Icy Sedgwick's Blog, page 32
November 28, 2019
[Book Review] The Pre-Raphaelite Language of Flowers
The general conceit of The Pre-Raphaelite Language of Flowers is that Debra N. Mancoff has collected a range of paintings by the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood and she’s decoded the paintings with a focus on what the flowers in the paintings mean. In some cases, the artists are only dimly associated with the 19th-century art movement. Her […]
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November 16, 2019
What 4 weird things you might find at an English crossroads?
Crossroads occur in folklore and legends all over the world. One of the most famous examples involves legendary blues musician, Robert Johnson. He claimed to have made a pact with the Devil at a crossroads, which explained his prodigious talent. And don’t forget some of the strange folklore involving burying things at crossroads. One old […]
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November 8, 2019
[Book Review] Tudor Folk Tales
We can often think of the Tudor period as being one of strict class and gender boundaries. Or we look at the shenanigans of the ruling royal family and work backwards to assume what the era must have been like. Tudor Folk Tales by Dave Tonge aims to dispel some of these myths – and […]
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November 2, 2019
Dartmoor: Home of Hairy Hands, Spectral Dogs, and the Watching Place
Few places in England conjure the concept of ‘wildness’ quite as well as Dartmoor. This national park boasts rocky outcrops, Stone Age remains, and more ghosts and legends than you can shake a stick at. Headless horsemen, black dogs, bottomless pools, and plenty of Devil-related shenanigans await on the moors. It’s hardly surprising that Sir […]
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October 5, 2019
Why do so many people fear the number 13?
How many times have you walked past a row of houses, counting the numbers as you go? In the UK, the even numbers are often on one side, the odd numbers on the other. 7, 9, 11, 15 – what? What happened to number 13? It’s weirdly common for builders to skip 13 when they […]
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September 21, 2019
Who or what is the Vampire Rabbit of Newcastle upon Tyne?
Newcastle sometimes gets a raw deal here in the UK. Nearly all talk of the so-called ‘Northern Powerhouse’ forgets there’s still a whole swathe of England north of Manchester. People form their opinion of its inhabitants based on photos of scantily-clad clubbers tottering through the snow in 6-inch heels. It completely ignores our Roman history, […]
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August 31, 2019
Psychogeography and Folklore: Walking the City’s Legends
A few weeks ago, we headed to Manchester to explore a story related to Dr John Dee. In that post, I mentioned a tale involving a group of psychogeographers and their attempts to contact the good doctor’s spirit. I asked if anyone wanted a post about psychogeography as a practice. People said yes, so here […]
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August 24, 2019
What is alchemy and did it ever work?
Mention alchemy to most people and they’ll either think of the philosopher’s stone. Or they’ll think about turning lead into gold. Alchemy was actually a worldview, according to the oldest texts written in Greek. They came to Europe via the Middle East after being translated into Arabic. Robert Allen Bartlett makes the claim that alchemy […]
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August 17, 2019
The Brazen Head: Medieval Prophecy Machine or Tall Tale?
Over here in the Fabulous Folklore Family, we’re no strangers to severed heads. And we’re old friends with those that make prophecies, like that of Bran the Blessed. Or Orpheus, whose head washed up on the island of Lesbos. But as it’s Magical Month, we’re going to delve into the mysteries of the Brazen Head. […]
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August 3, 2019
Daemonologie: Or, How A King Whipped Up a Witch Craze
Sometimes it can be difficult to comprehend the popular appeal of a book. Sure, we’ve had phenomena like Harry Potter and 50 Shades of Grey. But neither of them (as yet) have led to the mass persecution of (probably) innocent people quite like Daemonologie. To give it its full title, Daemonologie, In Forme of a […]
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