Tag: Christianity

Roman Wales

The first thing to note about Roman rule in Wales is that it started in 48 AD, a few years later than in England, which is a consequence of the Claudian invasion having started in Kent. It is likely to have finished a little earlier too, in about 383, as the general Maximus Magnus sought… Continue reading Roman Wales

What ancient Celtic wonders did the Romans encounter beyond the estuary of the Severn….?

Before I go any further, let me say that the above image is more or less the first view I had back in the 1970s of the Romano-British temple of Nodens, at Lydney Park near the town of Lydney in Gloucestershire. The temple is on a hillfort site on a bluff where the River Severn… Continue reading What ancient Celtic wonders did the Romans encounter beyond the estuary of the Severn….?

The story of witchcraft….

We all have different ideas about witches, from the evil crones of Shakespeare to the gorgeous Glinda in The Wizard of Oz. The reality, it seems to me, is that most “witches” were innocent women (and some men) who were victimised for a wide variety of reasons. But that’s just my opinion. But nevertheless we’re… Continue reading The story of witchcraft….

The Prince of Aldi–the Prittlewell Saxon Tomb

In 2003, a Saxon burial in an intact burial chamber was unearthed between an Aldi shop  and a pub in Southend. Clearly an important person, almost certainly royalty, the items in the grave  make it the earliest Christian royal burial in England. Now, 16 years on, with conservation and studies complete, many of the items… Continue reading The Prince of Aldi–the Prittlewell Saxon Tomb

Raedwald again

Basil Brown’s work at Sutton Hoo, on secondment from Ipswich Museum, began in summer 1938 and reached “Mound One” today in 1939. In time, he explored the many mounds on that site, one of which probably includes the remains of Raedwald, King of East Anglia to about 624 and Bretwalda of England from 616. Raedwald,… Continue reading Raedwald again

I’m Julian, this is my friend Mary?

(with apologies to any surviving “Round the Horne” fans) On the right is Mary I, the penultimate “Tudor” monarch. Her brief reign was a reaction to the Reformations of her father and brother, reintroducing the Catholicism that prevailed until twenty years earlier but she died without issue and her religious policy was reversed by her… Continue reading I’m Julian, this is my friend Mary?

A GREENWOOD WEDDING ?

May 1 has just gone past–a date known in ancient Britain as the Feast of Beltaine, the ‘Fires of Bel (the Shining One)’. Of  all the old important pre-Christian dates, this is the one that the Church was never able to Christianise in any obvious way, retainings its traditions of merriment, dancing and bawdiness right… Continue reading A GREENWOOD WEDDING ?