Harvington Hall is a moated medieval and Elizabethan manor house located in the hamlet of Harvington in Worcestershire, England. Its moat and artificial island trace back to the 13th century to, and the 14th-century building still survives behind a layer of bricks. The hall was owned by several notable figures over the centuries, including Adam de […]
A story in Whitby — a seaside town located on the North Yorkshire coast in the North East of England, between Scarborough and Redcar — tells of the day Henry VIII decided to send his men to wreck the local Abbey (yeah, it’s the Dracula one, I talked about it here). The King’s men stripped […]
Well, we’re back with our collection of strange sea lore, and apologies for the interruption but work has been wild and I had to focus on the revision of my novel. Where? This legend takes place in Orford Castle — in Suffolk, Southeast England — a manor near the homonymous Ness and not too far […]
A little further north from where Milan stands, in the Western Dolomites, there is a beautiful lake also known as Lake of the Rainbow, called Lago di Carezza which literally means “Lake of the Caress”. It’s said to be the home of a water nymph, and local folklore explains why its waters have such beautiful […]
Sirona was a goddess primarily venerated in East Central Gaul and along the Danubian limes. Revered as a deity of healing, she was closely linked with sacred springs, and her worship was accompanied by symbols of snakes and eggs. In the sulphur springs of Alzey in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, there is a stone bas-relief depicting Sirona […]
Eurynome was an Ancient Greek deity traditionally connected with water, whose cult has been discovered near the confluence of the Neda and the Lymax rivers, down in Peloponnesus. She’s called an Oceanid by Pausanias, and her representation resembles a mermaid. Though Robert Graves offers us a charming theory and sees Eurynome as a lunar goddess […]
The Capital City of Warsaw in Polonia sits on the River Vistula, and it’s perhaps unsurprising to see a mermaid on its coat of arms. What catches the attention is that this mermaid is brandishing a blade and carrying a shield, and her story is indeed worth telling. You can read her story, and a […]
Venilia was a minor deity in Roman times, associated with the winds and the sea, and mentioned by both Virgil and Ovid. Part of a two-entities group associated with Neptune, Salacia and Vénilia, she expressed one of two aspects, domains or modes of action of the god: while Salacia can represent the rushing and possibly […]
Ved-ava was a water deity revered among various Finno-Ugric people who made a living from fishing, so you shouldn’t be surprised that she’s also linked with fertility. What’s slightly more surprising (or not) is her connection with sacrifices of various genres, sometimes even human. She’s today’s feature on my Patreon.
A Sea-Spell is a painting by Dante Gabriel Rossetti representing a woman playing the lyre: it was paired with a poem on the subject, and three other paintings of women engaged in various forms of artistic expressions. It’s today’s focus on my Patreon.