I have completed a number of posts to be released over the Christmas and New Year period. This was largely because I had planned this post and it took a truly epic amount of research and led me down a myriad of fascinating rabbit holes. You will not be surprised to year that I am… Continue reading Saxons: Ages of Darkness
Author: Richard Darch
Legio IX: Did they stay or did they go?
Since the introduction of my contact form I have received a number of questions from people who, for various reasons, didn’t want to ask questions in the comments section of the relevant post. Most of these I answer independently. However one I felt merited a post of its own. “JeffHead” asked in response to my… Continue reading Legio IX: Did they stay or did they go?
Ghosts: The Hereafter
I was listening to a ghost story several nights ago. The narrator did incredible work of running chills down my spine as he laid the scene. Rarely do ghost stories have an effect on me and as the tale progressed I felt my pulse quicken, I became aware of every little sound around me. Its… Continue reading Ghosts: The Hereafter
Winter Spirits: Berchta
Gods and Goddesses governing the repeating cycles of nature are pretty universal and certainly predate recorded history. Humans naturally attribute things beyond their comprehension to deities of some sort. There are very few world cultures that don’t have a winter deity. One of my favourites is Frau Berchta from the Alpine Germanic tribes of Europe.… Continue reading Winter Spirits: Berchta
DNA: Four Letters
Since my mid-teens I have been fascinated by genetics. There are a numbers of reasons for this. When I was seventeen the human genome project was completed. The worlds media was abuzz with science and pseudoscience. On a more personal level I have a genetic condition called Retinitis Pigmentosa(RP) caused my a single nucleotide mutation… Continue reading DNA: Four Letters
Harii: Ghosts or Guerrillas
I have mentioned before how painful I found studying Tacitus in my formative years. Despite this I do seem to keep coming back to him. In this instance he is literally the only source I could find so its possible I am about to recount, in the minimal detail available to me, a two thousand… Continue reading Harii: Ghosts or Guerrillas
The Bloody Isle
Due to a recent trip and some Covid-19 related difficulties I decided to take a week off my usual posting schedule (two posts a week). Normal postings should resume next week. I haven’t been idle with my downtime thought. A huge amount of reading was necessary to release my first entry in The Bloody Isle.… Continue reading The Bloody Isle
Marie: A Village for the Queen.
Marie Antoinette is a key figure in French history. She has served as an over laboured source of satire for decades, propping up the careers of middling comedians and historians alike. Her apparent disconnect from the suffering and profound poverty of the people of France has made her an easy target. But is her reputation… Continue reading Marie: A Village for the Queen.
Connla: A night on the pull.
This is without a doubt one of the most vanilla folk tales I have read and I am told it is far more stirring as an opera. Given it is Celtic with origins dated to at least 3 AD I am confident operatic variations are a modern innovation. Connla of the Firey Hair was the… Continue reading Connla: A night on the pull.
Jean Baptiste Denys: The blood of the calf.
I am the first to recognise that a great deal of scientific advancement has developed from accidents, mistakes or radical misconceptions. I also believe that in science even a negative result is a good thing. Advancement in any direction is still advancement. However rarely in history when a scientist starts with a profound misunderstanding about… Continue reading Jean Baptiste Denys: The blood of the calf.