Witchcraft and Witch Trials in Wales
A discovery in Tuscany might indicate an incident where a witch was killed in Tuscany: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2041671/800-year-old-remains-witch-discovered-graveyard-Tuscany-Italy.html#ixzz1Z6Q83H34 They found “the 800 year old remains of what archaeologists believe was a witch from the Middle Ages after seven nails were found driven through her jaw bone . . . ” The evidence isn’t conclusive, but it is surely suggestive. I have ancestors who were both accused witches, and the accuser of witches in the Salem trials 350 years ago in the late 1600s. That fear of witchcraft seems to have been widespread during that era. What’s interesting is that it was far more widespread then than in the Middle Ages. In fact, nobody was accused of witchcraft in Wales in the 13th century, and there is essentially no mention of it in the historical record. “The development of witch trials and the witch Read more…
Daily Living in the Middle Ages
The tapestry to the right is The Triumph of Death, or The 3 Fates, a Flemish tapestry (probably Brussels, ca. 1510-1520), located now in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London. Depicted are the three fates, Clotho, Lachesis and Atropos, who spin, draw out and cut the thread of Life, represent Death in this tapestry, as they triumph over the fallen body of Chastity. This is the third subject in Petrarch’s poem The Triumphs. First, Love triumphs; then Love is overcome by Chastity, Chastity by Death, Death by Fame, Fame by Time and Time by Eternity. Pretty gloomy, eh? From a modern perspective, life in the Middle Ages appears not to have a lot to recommend it. For example, for the majority of women, their lives consisted of unceasing labor, hand-to-mouth existence, a total lack of political representation (although that was not much Read more…
The Conquests of Llywelyn ap Iorwerth
Llywelyn ap Iorwerth, born around 1172, was the grandson of Owain Gwynedd and ruled Wales from the late 12th century (certainly by 1200) to his death in 1240 AD. He married Joanna (Joan), the eldest (albeit illegitimate) daughter of King John of England. Llywelyn “proved to be the greatest and most constructive Welsh statesman of the Middle Ages. In his long career he succeeded, by constant warfare, by tactful yielding under pressure and by masterly resilience the moment that pressure was relieved, in bringing under his control most of Pura Wallia. When he died in 1240, full of honor and glory, he left a principality which had the possibility of expanding into a truly national state of Wales. There was a moment when an independent Wales seemed about to become a reality.” http://www.castlewales.com/llewelyn.html The Chronicle of the Princes (Ystrad Fflur edition) details the events of Read more…
The Irish in Wales
The Irish, Welsh, and Scots all have a Celtic ancestry, but they settled their respective regions before the Roman conquest of Britain. There is an amazing amount of debate as to the origin of the Celts: were they Phoenician? stocky and dark? tall and blonde? as culturally cohesive as the label suggests? The standard theory is that the Celts were an Indo-European group that gradually migrated across Europe and Asia, with an identifiable, distinct culture by 750 BC. As a group, they were well-known to the Greeks and Romans. http://archaeology.suite101.com/article.cfm/archaeology_and_the_celts The Celts had arrived in Britain and Ireland by 400 BC, super-imposing upon whatever native peoples were already there. The Celts in these regions, then, were on the fringes of Celtic culture, not their heart, which was centered in Northern Europe, particularly in what is now Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. Read more…
The Dream of Welsh Independence
On December 11th, 1282, Llywelyn ap Gruffydd was killed amidst the conflict with Edward I. Less than a year later, his brother, Dafydd ap Gruffydd, was hung, drawn, and quartered and dragged throught he streets of Shrewsbury–as final payment for what Edward perceived as the ultimate betrayal. The two men had been as close as brothers, once, and ended in epic hatred. In further retribution, Edward took all the signs of office–the true cross, the scepter, the crown–of the throne of Wales for himself. And he made sure his son, Edward II, was born at Caernarfon Castle (in 1284), so that Edward could name him the Prince of Wales. The heir to throne of England has been called the Prince of Wales ever since. It has been 731 years since 1282. Is that too long a time to remember this? Has Read more…
Mt. Snowdon
Mt. Snowdon, or Yr Wyddfa in Welsh, is the largest mountain in Wales, at 3560 feet and one of the wettest, receiving upwards of 180 inches of precipitation (from the picture, not just rain). It is a focal point of much of the culture of Gwynedd in the Dark Ages. In the Welsh version of the Arthurian tales, Arthur sleeps in a cave in the mountain, to one day rise again and lead his people to victory against their enemies. ‘Snowdon’ comes from the Saxon words ‘snow dun’, meaning ‘snowy hill’, but the Welsh word ‘Yr Wyddfa’ means ‘the tomb’. Cadair Idris, a southern mountain in the Snowdonia range, translates to “Arthur’s Chair”, while Dinas Emrys, where Myrddin prophecied about the red and white dragons, rests on Snowdon’s south-western flank. Some modern pagans have a theory about ‘ley’ lines: hypothetical Read more…
Exiles in Time is here!
Exiles in Time is finally here! Currently available at: Amazon Amazon UK Apple I-Tunes Barnes and Noble Smashwords Kobo and Paperback Here’s the pitch: Two years in Afghanistan, four years working for MI-5, the British security service, and the death of both of his parents from cancer. At the age of thirty-four, Callum thought he’d experienced the worst that life could throw at him. That is, until his boss ordered him to open a buried file on his desk and to take it seriously. His new assignment: to detain and question a pregnant woman and her ailing husband—and if need be, to stop them from returning to medieval Wales. Until today, Callum believed in his job and always followed orders. Until today, he thought time travel wasn’t real … Exiles in Time is a novel from the After Cilmeri Series. Other books Read more…
How did medieval people light fires?
The simple answer to this question is by striking flint and steel. Lighting a fire was a big deal in the middle ages–both incredibly common place and sometimes not that easy to do if the conditions weren’t right. Fires were kept lit in houses all the time and woe to the child who was supposed to be watching it and it went out 🙂 Lots about medieval fire lighting here: http://www.sthubertsrangers.org/making_fire.htm Even more here: “Since matches did not become available until the mid-1800’s, prior to that time people had to make fires in other ways. The two most common methods of fire-making before the advent of matches were friction and percussion.” http://www.vikinganswerlady.com/fire.shtml “A fire striker (or fire steel) is a piece of high carbon or alloyed steel from which sparks are struck by the sharp edge of chert or similar Read more…
What Richard III looked like …
The bones of Richard III were dug up out of a car park and now they have reconstructed his face from the skeleton: Read more: http://photoblog.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/02/05/16852349-king-richard-iiis-face-revealed-after-500-years?lite&lite=obnetwork From the BBC: “Richard was born on 2 October 1452 at Fotheringhay Castle in Northamptonshire. His father was Richard Plantagenet, Duke of York and his mother Cecily Neville. Richard had a claim to the English throne through both parents. We now know that Richard had a curvature of the spine, but the withered arm and limp of legend are almost certainly either fabrications or greatly exaggerated. Wars of the Roses His father’s conflict with Henry VI was a major cause of the Wars of the Roses, which dominated Richard’s early life. His father and older brother died at the Battle of Wakefield in 1460. In 1461, Richard’s brother, Edward, became Edward IV and created Read more…
Medieval Shields
While we’re on the topic of medieval warfare, the medieval shield was not a standard item, but evolved over a period of time depending upon the needs of the warrior who held it. “The early Middle Ages saw a quite crude form of armor and shield. Metal had not begun to be widely used, so both armor and shields were commonly made of wood and animal hide. The shields tended to be small, round objects that served a minimal level of close-range defense. As the Middle Ages passed, and advances in technology allowed the development of new armor and weapons, a new shield was needed. Different shapes and sizes of shield were adapted, each to serve a specific purpose. Features such as handles were added to shields in order to make them more practical in battle. New methods of warfare Read more…
Medieval Sword Vocabulary
Following up on the post about medieval swords, here’s an extensive vocabulary list for swords from http://www.thearma.org/SwordForms.html From all us medieval-obsessed people, thank you for posting it! _______________ SWORD PARTS Many sword types are closely identified with a particular style of hilt. Yet hilts were very often replaced on blades over time a weapon. Thus, a sword cannot be classified or categorized by whatever kind of cross, pommel, or grip it has, but by the length, form, and geometry of its blade. Hilt – The upper portion of a sword consisting of the cross-guard, handle/grip, and pommel (most Medieval swords have a straight cross or cruciform-hilt). Called the Handhabe in German. In Old French the crosspiece was called helz, the grip called poing, the pommel called pom, and the handle might be bound with metal rings called mangon. Cross – The typically straight bar or “guard” of a Read more…
Medieval Swords and Armor
I have posted about how medieval swords and armor weren’t ‘heavy’ here: https://sarahwoodbury.com/medieval-swords-and-armor-were-not-heavy/ about dark age and medieval armor: https://sarahwoodbury.com/darkageandmedievalarmor/ and about medieval martial arts and its resurrection as an art form: https://sarahwoodbury.com/european-martial-arts/ A friend has justdirected me to a post detailing the different kinds of medieval swords.: http://www.thearma.org/SwordForms.html Here’s a sample of their section on long swords: Long-Swords The various kinds of long bladed Medieval swords that had handles long enough to be used in two hands were deemed long-swords (German Langenschwert/ Langes Swertor Italian spada longa). Long–swords, war-swords, or great swords are characterized by having both a long grip and a long blade. We know at the time that Medieval warriors did distinguished war-swords or great-swords (“grant espees” or “grete swerdes”) from “standard” swords in general, but long-swords were really just those larger versions of typical one-handed swords, except with stouter blades. They were “longer swords,” as opposed to Read more…
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