Mythical Britain
@mythicalbritain.bsky.social
Michael Smith. Author, printmaker, translator and illustrator of medieval romances. Whimsy, art. Published by Wilton Square Books. PhD research University of York. Follows the Blackburn Rovers. www.mythicalbritain.co.uk.
Pinned
The fourteenth century is alive again! I'm delighted to announce that my books are now published by @wiltonsquare.bsky.social. They should once again be available through all good trade outlets in the coming days; please do support your local bookshop. Events and signings soon - please bear with me!
St Catherine at St Stephen’s for St Catherine’s Day. Wonderful fifteenth century stained glass at Old Radnor.
November 25, 2025 at 8:26 AM
St Catherine at St Stephen’s for St Catherine’s Day. Wonderful fifteenth century stained glass at Old Radnor.
Barley twist because it’s possible; delightful turned railings at Denston in Suffolk, dazzling in swirling complexity.
November 25, 2025 at 8:06 AM
Barley twist because it’s possible; delightful turned railings at Denston in Suffolk, dazzling in swirling complexity.
Castles in the landscape
The fortified manor house that is Spofforth Castle was originally built in the early 14th century on the site of a prior 11th century building. For much of the time it was in in the hands of the Percy Family. During the Civil War, the castle was occupied by
November 25, 2025 at 7:53 AM
Castles in the landscape
Detail of delight. Entranced yesterday by this exquisite painting, Music, by David Gauld (1899) on display at The Hunterian in Glasgow. You can almost hear the notes of pipes drifting through old golden fields so many years ago.
November 22, 2025 at 9:00 AM
Detail of delight. Entranced yesterday by this exquisite painting, Music, by David Gauld (1899) on display at The Hunterian in Glasgow. You can almost hear the notes of pipes drifting through old golden fields so many years ago.
Wooden walls at Haddon Hall shield wealth from different worlds. Wonderful screen and resultant screens passage preserve an older way of living in one of Derbyshire’s finest historic homes. #AdoorableThursday
November 20, 2025 at 8:46 AM
Wooden walls at Haddon Hall shield wealth from different worlds. Wonderful screen and resultant screens passage preserve an older way of living in one of Derbyshire’s finest historic homes. #AdoorableThursday
Þe snawe snitered ful snart þat snayped þe wylde…
(The snow fell sharp as sleet that nipped at the wild beasts) SGGK, l.2003
It’s that time of year again when the Gawain-poet’s alliterative mastery of the North-west midlands dialect really comes alive. (Linocut my own - appears in b/w in my book)
(The snow fell sharp as sleet that nipped at the wild beasts) SGGK, l.2003
It’s that time of year again when the Gawain-poet’s alliterative mastery of the North-west midlands dialect really comes alive. (Linocut my own - appears in b/w in my book)
November 19, 2025 at 8:49 AM
Þe snawe snitered ful snart þat snayped þe wylde…
(The snow fell sharp as sleet that nipped at the wild beasts) SGGK, l.2003
It’s that time of year again when the Gawain-poet’s alliterative mastery of the North-west midlands dialect really comes alive. (Linocut my own - appears in b/w in my book)
(The snow fell sharp as sleet that nipped at the wild beasts) SGGK, l.2003
It’s that time of year again when the Gawain-poet’s alliterative mastery of the North-west midlands dialect really comes alive. (Linocut my own - appears in b/w in my book)
Castles in the landscape
November 18, 2025 at 1:35 PM
Castles in the landscape
Life by the Lethe which leads to the sea and on to the great German Ocean; forgotten lost days of travellers by boat who ventured this way once before.
November 18, 2025 at 8:56 AM
Life by the Lethe which leads to the sea and on to the great German Ocean; forgotten lost days of travellers by boat who ventured this way once before.
Trapped within a tomb of stone as millennia passed by, the spirit of those former days stares out upon today.
November 17, 2025 at 8:28 AM
Trapped within a tomb of stone as millennia passed by, the spirit of those former days stares out upon today.
Travelling trees tell their tales of life beyond the seas.
St Mary’s Haddington 🏴 has some remarkable medieval oak timbers in the nave roof. My #dendrochronology work there dated them to the early 1400s and revealed them as Baltic baulks from the Gdansk region.
#MedievalMonday
#MedievalMonday
November 17, 2025 at 8:25 AM
Travelling trees tell their tales of life beyond the seas.
The look of fear when a doorway spies a mouse coming down the road. The wonderful Romanesque Norman Tower at Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk. #AdoorableThursday
November 13, 2025 at 10:39 AM
The look of fear when a doorway spies a mouse coming down the road. The wonderful Romanesque Norman Tower at Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk. #AdoorableThursday
Ghostly aspirations in skies ink black and glorious.
November 12, 2025 at 7:21 PM
Ghostly aspirations in skies ink black and glorious.
Pump-less in the sluggish fen, no more the sails go turning. Gone too those creaking wooden groans blown soft among the reeds.
November 12, 2025 at 8:22 AM
Pump-less in the sluggish fen, no more the sails go turning. Gone too those creaking wooden groans blown soft among the reeds.
Archaeologists in shock as fossil of early prototype of Brian the Snail found on beach proves that dinosaurs watched the Magic Roundabout - official.
November 12, 2025 at 8:15 AM
Archaeologists in shock as fossil of early prototype of Brian the Snail found on beach proves that dinosaurs watched the Magic Roundabout - official.
When Adam delved and Eve span… the poems of the Alliterative Revival hold lessons for those today seeking power out of narcissism, vanity or a vacuous sense of entitlement and self-enrichment. Through fear and uncertainty, the poets kept writing, carrying a torch for those oppressed in future times.
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 lea...
www.mythicalbritain.co.uk
November 11, 2025 at 9:33 PM
When Adam delved and Eve span… the poems of the Alliterative Revival hold lessons for those today seeking power out of narcissism, vanity or a vacuous sense of entitlement and self-enrichment. Through fear and uncertainty, the poets kept writing, carrying a torch for those oppressed in future times.
Up in the fells, where former folk once gathered and all was far away.
November 11, 2025 at 9:15 PM
Up in the fells, where former folk once gathered and all was far away.
In the Green Chapel - colour version of a b/w linocut print illustration in my translation of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. Nobut an old cave? Certainly a dark and haunting place, where the Devil’s matins might be heard at midnight... #TombTuesday #linocut #SirGawain #SGGK
November 11, 2025 at 8:07 AM
In the Green Chapel - colour version of a b/w linocut print illustration in my translation of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. Nobut an old cave? Certainly a dark and haunting place, where the Devil’s matins might be heard at midnight... #TombTuesday #linocut #SirGawain #SGGK
Yet still it stands in statement old. Ancient witness to life in the Fens; the fascinating pre-Conquest Longthorpe cross, now incongruously set amongst houses and gardens. One side has faint interlacing decoration. #StandingStoneSunday
November 9, 2025 at 8:56 AM
Yet still it stands in statement old. Ancient witness to life in the Fens; the fascinating pre-Conquest Longthorpe cross, now incongruously set amongst houses and gardens. One side has faint interlacing decoration. #StandingStoneSunday
Country walk Catalina cruising high above!
November 8, 2025 at 12:03 PM
Country walk Catalina cruising high above!
Castles in the landscape
Looking for an adventure this weekend? Discover the stunning Atlantic coast of Mayo with our Achill Island and Clew Bay Trail.
There are few places as wildly beautiful as Achill Island, yet there are many stories to discover.
#Ireland #SpéirGhorm #Wildatlanticway
There are few places as wildly beautiful as Achill Island, yet there are many stories to discover.
#Ireland #SpéirGhorm #Wildatlanticway
November 8, 2025 at 11:57 AM
Castles in the landscape
Fascinating and multifaceted but sadly defaced; a fabulous fifteenth century font at Denston in Suffolk. #FontsOnFriday
November 7, 2025 at 8:25 AM
Fascinating and multifaceted but sadly defaced; a fabulous fifteenth century font at Denston in Suffolk. #FontsOnFriday
Practising archery at the butts? Crikey!
A man bares his bottom at an archer about to fire an arrow. A detail of a c1500 misericord in the M Shed Museum, Bristol for #Woodensday, originally in the Augustinian abbey in the city. I dare say there's a niche site on the internet somewhere for this kind of thing.
November 6, 2025 at 8:20 AM
Practising archery at the butts? Crikey!
What delights dwell within, behind the door at Denston? #AdoorableThursday
November 6, 2025 at 8:05 AM
What delights dwell within, behind the door at Denston? #AdoorableThursday
Dreams dusted by sand at the height of the day, up where Sir Gawain once wandered. Sunbathing as it should be done, in macs and flat caps by the sea!
Two men sunbathing, August bank holiday, Blackpool, 1971, by Don McPhee.
November 5, 2025 at 8:17 PM
Dreams dusted by sand at the height of the day, up where Sir Gawain once wandered. Sunbathing as it should be done, in macs and flat caps by the sea!
Moss-dipped Devon, delicious in green.
November 5, 2025 at 8:09 PM
Moss-dipped Devon, delicious in green.