Vikings
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Tucked away in the Marshwood Vale in Dorset stands St. Candida’s church, in the village of Whitchurch Canonicorum, population around 700. The church is named after the obscure saint Wite, whose name is ‘Candida’ in Latin. Whitchurch simply means Wite’s church, and the ‘canonicorum’ part of the village name refers to the canons of Salisbury …
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We were always taught that Columbus discovered America in 1492. Then the Vikings (see here) and Irish (see here) were said to have beaten him to it, and maybe the Templars too (see here). But now it seems the Welsh have thrown their hat into the ring as well. In this article it is declared…
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The RICL: Anthropology and forensic science
blood, bone fusion, Caroline Wilkinson, DNA analysis, Donald Findlay, Dundee University, Ethelred II, facial reconstruction, fingerprints, forensic evidence, identification, lectures, Leicester Greyfriars, Oxford, pelvis, Professor Dame Sue Black, Richard III, Robert II, Royal Institution, skeletons, skull, St. Brice’s Day Massacre, St. Nicholas, teeth, trauma, Turi King, VikingsI have made a habit of watching the Royal Institution Christmas Lectures for over forty years. A single scientist, with guest contributors, covers a subject over three (to five) days and demonstrates some of the detail to a live audience of inquisitive children, who take part in the experiments. Last year’s lecturer was Professor Dame…
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(Before I start, I assure you I won’t mention clay pipes! 😁) A young Norwegian lady purchased a collection of cheap costume jewellery online, and when it arrived she discovered one item was the ancient ring shown above. It had once belonged to a Viking chief. Can you imagine such a stroke of luck? How…
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I love delving into the glossy pages of Country Life magazine, because something of interest always turns up. This time I’ve happened upon the story of Ribbesford House on the banks of the River Severn in Worcestershire. Not only was this vast property once on sale for the ridiculously low price of £500,000, but Ribbesford…
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Athelstan–Our Greatest Monarch?
“The last Kingdom”, Alfred, Anglo-Saxons, Athelstan, Bernard Cornwell, books, Brunaburh, Cheshire, Constantine II, Dissolution of the Monasteries, Eadgyth, Edward the Elder, Elizabeth I, Germany, House of Wessex, illegitimacy rumours, legal reforms, Malmesbury Abbey, novels, piety, royal burials, Scotland, St. Aldhelm, St. Cuthbert, Tom Holland, Venerable Bede, Vikings, YorkA recent poll searching for Britain’s ‘Greatest Monarch’, came up with the surprise winner of… drum roll, King Athelstan. Not that the Anglo-Saxon king wasn’t so great, but the winner is a little surprising since most people seem to have believed the ‘crown’ would go to Elizabeth I. (Yawn!) I hope the voters actually remembered…
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“….Scholars at Yale University have just completed a comprehensive analysis of the Vinland Map , a cartographic representation of the northeastern North American coast that was supposedly created in the 15th century. Using the latest high-tech methods to examine the ink used to draw its markings, the Yale experts have conclusively proven the Vinland Map to…
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The Normans didn’t only conquer mainland Britain, but—as Anglo-Normans—crossed the Irish Sea to eject the Vikings from their settlement in what is now Dublin. The remains of the Viking settlement have been excavated beneath the present castle. To read about Viking Dublin, go here. One thing led to another and in the 13th century…
The New Murrey and Blue blog 