Sir Gawain and the Green Knight – a Bewitching Masterpiece of Mediaeval Poetry

The Green Knight in the Woods, from an original linocut print by Michael Smith ( © Michael Smith 2019, all rights reserved )

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, is a fourteenth century poetic masterpiece. No mere Arthurian romance, it is a work of huge religious, spiritual and mystical power. In subjecting its hero to the hardest of temptations, it reveals the hollowness of the chivalric ideal, the weakness of men and the loneliness of the human condition.

Top 5 Romanian Folk Tales

Stained glass art, Romanian folktales by Hari Nandakumar https://unsplash.com/photos/nWrLpxOZ1IM

Why do folktales still charm us? They hold ancient wisdom, ceremonies and life lessons but they also unravel old rituals of passage, family ties, and ancient human desires, offering us a moment of contemplation and a much needed respite from our own life stories.

‘Gather far, gather near, gather all the milk and butter here!’ Some May Day Traditions from Ireland

Two children standing in front of a decorated May Bush, Kildare (May 1980). Photographer: Bróna Nic Amhlaoibh.

In Cork, on May morning before sunrise, a person went out and brought back a branch of hazel, holly and mountain ash and returned to the house singing the above verse to ‘bring in the summer’. In Ireland, as in many parts of Western Europe, May marked the beginning of summer…

Folk Healing & Hypnotism: Arthur Spray, ‘The Mysterious Cobbler’ of Bexhill

Photo showing Jim Cornford & Arthur Spray in the doorway of their cobblers' shop, Cornford & Spray, 16 Station Road, Bexhill © Bexhill Museum Arthur Spray Archive

Arthur Spray, known as ‘The Mysterious Cobbler of Bexhill’, wrote an autobiography in 1935 which detailed his famed powers in healing and hypnotism.

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