Chris Duffin (Natural History Museum) explores the Austro-Bavarian tradition of ‘Fraisketten’ or convulsion chains–polyamuletic chains combining items of religious and folk medicine origin. Online talk, Tuesday 19 April 2022, 18:00 Fraisketten are strings of amuletic beads and other items, closely related structurally to rosaries. They are a distinctively Austro-Bavarian means of protection against ‘Frais’ –...
John Clark (Emeritus Curator, The Museum of London), ‘The Green Children of Woolpit: “the true old fairy mythology”?’ Tuesday 5 April 2022, 18:00, online The story of the two ‘Green Children’ who appeared in the Suffolk village of Woolpit in the middle of the 12th century, reported by two medieval historians, has been popular ever...
Shepherdess Saints and Sinister Seigneurs: The Social History of a Local/Global Cult Online talk by Prof. David Hopkin (University of Oxford) Tuesday 22 March 2022, 18:00-19:30 GMT All over Europe, rural communities honour shepherdesses, as saints, murdered by lords. What does this cult reveal about social relations? Every third Sunday in July, pilgrims gather at...
Dr William Roberts explores the traditions and imagery of British Army uniforms Online talk, Tuesday 8 March, 18:00-19:30 The uniforms of the British Army show a remarkable variety in their overall appearance and details. The underlying reason is historical: the earliest cavalry and infantry regiments were established by local worthies from their own area, and...
Dr Helen Frisby (University of the West of England) explores the historical custom of sin-eating, together with its afterlife in film, TV and literature. “The Sin-eater: lives and afterlives”: online talk, Tuesday 22 February 2022, 18:00-19:30. A sin-eater was a ‘long, leane, ugly, lamentable poor raskal’ (Aubrey, 1687) who, by eating a special ritual meal,...
The unicorn has returned! This talk examines its history as a classical, medieval and modern fantasy creature Online talk by Dr Juliette Wood (University of Cardiff): “When Unicorns walked the earth” Tuesday 8 February 2022, 18:00-19:30 Unicorns have always been elusive, and like so many mythical creatures, their history is not straight-forward. Classical sources placed...
Ross MacFarlane (Wellcome Collection), will trace the reputation of Edward Lovett, who amassed one of Britain’s largest ever collections of folk objects. Online talk, Tuesday 25 January 2022, 18:00-19:30 Edward Lovett (1852-1933) was a member of The Folklore Society in the early 20th century and a frequent contributor to its journal. He amassed one of...
Prof. Felicity Wood (University of Fort Hare, South Africa) talks about a South African form of wealth-giving magic, “ukuthwala”, believed to involve ownership of a dangerous spirit, “mamlambo” Online talk, Tuesday 11 January 2022, 18:00-19:30 This talk discusses the practice of ukuthwala, a dangerous, powerful procedure for long-term wealth, believed to involve the ownership of...