Flora Britannica
On a recent trip to England, I discovered a marvellous book: Richard Mabey’s Flora Britannica (Chatto & Windus, London, 1996). This is not a dry encyclopaedia of plant descriptions but rather a...
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Hunting Italian Uncial
I have reached the point where I am preparing book 1 of my trilogy (Kith and Kin) for publication on Kindle. (Book 1 is called Death in Elmet, A Medieval Murder Mystery) As a part of this, I have been...
View ArticleThe Chilternsaete, Angles, Saxons and Britons
An ancient British kingdom in the Chilterns? Well, maybe. I have just finished reading Rutherford-Davis’ 1982 study entitled Britons and Saxons, The Chiltern Region 400-700 (Phillimore and Co Ltd,...
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More thoughts on Britons and Angles and Saxons in the 6th century
Two pieces of work have helped move my thoughts along on this. The first is Caitlin Green’s Oxford DPhil (2011) on Anglian/British interactions in the Lincoln region. (Find it under Thomas Green). Her...
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Death in Elmet
Well, the trilogy (Kith and Kin) about the life and loves of Godgifu of Deira is moving along. Book 1 (Death in Elmet) has been finished for some time, but I was waiting until I had completed Book 2...
View ArticleWales vs Scotland and the Games of Thrones
I have just returned home from a holiday in Europe which, among other things, included a few days in Scotland. The theme of the holiday was touring by train and, quite by accident, we began the...
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Power in Medieval Gwynedd
I have just finished working my way through three books on medieval Wales, two of them about Gwynedd. The most general is Celtic Christianity in Early Medieval Wales by Oliver Davies (University of...
View ArticleThe Nature of the Anglo-Saxon Conquest of Britain
This post represents further musings on a topic that has interested me for many years. It was prompted by the posting of a couple of articles on a Facebook group – Anglo-Saxon History and Language – by...
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Early medieval Powys and Pengwern
I am just beginning to think about book 3 of the Kith and Kin Trilogy and I have decided to set much of the action in Powys. However, as soon as I began researching locations, I hit an even bigger...
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Who Was Cynddylan ap Cyndrwn?
Cynddylan is the subject of a group of hauntingly beautiful ancient Welsh poems, but there does not seem to be any consensus among the experts as to who, exactly, he was. The oldest of the poems was...
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