Icy Sedgwick's Blog, page 23

The Folklore of Time: Clocks, Calendars, and Church Bells

Time is one of those things that we never seem to have enough of. When we’re enjoying ourselves, it zips by too quickly. Yet when you’re stuck in a boring situation, it seems to slow down to a crawl. But how does time relate to folklore? A Patreon supporter requested a blog post on humanity’s […]

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The Folklore of Unusual Place Names: From Pity Me to Wetwang

Place names are important and tell us a lot of valuable information. Yet many names come to us with centuries of use attached. They become distorted over time as people misspell or mishear them. In some cases, folklore becomes attached to explain their origins. As an example, you can find No Place near Stanley. Some […]

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Meet Antenociticus, The God Adopted By The Romans

Antenociticus bears the most marvellous Roman-sounding name. Yet there’s a very good chance he’s actually a local deity, adopted by the Romans once they arrived in Britain. Yet he also poses several mysteries. He appears nowhere else in Britain. A high-ranking official dedicated an altar to him. And someone broke up a statue of him […]

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Meet Jupiter Optimus Maximus – The Greatest and Best!

The name ‘Jupiter’ conjures up various images. The fifth planet from the sun, the most rousing part of Holst’s Planets suite, and the chief of the Roman gods. He’s like Zeus, except in one major way. Jupiter was not only the god of the Romans but also the state and its empire. Thomas Apel suggests […]

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Meet Mars, the Roman God of War and…Agriculture?!

Mars is primarily known as the Roman god of war. He’s also the god of rage, destruction and passion—and, surprisingly, agriculture (Hoerber 1958: 66). As Peter Carney puts it, Mars is the protector of both fighters and food (2019). In some traditions, he even has a healing aspect (Henig 1995: 51). So it’s fair to […]

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Find the lost Temple of Mithras under London!

Do you want to see a Roman temple in London? Well, start off on Queen Victoria Street, with the Bank of England behind you. Head south down Walbrook towards Cannon Street. You’ll pass Starbucks on your left, and the Bloomberg building on your right. But look closer at the shining office block as you pass. […]

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Roman gods in Newcastle upon Tyne: Neptune and Oceanus

Newcastle upon Tyne sits on an ancient site of human occupation. So it’s hardly surprising that offerings to Roman gods can be found among its archaeology. In 2018, I spotted these altars in the Great North Museum at Hancock. I’m fascinated by the way Roman gods show up in Britain, so I decided to delve […]

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Toxic Trees: Folklore of Juniper, Laburnum and Oleander

We’ve been looking at the folklore of poisonous flowers, from the showstoppers like Angel’s Trumpet to the magical larkspur, via common bluebells. They are by no means the only poisonous flowers in existence. This week, we’re moving away from flowers and onto toxic trees. I’ve seen one of these, oleander, in the Luxembourg Gardens in […]

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Magical Plant Folklore: Larkspur, Periwinkle and Wormwood

Magical plants often have a long association with particular qualities, such as protection or help in romantic affairs. People often planted rowan as protection against witchcraft. The use of roses in love magic persists in the link between roses and romance. We’ve looked before at the folklore of super toxic plants, as well as common […]

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Common Garden Flowers: Folklore of Bluebells, Daffodils & Hydrangeas

Last week, we looked at the folklore of flowers, focusing on Angel’s Trumpet, Foxgloves, and Deadly Nightshade. They are by no means the only poisonous flowers in existence. This week, I thought we’d bring it a little closer to home and look at three really common garden flowers – that are all toxic! You can […]

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