The oldest surviving tales of King Arthur have their origins in early Welsh mythology. These old stories survive today in the form of medieval manuscripts, often dating to the 13th or 14th centuries. However, the… Read More »Early Welsh Mythology
Early medieval Cornwall would prove to be one of the last bastions of Celtic Britain. Here the culture of the native Britons survived and even thrived for a time. Old stories tell us that it… Read More »Early Medieval Cornwall:410-1066 AD
Medieval society had its own myths, folktales and folkloric practices. Some had their roots in older times, whereas others emerged during the Middle Ages. However, whatever their origins, they were all, inevitably, re-interpreted and adapted… Read More »Myth and Folklore in Medieval Society
By the mid-fifth century, what was left of Romano-Britain experienced a major influx of pagan Anglo-Saxon migrants. When the Romans abandoned Britain in the early C5th, civic infrastructure was already deteriorating. The money and resources… Read More »Anglo-Saxon Paganism
The Romans finally left Britain in 410 CE, but independence was short lived. Over the next two centuries Britain was overrun by pagan Anglo-Saxon invaders. Perhaps the most important British source for this period is… Read More »Taliesin and the Struggle for C6th Britain
Starting in the C14th, western Europe experienced a cultural revolution we now call the Renaissance. It was a revolution that had been long in the making, building on earlier medieval and classical art, literature, and… Read More »How a Persian King Inspired the Renaissance
What people read can tell us much about their culture. Books may not always reflect a truthful picture of the culture that values them. They nevertheless tell us much about what that culture values. … Read More »Books that Shaped Medieval England
One of the most powerful and enduring legends in British culture is the story of King Arthur. Indeed, so captivating was this legend that Arthur’s story spread widely throughout medieval Europe. Not only British but… Read More »The Legend of King Arthur
On 11 November 1215, in the Lateran Palace in Rome, the largest council of church leaders the world had yet witnessed convened. 400 bishops, 800 abbots along with observers from the Eastern Patriarchs were all… Read More »The Rise of the Medieval Church
On 4th September 476 CE, the barbarian warlord Odoacer deposed the boy Emperor, Romulus Augustulus. Convention has it that this act marked the end of the Roman Empire in the west. Odoacer would go on to… Read More »After Rome: The New Western Empire