Baby Steps to Mama

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I’m delighted to welcome Brynne McKay to my blog today.  She’d the author of five novels, including her latest contemporary literary fiction, Baby Steps to Mama.  And let me just say, not only is it garnering great reviews, but it’s free at the moment at Barnes and Noble and Apple:  http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/baby-steps-to-mama-brynne-mckay/1112113028?ean=2940044717282 It’s wonderful to have you here, Brynne.  Can you tell us a little bit about your book? My new novel, Baby Steps to Mama, is a story about community, motherhood, and family. When Lindy Marston moved back home to the little town of Murray,Oregon after escaping a bad relationship, she never expected to end up a housekeeper and nanny for her older sister. But when her sister dies in a car accident, Lindy at twenty-five finds herself mother to three-year-old David and infant Jenny. Unprepared, Lindy must face her own Read more…


Welsh Place Names

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I just have to share with you this site I found today.  It’s a list of Welsh place names and their meanings. http://www.domesdaymaps.com/Welsh+Place+Names+Index.htm Just some highlights: BANGOR (Gwy) Bangor (1291). Earliest Welsh Record: Benchoer moer in Britannia (634). Meaning:from WELSH bangor ‘strong plaited rod in a fence’. The original monastic cell was either made of wattle or surrounded by a plaited fence. BEDDGELERT (Gwy) Bedkelerd (1269). Earliest Record: Bekelert (1258). Meaning: from WELSHbedd ‘grave’ and a (probably Irish) personal name Celert or Cilert. Bethgelert, the 16th century spelling, is the first time the name appears to be linked with Llywelyn’s famous hound, Gelert(canine babysitter extraordinaire). The commemorative stone was erected by the enterprising landlord of the Royal Goat Hotel, David Prichard, in the 18th century to reinforce the legend. CAREW (Dyf) Carew Meaning: possibly from WELSH carw ‘stag’. The Norman castle was rebuilt c. 1300.  (I discussed the meaning elsewhere on my blog:  https://sarahwoodbury.com/better-know-a-castle-carew/ DEE / DYFRDWY (Riv) Dee (1043) / Deverdoe (10th century). Earliest Record: Deova Read more…


Welsh Faeries

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The Welsh had a pantheon of gods and goddesses before the coming of the Romans.  With the defeat of the druids and the extermination of their sites on Anglesey, the druid religion in Wales went into decline–and perhaps that is the reason there are relatively few Welsh gods and goddesses compared to the Irish, whose religion flourished during the Dark Ages and also developed a unique form of Christianity alongside it. Within the belief system, faeries, or Tylwyth Teg, the modern designation, had a role, divisible into five classes:  the Ellyllon, or elves, the Coblynau, or mine fairies, the Bwbachod, or household fairies, the Gwragedd Annwn, or fairies of the lakes and streams; and the Gwyllion, or mountain fairies.  http://www.sacred-texts.com/neu/celt/wfl/wfl02.htm Ellyllon:  “The Ellyllon are the pigmy elves who haunt the groves and valleys, and correspond pretty closely with the English elves. Read more…


Medicinal Herbs in Wales

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Most plants and herbs used as medicines can cause harm when taken in excess or used inappropriately (see Medieval Poisons), but a whole host of plants were employed for medicinal purposes during the Dark and Middle Ages in Wales. “Medical activity in Wales has a long history:  although no primary sources now exist it seems likely that at the time of Hippocrates, around 430 BC, the laws of Dynwal Moelmud acknowledged and protected the art of medicine in Wales.  It is possible to ascertain with greater certainty the contribution to medicine made in the tenth century by the Welsh King, Hywel Dda (c. 890 – 950AD) when he drew up the code of laws which were to be used in Wales until the time of Edward I.  The physician was an important member of the household: his remuneration was clearly Read more…


The Fall of Rome

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The coming of the ‘Dark Ages’ was predicated on the fall of Rome.  Rome had dominated Europe (and parts of Africa and Asia) for nearly 800 years when Alaric, a Visigoth, sacked it.  According to the excellent documentary, The Dark Ages (available on Netflix here), Alaric had served in the Imperial forces until passed over for a promotion, at which point, he took his cause directly to the City of Rome.  He and his men then camped outside the walls in 408 AD, cutting off all food and succor to the city, for two years, until in 410 the citizens opened the gates.  That Rome no longer had the military resources to relieve the city in all that time indicates the extent of its decline. Read a great description of the 40-year lead-up to the sacking here:  http://www.mmdtkw.org/VAlaric.html The story Read more…


The Third Crusade

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In 1188, Gerald of Wales travelled through Wales as part of Archbishop Baldwin’s tour, the purpose of which was specifically to find recruits for the Third Crusade.  He wrote both his Journey through Wales and On the Education of a Monarch as part of his devotion to the Crusade ideal.   http://www.museumwales.ac.uk/en/whatson/?event_id=3923 Here is the link to the map:  http://www.medievaltymes.com/courtyard/images/crusades/third/third_crusade_route_map.jpg The Third Crusade “was led by Frederick I Barbarossa of Germany, Philip II Augustus of France and Richard I the Lionheart of England . . . all of whom were experienced military leaders, although Philip and Richard were already at odds before the crusade began. The crusaders travelled by two separate routes. Barbarossa marched overland from Germany, leaving in the spring of 1189. His march was one of the best organised of any crusade . . . but late in the summer Frederick was Read more…


The First Crusade

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The Crusades, Christendom’s attempts to win back the Holy Land and Jerusalem, began in 1095 with the First Crusade.  The Muslims had taken Jerusalem in 1076. Pope Urban incited the Christians of Medieval Europe with the words: “Christians, hasten to help your brothers in the East, for they are being attacked. Arm for the rescue of Jerusalem under your captain Christ. Wear his cross as your badge. If you are killed your sins will be pardoned.” The Crusaders had to follow an overland route to Constantinople, where they gathered in preparation for moving south to Palestine. By 1097, after a brutal journey to reach it, nearly 10,000 people had gathered in Constantinople.  http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/cru2.htm The Crusaders encountered little resistance for the most part, and reached Jerusalem by June 7, 1099.  They began their attack on the 13th, and by the 17th, had Read more…


Forest Laws in the Middle Ages

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One of the hallmarks of the feudal system that William of Normandy imposed on England after 1066 were laws.  In the case of forest laws, Norman law superseded the prior Anglo-Saxon laws in which rights to the forest (not necessarily just woods, but also heath, moorland, and wetlands) were not exclusive to the king or nobles, but were shared among the people.  Feudal forest laws, in contrast, were harsh, forbidding not only the hunting of game with in the forest, but even the cutting of wood or the collection of fallen timber, berries, or anything growing within the forest. The New Forest was set aside by King William in 1079 as his right, primarily for hunting deer.  “‘Forest’” in a medieval sense was a legally defined area  . . . where the “beasts of the chase” (deer & wild pig) and Read more…


Westminster Palace

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Today, Westminster Palace is the seat of the British government. “The Palace of Westminster is the meeting place of the House of Commons and the House of Lords, the two houses of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Commonly known as the Houses of Parliament after its tenants, the Palace lies on the Middlesex bank of the River Thames in the City of Westminster, in central London. Its name, which derives from the neighbouring Westminster Abbey, may refer to either of two structures: the Old Palace, a medieval building complex that was destroyed by fire in 1834, and its replacement New Palace that stands today. For ceremonial purposes, the palace retains its original style and status as a royal residence.”  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palace_of_Westminster No floor plans of what Westminster Palace looked like in the middle ages still exist, but we do know a few things: “When William the Conqueror’s son, William Rufus, came to the throne in Read more…


Old St. Paul’s Cathedral, London

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Okay, this has nothing to do with Wales, but it does feature in my latest book AND is medieval 🙂 St. Paul’s Cathedral was initially built (maybe) in 604 AD, during a time that Christianity was just getting a foothold in Britain. That was the first church.  There were several more between then and 1087, when the Normans began their church. “Old St Paul’s Cathedral was the medieval cathedral of the City of London that, until 1666, stood on the site of the present St Paul’s Cathedral. Built in 1087–1314 and dedicated to Saint Paul, the cathedral was the fourth church on the site at Ludgate Hill.[1] Work began during the reign of William the Conqueror after a fire in 1087 that destroyed much of the city. Work took more than 200 years, and construction was delayed by another fire in 1135. The church was consecrated in 1240 and enlarged again in 1256 Read more…


Summer Splash Blog Hop!

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The Summer Splash Blog Hop has winners! 10 lucky contestants won one of my ebooks and 1 will receive a Welsh flag mug! Thank you everyone for participating.  If you won, you should have received an email from me 🙂 Looking forward to seeing you again soon!


Demons of the Ancient World

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The Dark Age Celts had their share of supernatural creatures within the various mythologies (Welsh/Brittany/Ireland/Scotland), in addition to the pantheon of actual gods and goddess (for Wales, see Children of Don; Children of Llyr:  https://sarahwoodbury.com/the-sidhe/). Here are some notable demons from Celtic mythology: Cwn Annwn (Welsh hellhounds):  Yes, they really do exist outside of the TV show, Supernatural (great show, by the way.  Watch it at Netflix).  The Cwn Annwn are the hunting dogs of Arawn, Lord of the Otherworld and are associated with the Welsh form of the Wild Hunt.  “The Cwn Annwn resemble small wolves. The pack leader, Fflyddmyr, is black while the other three hounds are white with red-tipped ears. Their abilities include super-speed and super-strength.”  http://otherworldseries.wikia.com/wiki/C%C5%B5n_Annwn The Fomori:  “In Celtic mythology, the Fomori are demons that live in the impenetrable darkness of the sea’s depths and in lakes and Read more…