THE BOOKS OF ALBION: THE COLLECTED WRITINGS OF PETER DOHERTY.

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High up on the famous church towers of Somerset, almost lost to the eye except for their silhouettes, are an amazing series of grotesque stone figures. Carved in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, to ornament corners and break up straight sections of masonry, these figures are known in some rural areas as hunky punks. Aristotle or Pseudo-Aristotle (1955). "On the Cosmos, 393b12". On Sophistical Refutations. On Coming-to-be and Passing Away. On the Cosmos. Translated by Forster, Edward Seymour; Furley, David J. William Heinemann, Harvard University Press. pp.360–361. at the Open Library Project. DjVu

On the face of things medieval pilgrimage seems straightforward. People set out, usually along well-established routes, to visit the shrines of saints. The significance of the saints were retold in legends. The routes themselves linked together secondary shrines, suitable resting places and hostelries, and as such would have their own 'legends' – both secular and sacred.How Place-Names Grow is the starting point for anyone who wants to more fully understand place-name dictionaries. Later, in the 14th century, a more elaborate tale was developed, claiming that Albina and her sisters founded Albion and procreated there a race of giants. [20] The "Albina story" survives in several forms, including the octosyllabic Anglo-Norman poem "Des grantz geanz" dating to 1300–1334. [21] [a] [22] [23] [b] [25] According to the poem, in the 3970th year of the creation of the world, [c] a king of Greece married his thirty daughters into royalty, but the haughty brides colluded to eliminate their husbands so they would be subservient to no one. The youngest would not be party to the crime and divulged the plot, so the other princesses were confined to an unsteerable rudderless ship and set adrift, and after three days reached an uninhabited land later to be known as "Britain". The eldest daughter Albina ( Albine) was the first to step ashore and lay claim to the land, naming it after herself. At first, the women gathered acorns and fruits, but once they learned to hunt and obtain meat, it aroused their lecherous desires. As no other humans inhabited the land, they mated with evil spirits called " incubi", and subsequently with the sons they begot, engendering a race of giants. These giants are evidenced by huge bones which are unearthed. Brutus arrived 260 years after Albina, 1136 before the birth of Christ, but by then there were only 24 giants left, due to inner strife. [25] As with Geoffrey of Monmouth's version, Brutus's band subsequently overtake the land, defeating Gogmagog in the process. [25] Manuscripts and forms [ edit ] Along the way Bob Trubshaw introduces ideas about the changing lifestyles and beliefs of the prehistoric people who built the monuments. The variety of such ideas currently being proposed by prehistorians are presented using a unique conversational style of writing. The final section of the book lists twenty-five Holy Wells that the author recommends visiting in England and Wales - here each is accompanied by a photo. The addition of a map would have been an added bonus. I have felt stimulated to visit some of those which are closer to me very soon.

For this brief publication, I have collected five tales taking us from misty years following the collapse of Roman rule in England – a time when it is hard to distinguish between history, myth and legend – through until the arrival of the Normans when, after over 600 years of almost constant instability, some kind of normality returned to English life. During the Withdean years, one of his favourite chants was about Albion’s keeper, Michel Kuipers, who was a “former Dutch marine”. While during the Amex era, one of his favourites is Tariq Lamptey’s new chant which is sung to the tune of Starman by David Bowie. This essay is intended to be both an investigation of Anglo-Saxon worldviews and also to offer inspiration for modern day rituals.

As none of the wooden weohs and stapols have survived there is, clearly, considerable speculation involved. However these suggestions fit within a plausible 'underlying' worldview established in the first two volumes of The Twilight Age. The fifth volume of this series looks in more detail at the locations of such carvings. For the fifth edition the Introduction has been fully revised and a selection of representative Old English texts included. These will start you on the path of appreciating a very special literature and the way the language works. Alby Stone write in clear and concise English, with a minimum of jargon and an occasional twinkle of humour.' Withowinde