The Dragon-Slaying Bishop of Caithness
Image: Dornoch Cathedral. Credit: undiscoveredscotland.co.uk N.B. This post has been updated to reflect my further researches into this...
Old Tales Retold: Here Be Dragons
The second volume of Old Tales Retold is out! As with Sprites and Goblins, I didn't feel the book itself was the place for notes on the...
Matter of the Greenwood: The Sheriff of Nottingham - Evolution
We’ve looked at the possible historical origins of Robin Hood’s archenemy. What about his evolution in fiction? N.B. this post has been...
Matter of the Greenwood: The Sheriff of Nottingham - Origins
Content note: murder of hostages. Robin Hood’s most famous enemy has always been the Sheriff of Nottingham. In early sources, he is never...
Cymbeline and Snow White
Content note: murder; attempted murder (including familial and spousal); violent jealousy; rape. NB: This post has been edited since it...
Old Tales Retold: Sprites and Goblins
I've finally published the first volume of Old Tales Retold. (Volume II, Here Be Dragons, should follow in 2017.) It didn't seem the...
Reviews: Melusine's Gift and Ogier's Prayer, by Tyler R. Tichelaar
In the second and third books of his Children of Arthur series (following on from Arthur's Legacy, reviewed here), Tyler Tichelaar turns...
Matter of the Greenwood: Friar Tuck - Evolution
I examine how the character of Tuck has evolved over the centuries. Image: Woodcut by F. W. Fairholt for an 1847 ballad collection....
Matter of the Greenwood: Friar Tuck - Origins
I examine the literary, folkloric, and perhaps historical origins of one of the most iconic characters in the Robin Hood mythos. Image: a...
Orcs before Tolkien
A look at the early literary history of orcs. Content note: racism. Image: engraving of Orcus from Orlando Furioso. The orc – generally a...
