Mari Lwyd: The Welsh Wassailing Tradition of the Decorated Horse Skull and the Battle of Verses
The Mari Lwyd is one of the most visually striking and most genuinely ancient midwinter traditions in Britain, a Welsh […]
UK & Ireland
Soul Cakes: The Medieval Practice That Directly Became Trick or Treat
Soul cakes are small spiced biscuits or breads that were baked on All Souls’ Day, the 2nd of November, and
Jack o’Lantern: The Irish Folk Legend of Stingy Jack, the Turnip That Became a Pumpkin, and the Light That Never Goes Out
The Jack o’Lantern is one of the most recognisable symbols in the world for approximately six weeks every autumn, a
The Origins of Samhain: The Celtic Festival That Became Halloween and What the Sources Actually Say
Samhain is the oldest ancestor of Halloween, and almost everything that most people believe about it is either oversimplified, invented,
The Wolf-People of Ossory: The Irish Werewolf Tradition and the Priest Who Met One in the Woods
In the twelfth century, the Welsh clergyman Gerald of Wales recorded one of the most detailed and most unusual werewolf
The Welsh Arthur: The Warrior Chieftain Who Existed Before the Round Table
Arthur in Welsh mythology is not the Arthur most people know. He is not the courtly king presiding over a
Culhwch and Olwen: The Earliest Arthurian Story Ever Written and the Thirty-Nine Impossible Tasks
Culhwch and Olwen is the oldest Arthurian narrative in any language. It predates Geoffrey of Monmouth’s Historia Regum Britanniae, which
Arianrhod and Lleu Llaw Gyffes: The Mother’s Curse, the Three Impossible Conditions, and the Son Made From Flowers
The Fourth Branch of the Mabinogi is the strangest story in Welsh mythology and one of the most mythologically dense
Branwen, Daughter of Llŷr: The Welsh Myth About a Marriage That Destroyed Two Islands
The Second Branch of the Mabinogi is the most devastating story in Welsh mythology. It begins with a marriage and
The Mabinogion: What It Actually Is, What It Contains, and Why It Is the Most Important Text in Welsh Mythology
The Mabinogion is not a single text. It is a collection of eleven medieval Welsh tales, drawn from two manuscript