top of page
Welcome to the Mythical Britain Blog
Written by Michael Smith, the Mythical Britain Blog provides detailed insights 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.
Search
Some hidden Christmas messages in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight
The message of Christmas which emerges from an alternative reading of the Middle English masterpiece, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight.
Michael Smith
Dec 2, 202412 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
St Wystan's church, Repton, Derbyshire and its Anglo-Viking historic landscape
A visit to the historic church of St Wystan at Repton, Derbyshire, home to a magnificent Anglo-Saxon crypt and a rich Viking heritage.
Michael Smith
Nov 26, 20248 min read
The Battle of Maldon, 991 - an epic tale of defiance, folly and communal loyalty
Northsey Island near Maldon in Essex is the site of a famous battle between the Vikings and the Anglo-Saxons and celebrated in an epic poem.
Michael Smith
Oct 20, 20248 min read
All Saints' Church, Brixworth, Northamptonshire – a magnificent Anglo-Saxon survival
A visit to the Grade 1-listed church of All Saints at Brixworth, Northamptonshire, the largest Anglo-Saxon building standing in England.
Michael Smith
Oct 14, 20245 min read
The Stones of Stenness, Orkney - a special linocut print
The Stones of Stenness on Orkney provided inspiration for a new linocut print by author and printmaker, Michael Smith.
Michael Smith
Jul 1, 20243 min read
Book Review: Footmarks - A Journey into Our Restless Past, by Jim Leary
Jim Leary's Footmarks uncovers how our ancestors were always on the move, leaving behind traces of an exposure to a much broader world.
Michael Smith
Jun 17, 20244 min read
Wayland's Smithy, Oxfordshire - the making of an original linocut print
An article about the creation of a linocut print featuring Wayland's Smithy, a neolithic chambered cairn near the White Horse of Uffington.
Michael Smith
Feb 19, 20243 min read
Book Review: Northerners - A History, by Brian Groom
A review of Northerners - A History, by Brian Groom. Published by Harper North.
Michael Smith
Feb 6, 20245 min read
Cheshire survivor - the effigy of Sir William Boydell at St. Wilfred's Church, Grappenhall
The effigy of Sir William Boydell at Grappenhall, Cheshire sheds a remarkable light on how, against the odds, ancient monuments can survive.
Michael Smith
Jan 7, 20246 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
A Cheshire Church and its Knightly Founder: Sir Hugh Calveley at St Boniface, Bunbury
A description of the magnificent alabaster monument to Sir Hugh de Calveley and the church of St Boniface near Chester, Cheshire.
Michael Smith
Mar 24, 20236 min read
Book Review: The Road by Christopher Hadley
A review of Christopher Hadley's fascinating new book about a forgotten Roman Road, RR21b, and the traces it has left behind.
Michael Smith
Feb 5, 20236 min read
Book Review: Field Notes by Maxim Peter Griffin - a walk on the wild side
A book review of Field Notes by Maxim Peter Griffin. A feast of art and words describing the landscape, mood and people of Lincolnshire.
Michael Smith
Aug 13, 20223 min read
Sueno's Stone - an astonishing Pictish monument to battle at Forres in Moray, Scotland
A history and description of Sueno's Stone, an astonishing Pictish monument to battle still in its original location at Forres in Scotland.
Michael Smith, Mythical Britain
Aug 15, 20214 min read
The motorway motte - Lilbourne castle and mediaeval village, Northamptonshire
A description of the fascinating early mediaeval motte and bailey, fishponds, village earthworks and church at Lilbourne, Northamptonshire
Michael Smith, Author, Translator, Printmaker
Jul 2, 20214 min read
The Sheela Na Gig sculpture and St Christopher wall paintings at Oaksey in Wiltshire, England
A few years ago, pre lockdown, I took the opportunity to turn off the M4 and track down an astonishing mediaeval sheela na gig sculpture...
Michael Smith
May 8, 20213 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
bottom of page