Kingdom of Mercia
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“The instincts of merry England lingered on here with exceptional vitality, and the symbolic customs which tradition has attached to each season of the year were yet a reality on egdon. Indeed, the impulses of all such outlandish hamlets are pagan still: in these spots homage to nature, self-adoration, frantic gaieties, fragments of Teutonic rites to divinities whose names are forgotten, seem in some way or other to have survived mediaeval doctrine.” — Thomas Hardy, 1840 -1928 (via survivethejive)(via vandrare)
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Owning a Raven is a lot of work, in America African Ravens & crows are legal to own. I’ve interacted with companion ravens before and they are fantastic. Seeing this incredible bird free flying and playing in the air while knowing he is keeping his eye on us and will come back.
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The Benty Grange helmet is an archaeological artefact excavated by Thomas Bateman in 1848 from an Anglo-Saxon tumulus (or barrow) at the Benty Grange Farm in the civil parish of Monyash in the English county of Derbyshire.
The remains and a reconstruction are in Sheffield’s Weston Park Museum.
This helmet is of the Spangenhelm type and like the Pioneer helmet is boar-crested. The surviving iron bands would have supported plates of horn (decayed in antiquity) held in place with small silver rivets and the nasal of the helmet is decorated with a silver cross.
A horn helmet. Interesting.
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Up Helly Aa: Scotland’s Fire Festival
Want to explore more photos from Up Helly Aa? Search the #UpHellyAa hashtag or visit the Lerwick location page.
Each year in Scotland, thousands of men bearing torches parade through the streets on the last Tuesday of January to mark the end of the Yule Season. Though only officially begun in 1881, the Up Helly Aa day fire festivals have their roots in ancient Anglo Saxon rites. Revelers pay homage to this history by dressing in full costume and electing a Jarl to head the festivities. The Jarl and his committee lead the torch-bearers through the town to a replica of a Viking longship, which they set ablaze with the torches. After the burning, townspeople retire to local public halls for a night of dancing and performances. The Wednesday after is taken as a day of recovery before “Hop Night” when the festivities continue until morning.
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Replica of the ‘Northolt Manor Seax’, a broadseax, and predecessor to the later Longseax.
“The moated site of Northolt Manor lies on a ridge of London Clay within Belvue Park, Northolt, Middlesex. Immediately to the south-west lies St. Mary’s Church
The earliest features are three graves one of which contained the supine body of a man about thirty years old buried with a broad seax inlaid on the blade with coooer which can be dated to the late 7th century”
http://ads.ahds.ac.uk/catalogue/adsdata/arch-457-1/dissemination/pdf/vol02/vol02_13/02_13_339_342.pdf
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