Modern Paganism’s Translation Problem?
Do books on modern paganism have a translation problem when it comes to Celtic sources? A discussion with Kris Hughes on an important subject.
Or listen to this episode as a podcast:
Thanks, Rest and Next . . .
An end of term message for you all, including news on what’s coming up in September.
A 5th branch of the Mabinogi?
What would a 5th branch of the Mabinogi look like? By following the recurring themes of The Four Branches of the Mabinogi, is there a way of guessing what a 5th branch would contain? Here’s a short lecture I gave a few years back at the Aberystwyth Storytelling Festival:
Docu-mental Interview
I was fortunate enough to be invited by Whitney McKnight to talk on her podcast Docu-mental. It’s slightly different to things I usually talk about, we follow a political strand of thought, but still myth centred. You can listen by clicking here.
Note: I start out by saying my family moved to the North West, which is totally wrong, it was the North East!
Celtic Gods in Medieval Wales
Many of the characters in Welsh and Irish myths are believed to be medieval versions of earlier Celtic gods. But did medieval audiences and readers see them in the same way? What was the medieval relationship to Celtic myth? Here’s one attempt to answer the question.
You can listen to this episode as a podcast here.
The Life of Stories (Part 6)
In this addendum to our long rangeing conversation about Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, poet and storyteller Tom Hirons talks about what brings some poems and stories to life.
You can listen to this episode as a podcast here.
Sir Gawain and Men’s Mysteries (Part 5)
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight isn’t just an old poem about chivalry and codes of honour, it also appears to be a meditation upon different types of masculinity. Which story about the sacred masculine is being told here? In this fifth part of a long rangeing discussion between myself and the poet and storyteller, Tom Hirons, we enter the final stages of our exploration.
You can lsiten to this episode as a podcast here.
Sir Gawain and the Pagan Goddess (Part 4)
In this fourth part of the series we venture into the pagan wilds of the English classic. Many scholars have commented on the mixture of Christian and Pagan beliefs in the poem, but why did the anonymous author contrast the two types of belief so explicitly?
You can listen to this episode as a podcast here.
Sir Gawain, Woman and Wild God (Part 3)
In this third part of the series, Tom Hirons and myself talk through his poem ‘Sometimes a Wild God’ and some of it’s connections to the Green Knight. The following discussion explores Sir Gawain’s relationship with Lady Bertilak and what this can tell us about medieval and modern ideas of sexuality.
You can also listen to this episode as a podcast.