Parting the Mists

Here’s just a quick note to point out some interesting things I’ve noticed online.

Mythic versus Historical Arthur

First up is the blog Badonicus: Late Roman and ‘Arthurian’ Britain, which is serving up a serious dose of King Arhur in a series that has thus far produced 10 posts and promises at least one more. The series is “King Arthur – Man, Myth, or Both?” and takes a researched look at the early sources for Arthur. It’s not light reading, and I haven’t made it all the way through myself, but thought I’d point it out for anyone interested.

Check out the first post in the series here and continue through the series if it tickles your fancy.

Pictish Stones

Next up is a blog I just stumbled upon called Last of the Druids: New Insights into Pictish Stones. Written by Iain Forbes, who is working on a book about the Picts, it takes a close look at the elaborately carved stones created by the Picts of Scotland. The stones are beautiful, and learning more about them is piquing my interest. Click here if your interest, too, is piqued.

Folk Magic in Gettysburg

I confess that this final one doesn’t really have much directly  to do with the Avalonian tradition or the Celts. But I’ve long been fascinated by folk magic, especially here in North America. Seeing how these folk traditions came over from Europe to the Americas and how they changed and sometimes blended with the traditions of various American Indian tribes and of the African diaspora is fascinating to me.

As such, an article from Pennsylvania caught my eye today. The Lebanon Daily News reports that contractors working on a historic dormitory, which also served as a makeshift hospital during the American Civil War, at the Gettysburg Lutheran Seminary have been finding perculiar things in the walls, attic, and floors of the building.

Among the letters to and from soldiers and bottles of sarsaparilla were several shoes, some of which date back to the 1830s. According to the story, these shoes had been cut and arranged in a way to suggest that they were used for folk magic. Those examining these shoes are still trying to determine whether they were used for good luck, to ward off evil, or something else, but I hope the News follows up on this story. Click here if you want to check it out and see a picture of one of the shoes.

Well, that’s all I have for today, though I should be posting again soon as there are  a couple time-sensitive things on the list.

Bright blessings!

Thistle