Bernard Cornwell is probably best known for the Sharpe series. Beginning with The Winter King, then moving on to Enemy of God, and ending with Excalibur, the Warlord series follows a little-known character from early Arthurian myth, Derfel. Rasied by Merlin and fighting for Arthur, he is constantly drawn into the intrigues of both their worlds. Bernard says: The Warlord Trilogy is my attempt to tell the story of Arthur, ‘Rex Quondam Rexque Futurus’, the Once and Future King, although I doubt he ever was a king. I suspect he was a great warlord of the sixth century. Nennius, who was one of the earliest historians to mention Arthur, calls him the ‘dux bellorum’ – leader of battles or warlord. I have to confess that of all the books I have written these three are my favourites. They have been translated into a score of languages and were best-sellers in a dozen countries. [Source]

The Winter King

‘Once upon a time, in a land that was called Britain, these things happened . . . . and I was there, and this is how it was.’ The Winter King , like the rest of the trilogy, is narrated by Derfel (which is pronounced Dervel), one of Arthur’s warriors. This first book tells how after the death of Uther, High King of Britain, the country falls into chaos. Uther’s heir is a child, Mordred, and Arthur, his uncle, is named one of the boy’s guardians. Arthur has to fight other British kingdoms and the dreadful “Sais” – the Saxons – who are invading Britain. Arthur is supposed to marry Ceinwyn, a princess of Powys, but falls disastrously in love with Guinevere – ‘There have been many more beautiful women, and thousands who were better, but since the world was weaned I doubt there have been many so unforgettable as Guinevere . . . and it would have been better, Merlin always said, had she been drowned at birth.’ Continue Reading »

There is a brand new release appearing on Sacred Texts that you guys might be interested in. There are numerous books about Irish Fairies, but this was one of the first to focus on the Irish Ghost. The text visits haunted houses from one end of the island to the other. We learn about garden-variety ghosts as well as poltergeists and Banshees, and find out what to do if a ‘Headless Coach’ shows up.

Seymour solicited the stories from newspaper readers, and many of them are from respectable military, clergymen, and gentry. Seymour also wrote Irish Witchcraft and Demonology. True Irish Ghost Stories is a unique and very entertaining read, particularly for fans of Irish tales, as well as the paranormal investigator.–J.B. Hare, May 6th, 2009.

As it says in the foreword:

This book had its origin on this wise. In my Irish Witchcraft and Demonology, published in October 1913, I inserted a couple of famous 17th century ghost stories which described how lawsuits were set on foot at the instigation of most importunate spirits. It then occurred to me that as far as I knew there was no such thing in existence as a book of Irish ghost stories. Books on Irish fairy and folk-lore there were in abundance—some of which could easily be spared—but there was no book of ghosts. And so I determined to supply this sad omission. Continue Reading »

In this tale we hear about the old Shannachie, Laoidheach, who visits a clan to bring them news. He is encouraged by a lively young woman to tell tales of the Old Gods. So he tells her all he knows of the Morrighan and takes her on a Vision Journey. Afterwards, she asks him to teach her the Lay of Brighid.

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Pic: Uncle Bucko

The Morpeth Herald Tells us:NEW Thoughts on Ancient Northumberland was the title of Paul Frodsham’s lecture at Morpeth Antiquarian Society. Mr Frodsham was the Northumberland National Park archaeologist for 15 years until 2007. His talk concentrated on a small but incredibly rich area of the Breamish valley on and around Ingram Farm, where amazing archaeology has survived years of agricultural work. Twelve years of research from 1994 revealed evidence of occupation from the Neolithic to the present-day.

The work was done by more than 400 diggers, including staff and students from Durham University, amateurs and professionals from the Northumberland Archaeological Group, and other experts.
Continue Reading »

Pic:http://www.sustrust.co.uk/news.html

The Western Morning News says: IT MAY look like little more than a pile of rubble today, but these stones are the remains of an iconic monument which once possessed as much cultural and religious importance as the Merry Maidens, Hurlers or Perran Round. Caerwynnen Quoit – also known as the Giant’s Frying Pan and Pendarves Quoit – is situated in a field outside Camborne.

Like the quoits of Lanyon, Trethevy, Chun, Zennor and those on Scilly, Caerwynnen is a chamber tomb dating from around 3,000BC. Although the structure is a scheduled ancient monument, neglect led to its total collapse in 1967. However, plans are now being drawn up to re-erect it.

On Sunday, members and supporters of the Sustainable Trust met at the quoit to hear about its history and plans for its protection. The organisation, which has bought the monument and five acres of surrounding land near Troon with help from a Heritage Lottery grant, intends to restore and reposition the huge stones. Continue Reading »

On Saturday and Sunday, August 2nd and 3rd, the 2008 World of Faeries festival takes place at Vasa Park, Main Gate on Route 31, South Elgin, Illinois. With a line-up to include Patchouli from Wisconsin, Istanpitta from Texas and the Masters of the Sword providing action this promises to be a weekend not to be missed. There is accommodation available, either local accommodation or camping and full details can be found on their camping page. With well over 25 exhibitors providing a variety of celtic and fae wares, I wish we could be in Illinois this weekend!

Originally posted 2008-08-01 10:48:59. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

Pic: Science Daily

Back in May 2008, Science Daily reported that authentic Viking DNA had been retrieved from a group of 10 skeletons on the Danish island of Funen. The article talks about the difficulties of obtaining genuine DNA and says:    Jørgen Dissing and colleagues from the University of Copenhagen, investigated what went under the helmet; the scientists were able to extract authentic DNA from ancient Viking skeletons, avoiding many of the problems of contamination faced by past researchers.

Analysis of DNA from the remains of ancient humans provides valuable insights into such important questions as the origin of genetic diseases, migration patterns of our forefathers and tribal and family patterns. Continue Reading »

Pic: BBC

The BBC reports that evidence has been found of Bronze age activity on the island of Iona, following an archaeological dig there. A collection of bones, shells, pottery and tools were uncovered by archaeologists from the National Trust for Scotland.

The items were believed to date back to between 930 BC and 810 BC.  The Trust said they suggested the existence of an ancient rubbish tip used by a prehistoric settlement on the island.

Iona is well known for its Christian history but these latest findings indicate life almost 1,000 before the birth of Christ.

Trust archaeologist Derek Alexander said:

This is a very significant find for Iona.

It is well known for its early Christian history, however, we now have the first evidence which shows that there was settlement even earlier.

Read the full article on the BBC site.

Click to enlarge

My Language Notebook (MLN) is a program to keep your notes when you are learning a language. You can note down useful sentences just like with a normal notebook but you can also do a whole lot more. You can record the audio, put your sentences into categories, search and practice what you have noted down. More useful to my way of thinking is that you can also learn from projects that other people have made and uploaded to the MLN website! I am excited to be able to tell you that they have some material for two of the Celtic languages: Scottish Gaelic and Manx!

This project is the brain-child of Jim Morrison who is fighting to help the smaller languages survive. We asked him to tell us something about himself and the project. So over to Jim:

Celtic culture never seems to fail to inspire and fascinate people from all over the world and for me the biggest part of this culture is its languages, Welsh, Irish, Scottish Gaelic, Breton, Cornish and of course Manx. Continue Reading »

The links between Tolkien’s epic works and Celtic Mythology are well know and besides which, who amongst us doesn’t love Middle-Earth? Today sees the launch of a High Definition version of an amazing 40 minute fan film made by Independent Online Cinema which tells a story not covered by the trilogy of films which we all know and admire. The Hunt for Gollum tells the story of Aragorn and Gandalf’s quest to discover the part that Gollum played in the War of the Ring. Go and watch this – you won’t be disappointed! And not only that – but our mate Greg from the Pentacle Drummers is one of the actors! Go for it, Greg – Hollywood next! Continue Reading »