Jumping into spring: it’s the time when folk long to go on pilgrimages and in addition to seeking the blissful holy martyr, medievalists like to share their love of language with the world. Thanks to Chaucer Doth Tweet, the event this year is called #WhanThatAprille16 so check out the hashtag for more audio delights. Here’s…
Category: medieval
On Medievalism and ‘Realism’
I’m going to be brief because I don’t watch the television show that prompted this post, yet I’m irritated by the notions behind a certain author’s constant defensive claims about ‘realism’ as the excuse to fill a narrative with frequent rapes of women (although seemingly the show runners are more interested in how the rapes…
Finland: Churches
Helka, Antti and Eila took me out for my last full day in the north so we could see some lovely sights. There are a couple of interesting churches in Kemi, one very modern but based on the old medieval style and the other with remnants of its medieval forebears. A little more history on…
Profiled at Eden Baylee’s Blog & News
I am profiled over at Eden Baylee’s blog today. Drop by and say hello to find out what lurks inside my mind lately. I suppose it’s the usual sort of thing, but Eden has some interesting questions that I have not had in an interview before, so maybe you will learn a few new things…
History Witch: Anglo-Saxon Death
I think the impulse that defines an academic nature is that one responds to difficult moments by turning to the past to see how others have coped with similar times. So still reeling from unexpected grief, I turn to history as I contemplate the ways we deal with the inevitability of parting from those we…
Jam, Jute and Journalism
Hello from sunny Dundee, land of jute, jam and journalism: well, it is at the moment. Sort of. Oodles to catch up on, so I will avoid rehashing the harrowing journey and just give you a couple of news items. It wasn’t that harrowing after all. I am beyond grateful for the help from Maura…
Six Sentence Sunday: The Price
Six Sentence Sunday has rolled around again: if all has gone well, I am in Dundee. After the long day of travel, I suspect I may still be in bed. Let’s hope! In the midst of packing and tying up loose ends, I was also writing (well, when am I not?). One of the things…
New Gig: History Witch
Out of the ivory tower and into the streets! Or at least the blogosphere. I’m proud to unveil my latest gig, which sprang directly from the interest generated by Rook Chant: I am now the History Witch for the Witches & Pagans site. I’ll be bringing the fascinating but often rather challenging information from my…
Six Sentence Sunday: Rook Chant
All right, it’s Sunday again — and Father’s Day! Happy Father’s Day all — so here’s my six. A little change of pace: not fiction, but non-fiction. A little taste from my latest publication, Rook Chant, which offers a compendium of essays, translations and reviews on one of my favourite topics: magic. I write about…
Out Now: Rook Chant
Few things make a writer happier than a gorgeous book cover and this one’s a beaut, thanks to the ever talented Queen of Everything, S. L. Johnson. You may recognise the image from a photo I took: how rare for a writer to have a hand in the book cover! Rook Chant brings together a…
K. A. Laity 