by M. W. Wollacott | Aug 17, 2025 | English History, Uncategorized
Sauron… I mean, Tony Blair once said that Britain is a young country. “Maybe,” I’d say, “but England? That’s a different story. And the English? Well… the English are far older than you’ve been told.” English identity has often been called into question. The Tudors...
by M. W. Wollacott | Nov 19, 2023 | Beasts and Monsters, Beowulf, Fantasy, Tolkien
Tolkien’s elves will live as long as the land of Arda exists. Those that die will wait a time in the Halls of Waiting then will be given new, identical bodies. Elves that grow weary will travel to the Undying lands to dwell until the end of time. Only an elf who gives...
by M. W. Wollacott | Mar 7, 2022 | English History, History
The Justinian plague had a devastating yet unequal effect on Britain in the 6th century. The Romano-British kingdoms which still traded extensively with the remnants of the Roman Empire fell victim to the plague en mass. While some of the English were affected, many...
by M. W. Wollacott | Mar 7, 2022 | English History, History
Saelferth and Sigeferth were two prominent members of the Secgan tribe. They are only mentioned in the Finnesburg Fragment and the poem Widsith. All we can tell for certain is that Saelferth was a king and Sigeferth a landless wrecca. On top of this, I suggest in this...
by M. W. Wollacott | Mar 7, 2022 | English History, History
The Fight at Finnesburg took place at Finn’s stronghold in Frisia. All we can guess from the Finnesburg Fragment and the episode in Beowulf is that Finnesburg was a defended hall with a settlement around it, and that it was cut off from ships by winter ice. The...
