century Irish Book of Invasions
This document is intended as an orientation for students of the Lebor Gabála Érenn (LGE), a refresher for those who have read it in the
past, and a rapid reference in relation to the genealogy of persons mentioned in the LGE.
Early history of wound treatment
In the fourth century AD the cultural centre of the Mediterranean area shifted to Byzantium (Constantinople) and from there medical knowledge in the form of Galenic teaching spread to the Arabs by way of the exiled Nestorians…
Magic
No one knew the risks and rewards of magic better than Agrippa. His notorious handbook, De occulta philosophia, circulated in manuscript by 1510, though it was printed only in 1533, over the complaints of Dominican inquisitors.
Defining the indefinable: the cultural role of monsters in the Middle Ages
The Middle Ages were littered with monsters. These strange creatures poked their heads out from behind courtly literature; they crept into theological discussions of the Church; they stood alongside factual persons in histories of the period; and they lurked always in the background of the medieval mindset.
Fossils as Drugs: pharmaceutical palaeontology
The present paper surveys the medicinal applications of a number of fossils which were well known in classical, mediaeval and renaissance times….
Dreaming of dwarves: Nightmares and Shamanism in Anglo-Saxon Poetics and the Wid Dweorh Charm
Psychological and psychiatric ailments must have baffled early medical practitioners.
Traditional healing with animals (zootherapy): medieval to present-day Levantine practice
Since ancient times animals and products derived from different organs of their bodies have constituted part of the inventory of medicinal substances used in various cultures; such uses still exist in ethnic folk medicine.
Remnants of Revenants: The Role of the Dreaded Draugr in Medieval Iceland
The term ‘revenant’ is a French term for ghost, derived from the verb revenir, ‘to return.’ The Icelandic term is more specific to the returning and violently unhappy dead: the feared draugr.
Miracle or Magic? The Problematic Status of Christian Amulet
The Church Fathers and intellectuals made the distinction between the miracle of the relics and sacred words of the Bible, verba sacra….
The Manuscript Context of the Middle Dutch Fabliaux
Busby’s conclusion with regard to Old French fabliaux might just as well apply to Middle Dutch tales: “Reading fabliaux in their manuscript context reveals an important aspect of their significance for early readers or listeners which would otherwise remain concealed.”
Christmas traditions and performance rituals: a look at Christmas celebrations in a Nordic context
This article grew out of a project with our drama students at Bergen University College, Norway, in December 2002. I wanted to introduce the students to pre-Christian roots of Yule, and to give them an historical introduction to extant dramatic/ritual Christmas customs in our country.
Medieval Christmas Celebrations
Richard and Anne’s first Christmas as king and queen in 1483 was happy, even though they were in London and their only son Edward had to remain at Middleham, too sickly to travel.
Christmas: Its Origin and Associations: Together with Its Historical Events and Festive Celebrations During Nineteen Centuries
Henceforth, I became a snapper-up of everything relating to Christmastide, utilised every opportunity of searching libraries, bookstalls, and catalogues of books in different parts of the country…
“To all grave and modest matrons”: Practical Midwifery and Chirurgery in De conceptu et generatione hominis (1580)
If previous manuscripts offered helpful remedies to soothe women’s suffering, these new works studied reproduction for theoretical gain, not practical application.
Practical Texts in Difficult Situations: Bulgarian Medieval Charms as Apocrypha and Fachliteratur
The apocrypha are one of the most important phenomena of the Middle Ages. They provide a different perspective and a valuable insight to the mentality of the period.