King Herla and the Wild Hunt in Twelfth-Century England and Wales
The ghostly “Wild Hunt” rampaged across European folklore as a company of supernatural huntsmen that often counted fairies and the dead among their number.
A ghost story that caused a riot: the strange case of Maude Carew
In February 1862 a riot broke out in a Suffolk churchyard over a ghost story. Margaretta Greene, the story’s author, originated an enduring legend of the ghost of a nun, Maude Carew, who haunts the ruins of the Abbey of Bury St Edmunds. But the story of Maude Carew, and the riot she inspired, raises intriguing questions about the origins of folklore and beliefs about the supernatural.
Albion’s Glorious Ile: William Hole and the Strangest Maps of Britain Ever Made
In the early 17th century, the celebrated London engraver William Hole created some of the strangest maps of Britain ever commissioned to illustrate Poly-Olbion, a vast 15,000-line topographical poem by Michael Dayton (1563-1631).
Protection and Punishment: Beliefs About Angels in Tudor and Stuart England
In Tudor and Stuart England, angels were believed to deliver messages, protect the godly, carry souls to heaven, punish sinners, and carry out God’s will.
British Legends: Treachery, Murder, Lust and Rowena – The Rule of Vortigern
Vortigern was legendary 5th century King of the Britons featured in the work of early British writers such as Gildas, Nennius, Bede, Geoffrey of Monmouth and others.