. . . from Geoffrey Chaucer, who, as with so many other things, is often credited with starting it all. It's a post which has gone before, but a sentiment which--to my mind--never goes out of date. Those who are less inclined to find themselves drowning in sentimentality, and more inclined to wreak vengeance on… Continue reading Happy Seynt Valentyn’s Day!
Category: Medieval
The Great Norman Stitch Up
There’s a lot of buzz over in Old Blighty at the moment over the news that the French have agreed to “loan” the Bayeux Tapestry (which most scholars believe was embroidered somewhere near Cambridge, England) to the British Museum for display during the 960th anniversary of the Battle of Hastings. The conclusion as to its provenance is… Continue reading The Great Norman Stitch Up
Happy Seynt Valentyn’s Day!
. . . from Geoffrey Chaucer, who, as with so many other things, is often credited with starting it all. It's a post which has largely gone before, but a sentiment which--to my mind--never goes out of date: Chaucer's dream vision poem, The Parliament of Fowls, was written about 1380 and begins with the narrator… Continue reading Happy Seynt Valentyn’s Day!
The Power and the Glory
My last post invoked a few memories, some of which were of St. Mary's Church, Handsworth, Birmingham, and of my first life experiences with Christian church services and Christianity in the UK. I've written about St. Mary's in a slightly different context before here, and so I offer you the following post from 2021. Every… Continue reading The Power and the Glory
King Richard III
Those are the last words spoken by Shakespeare's villainous King Richard III, as he desperately dashed about Bosworth Field, just before being hacked to smithereens by by the opposition--the soldiers of Henry Tudor--after which (IRL, now) Richard's naked body was thrown across a horse (presumably not his own) and taken to Leicester, where he was… Continue reading King Richard III
On Household Relations and the Natural Order of Things, 2024 Edition
A lightly-edited post from several years ago, in honor (or despight) of Jack Kerouac's 101st birthday today. My contempt for the man--and everything he represents--hasn't changed. What a rotten, deranged, misogynistic bastard. Unfortunately, and increasingly, it seems that--these days--there are those who find such people inspiring and worthy of emulation. Particularly on social media. But… Continue reading On Household Relations and the Natural Order of Things, 2024 Edition
Happy Seynt Valentyn’s Day!
. . . from Geoffrey Chaucer, who, as with so many other things, is often credited with starting it all. His dream vision poem, The Parliament of Fowls, was written about 1380 and begins with the narrator (who seems not to know how to love, has perhaps never been in love, and will very likely never… Continue reading Happy Seynt Valentyn’s Day!
Pancake Tuesday, 2024
Cannot believe it's here already. Where has January gone? And February almost half-over! (That it isn't quite, in about 23 hours--in my time zone--can only be attributed to the fact that this is a leap year.) Ubi sunt? (The Latinistas among us (the one or two that I know of) will understand this.) It's a… Continue reading Pancake Tuesday, 2024
Reality TV, 1387 Edition (Redux)
Celebrating the 546th anniversary of William Caxton's printing of Dictes and Sayenges of the Phylosophers, perhaps the first book ever printed in the English language on November 18, 1477, by dusting off an old post with a tangential relationship to the subject: Imagine yourself, if you will, as an inhabitant of late 14th-century England.… Continue reading Reality TV, 1387 Edition (Redux)
A Lapse in Deed, if not in Thought: Celebrating Geoffrey Chaucer
Yes, I thought about Geoffrey Chaucer one week ago today, on October 25, 2023. I know perfectly well that that was the 623rd anniversary of his death, which occurred on October 25, 1400. But I was otherwise occupied at the time, and I didn't get around to commemorating it. Herewith, an echo from well over… Continue reading A Lapse in Deed, if not in Thought: Celebrating Geoffrey Chaucer