Celtic Society In the Iron Age, the greatest distinction in Celtic society was between the free and the unfree. Freemen owned the best farms and…
Since St Michael’s Day is coming soon, 29 September, I thought it might be appropriate to write something about his feast day. Saint Michael the…
Blood Blood had a strong visual impact in ‘a society where symbol and ritual were important means of communication’. In 1593 some poor women from…
Fosterage in Scotland and Ireland was the most important form of artificial kinship meant to keep a lineage alive. The child of a greater man was…
Beltane the Modern Festival Most people know about Beltane from neo-pagans who have borrowed aspects of their ceremony from English festivals such as dancing around…
Who was Fionn mac Cumhall? Fionn mac Cumhaill was the legendary leader of the Fianna or warband. In the manuscript tradition Fionn’s father was called Cumhall. However,…
Witchcraft: Black & White Two types of witchcraft were known in medieval Scotland: white witchcraft which dealt with the art of healing and black magic…
A mid-winter festival is celebrated over much of the northern hemisphere. We need a lift and lots of light. New Year’s Eve is the most…
Morning has Broken is a lovely hymn popularised by the British singer Cat Stevens (Steven Demetre Georgiou)–a huge hit in the early 1970s. Eleanor Farjeon, an…
There can be no identity without memory… –Anthony Smith
