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Welcome to the Mythical Britain Blog
Written by Michael Smith, the Mythical Britain Blog provides a detailed insight into a range of historical and literary topics including Middle English poetry, medieval castles and churches, Arthurian romance, historical geography, prehistoric sites, and historiography. The blog also reviews books, film and theatrical performances of relevance.
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The haunting literary landscape of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight
The literary landscape of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is a powerful evocation of a magical possibility existing at the fringes of our known imagination. How does the poet evoke this?
Michael Smith
Nov 38 min read
The Alliterative Revival - lessons from a time of tyranny which still hold true today
The poems of the Alliterative Revival may date from the fourteenth century but their content has much to tell us about the need for good government today - and how to avoid the tyranny of terrible leaders we are starting to see.
Michael Smith
Oct 269 min read
Overal enker-grene – the symbolism of the colour green in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight
The symbolism of the colour green in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight has often been attributed to the supernatural. But is there a simpler reason behind the poet's choice, one based on narrative technique and audience expectation?
Michael Smith
Sep 297 min read
The medieval brass to John and Alice Wilcotes, St Michael and All Angels, Great Tew, Oxfordshire
The church of St Michael and All Angels contains a wealth of architectural wonders and historic features. The brass to Sir John and Alice Wilcotes is certainly amongst them and is a particularly fine example of its type.
Michael Smith
Sep 177 min read
A history and description of Richard’s Castle, Herefordshire
Named after its original founder, Richard Fitz Scrob, the village of Richard's Castle in Herefordshire is home to one of the few motte and bailey castles to be built in Britain prior to the Norman Conquest. The associated church of St Bartholomew also contains elements from the Norman period.
Michael Smith
Sep 146 min read
The marvellous medieval monuments at St Mary the Virgin church, Dodford, Northamptonshire
The church of St Mary the Virgin at Dodford in Northamptonshire has a rich collection of medieval effigies and monuments spanning three centuries. A visit is highly recommended.
Michael Smith
May 154 min read
Medieval Women exhibition at the British Library
A review of the British Library's recent and brilliant exhibition, Medieval Women: In Their Own Words. An exhibition well worth seeing!
Michael Smith
Mar 146 min read
Sir Gawain graphic novel by John Reppion and Mark Penman
Michael Smith reviews an astonishing graphic novel version of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight by John Reppion and Mark Penman.
Michael Smith
Jan 247 min read
A new complete English translation of William of Palerne
An explanation of the translation approach undertaken to create the first ever alliterative edition of William of Palerne in modern English.
Michael Smith
Jan 35 min read
The making of a book - the Romance of William and the Werewolf (William of Palerne), its creation and production
How a fourteenth-century alliterative romance has come alive once more, richly illustrated with linocut prints.
Michael Smith
Nov 30, 20244 min read
The Journey of Sir Gawain - a new linocut print inspired by Sir Gawain and the Green Knight
Michael Smith reveals the processes involved in the making his latest linocut of Sir Gawain as he ventures in search of the Green Knight.
Michael Smith
Nov 29, 20244 min read
Castles and Landscapes – Hautdesert Castle in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight
Michael Smith discusses the Gawain-poet's castle Hautdesert, showing how its place in the landscape reflected the zeitgeist of his time.
Michael Smith
Dec 22, 20236 min read
Nobut an old Cave – the power and meaning of the Green Chapel in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight
The poet in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight calls the Green Chapel 'nobot an olde cave' with huge understatement. It was a house of horror.
Michael Smith
Nov 23, 20235 min read
William of Palerne and the literary legacy of Humphrey de Bohun
I have been working for some time on a new translation of William of Palerne , which Madden in the nineteenth century called the “romance...
Michael Smith
Nov 20, 20204 min read
Review: Green Knight - a mediaeval lady's real thoughts on knighthood and chivalry
A review of Dr Debbie Cannon's magnificent play about Lady Bertilak and her love for Sir Gawain - as seen from the point of view of The
Michael Smith, Author, Translator, Printmaker
Jul 9, 20197 min read
Book Review: The Castle at War in Medieval England and Wales
Dr Dan Spencer's book on the Medieval castles is a valuable and accessible guide to castles - not what they are but where they appear in
Michael Smith, Author, Translator, Printmaker
Feb 19, 20195 min read
Creating a linocut print of Sir Hugh Calveley
How I made and printed a four-colour linocut of the Cheshire Knight, Sir Hugh Calveley. Michael Smith, Mythical Britain
Michael Smith, Mythical Britain
Nov 25, 20172 min read
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