religion
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Sky news reports: A medieval church tower has been suspended 45ft (14 metres) above the ground as part of a building project in the City of London. The tower of the 700-year-old All Hallows Staining Church was balanced on stilts in what developers called a “never seen before feat of engineering”. It was raised above…
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Summary of a talk by Laura Cardy Shortly after joining the Richard III Society, I was invited to contribute to The Missing Princes Project, initiated by Philippa Langley. My task focused on an intriguing question: might St John’s Abbey in Colchester have played a role in the fate of Richard of York, the younger of…
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York is a city full of history, wherever you look and Lendal Cellars is one such place. If you have ever visited the Cellars, you’re entering right into York’s medieval undercroft. It has wonderful vaulted brick ceilings and chunky stone blocks that are all that remains of the Austin Friary that was once on the…
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Today is St Andrew’s Day, 30th November. St Andrew was one of Jesus’ apostles. and is also the patron saint of Scotland and other countries like Romania and Greece. His feast day celebrates him as one of Jesus’s first disciples and is marked by cultural celebrations in Scotland, whose national flag is the saltire, a…
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When a medieval craftsman was denied his wages, he turned to stone to exact his revenge in a way that would echo through centuries. Atop Freiburg Minster resides a notorious gargoyle that serves a dual purpose: not only does it effectively channel rainwater, but it also embodies a spirit of defiance. According to historical accounts,…
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Mabel was the daughter of the notoriously cruel, William I Talvas and the heiress of her father’s estates, inheriting on his death in 1060. She also inherited the remainder of the Bellême honour in 1070 at the death of her uncle Yves, Bishop of Séez and Lord of Bellême. When her father was exiled she…
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In medieval times, dittany, now more commonly known as dittander, Lepidium latifolium, a perennial herb native to parts of Britain, was used for hot relishes. It suffered a culinary decline by 1650 when horseradish took its place. The spiciness of both its leaves and root are suggested in its common name, poor man’s pepper. It…
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Well, today I came across something that I had never heard of before, and it’s such an oddity that I cannot believe it isn’t more well known. Now, if I mentioned the “king’s lenten cock-crower” would it mean anything to you? OK, don’t all rush at once to tell me I’m the only daftie in…
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Dunstan was born around 910 in Somerset, and, as a boy, studied under Irish monks at Glastonbury. He showed early promise in terms of both scholarship and handicrafts, and at a young age became a priest. Over a long career – he died in Canterbury in 988 in his late 70s – Dunstan served as…
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Many Ricardians know that there are just two churches in the world dedicated to St Alkelda, one is in Middleham and the other in Giggleswick, but very few are aware of a mysterious stained glass in the latter. The whole matter started with a parish fair. Parishioners from both churches were looking for items to…
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