Review – Green Men and White Swans – The Folklore of British Pub Names

3.5 Stars.

This book is a potted history and folklore of some of the names of British Pubs, past and present. Not every pub name is included – it depends on the origin of the name (and the ability to find out what it means).

Some of the names are odd, not obvious and many are reminiscent of attitudes long gone (Such as Quiet Woman – depicting a woman with no head, or wearing a scold’s bridle; or Nags Head – could also be sexist; Saracen’s Head or Black Boy – now viewed as racist.) In many cases the signs or names have been altered in our more enlightened times. Some of the pubs are old – they show which side a local landholder was on in the English Civil War, or whether they supported the Catholics or Protestants during the Reformation.

There are many mythical references – Unicorn, Green Man, Dragon, George and Dragon, Phoenix, etc. Not all in a locale directly related to that creature or hero – and some are named after ships, for example.

The snippets of local history and pride in that history are the most interesting aspect – and some of the references would be largely unknown outside a particular area.

A lot of research has been done for this book, and that shows.

The cons – there were a lot of formatting/typo errors, including a duplicate paragraph and the way certain aspects were laid out with specific topics interspersed did not work well as an ebook, as the formatting was all over the place.

Subject – 4 stars

Technical side – 3 stars.

 

Book Spotlight – Food of the Gods – Em Dehaney – Dark Fiction

 

FOOD OF THE GODS by Em Dehaney

Food of the Gods on Amazon UK

Food of the Gods on Amazon.com

A perfect corpse floats forever in a watery grave.

A gang member takes a terrifying trip to the seaside.

A deserted cross-channel ferry that serves only the finest Slovakian wines.

Gods and monsters.

Mermaids and witches.

Blood and magic.

Love and death.

From the dark and decadent mind of Em Dehaney come eight tales of seafoam secrets and sweet treats.

Nothing is quite what it seems, but everything is delicious.

This is Food Of The Gods.

 

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/38521454-food-of-the-gods

Reviews of Food Of The Gods

“…diverse and brilliantly crafted slices of dark fiction…”

“…dark and haunting tales of the horrors of the human condition…’

“Brilliantly written and something to be revisited again and again.”

“I found myself submersed in strange places with fantastic other worldly creatures.”

“Each story is a gem in its own right, when collected together the result is an anthology that any writer would be proud to put their name to.”

BIO

Em Dehaney is a mother of two, a writer of fantasy and a drinker of tea. Born in Gravesend, England, her writing is inspired by the history of her home town. She is made of tea, cake, blood and magic. By night she is The Black Nun, editor and whip-cracker at Burdizzo Books. By day you can always find her at http://www.emdehaney.com/ or lurking about on Facebook posting pictures of witches https://www.facebook.com/emdehaney/. You can also follow Em on Twitter @emdehaney

Monsters and Myth – British Giants – Cormoran

Giants have been a feature in mythology and literature for centuries; Cormoran,  Gog and Magog, Goliath, the giant slain by David, Polyphemus (see my post about cyclopes),  the Brobdingnag giant, from Jonathan Swift’s Gulliver’s Travels,  the giant from Jack and the Beanstalk and many more. Perhaps based on the discovery of huge bones and enormous stone ‘seats’ the mythology around this particular creature is diverse. After all, if you lived a thousand years ago, knew nothing of dinosaurs, or evolution, or science and you dug up a leg bone taller than yourself you might just think it was from a giant man.

For now, I am going to focus on some of the myths surrounding British giants, and their influence on my culture is everywhere. Here are but a few of our larger inhabitants, now lost in the fog of myth.

Today’s guest is Cormoran. He’s a Cornish giant, who features in Jack the Giant Killer, and gets a rum deal as the first giant slain by Jack, a farmer’s son, who is fed up with the local giant raiding his cattle. Luring the giant into a pit trap the wily lad then goes on to receive the giant’s wealth and magic sword. Continuing his adventures in the world of giant-slaying Jack goes on to slay a two-headed Welsh giant, is captured by  Blunderbore, who has sworn revenge for Comoran’s death and held in an enchanted tower. The giant is no match for Jack and ends up as dead as his friend.  Not content with this Jack works his way through the giants’ land, eventually rescuing a Duke’s daughter, whom he later marries. It’s the age old story of the simple lad (Jack, David etc.) overcoming adversity, monsters, wicked creatures and ending up rich and powerful, leaving a trail of bodies in his wake – albeit the bodies of said monsters.

So what of Cormoran – what’s his myth? Said to inhabit and to have built St Michael’s Mount, in Cornwall (which got its name because of a said vision of the Archangel in the 8^th Century), he rather a feisty fellow, but not endowed in the brain department. ‘Of fierce and grim countenance’ (James Orchard Halliwell-Phillips 1861) the giant is known for terrorising the neighbourhood and making off with cattle and other livestock. Wading across the river he would steal half a dozen at a time, and tie sheep and pigs around his waist. Some folklore states there were two giants – who fought and killed one another – or the giant’s family also resided there. The giant was said to have six digits on each hand (which would have been useful in hauling rock, no doubt). And during an excavation a skeleton of a very tall man (7 feet or more) was found.

Cormelian was the giantess who also inhabited the caves and brought mayhem. Both the giants are thought to have fetched white granite from the neighbouring area and carried it ‘in their aprons’ to build a stronghold. One day when the male giant was asleep Cormelian tried to get closer greenstone, but awoke her husband, who kicked her, making her drop the stone which came to rest alongside the causeway.  The, of course, Cormoran encountered a young farmer’s lad and his woes became far worse than a clumsy wife and marital abuse.

Cormoran is sometimes linked with Trencrom – and the two are believed to have thrown rocks back and forth at one another, unfortunately one hit the giant’s wife and killed her.

Interestingly the name Cormoran is NOT a Cornish name – it may be a corruption of Corineus – the legendary founder of Cornwall who was also said to have defeated the giant (Gogmagog) near the region of St Michael’s Mount, as told by Geoffrey of Monmouth’s great Historia Regum Britanniae. The base myth may have been of Brythonic (Celtic) origin, and King Arthur is believed to have smote a giant in roughly the same region.

Then came to [King Arthur] an husbandman … and told him how there was … a great giant which had slain, murdered and devoured much people of the country … [Arthur journeyed to the Mount, discovered the giant roasting dead children,] … and hailed him, saying … [A]rise and dress thee, thou glutton, for this day shalt thou die of my hand. Then the glutton anon started up, and took a great club in his hand, and smote at the king that his coronal fell to the earth. And the king hit him again that he carved his belly and cut off his genitours, that his guts and his entrails fell down to the ground. Then the giant threw away his club, and caught the king in his arms that he crushed his ribs … And then Arthur weltered and wrung, that he was other while under and another time above. And so weltering and wallowing they rolled down the hill till they came to the sea mark, and ever as they so weltered Arthur smote him with his dagger.

(Sir Thomas Malory in 1485 in the fifth chapter of the fifth book of Le Morte d’Arthur)

There will be more British giants to follow. Maybe the others will have more luck than our friend, the giant Cormoran…. But I doubt it.

SOURCES

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cormoran

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_the_Giant_Killer

The Lore of the Land (Westwood and Simpson 2006).

A Natural History of the Unnatural World (Jo Levy – Carroll and Brown, London)

A Week with the Dragon Eaters – Cas Peace

Welcome to Cas Peace and her character, another of the Dragon Eaters.

*Who are you? My name is Jorj and I am a veteran of the Crusades. I am a simple knight who followed his lord to the Holy Land to help liberate the City of God. We were told that this was our holy duty, that we would be venerated in heaven should we die in God’s service. But the evil I saw done there in God’s name repulsed me, tarnishing my faith and staining my soul. In shame I returned across the sea, my “holy duty” left undone. Now I am but a simple knight again, albeit with unquiet soul.

Why are you embarking on this quest? I was approached by a representative of the southern peoples of Britain, a people oppressed by the druids who once protected them. I heard disquieting facts that led me to believe the druids had harnessed a fell beast — a wyrm — and were using the demon’s power to increase their hold over the southern countryside. The king refused to help his people, who were growing desperate. I prayed, and my god sent me a sign. I hope to redeem my worth, and  my soul, by banishing the wyrm back to the netherworld.

*Tell us about dragons in your world. There have been many dragons and wyrms that have oppressed the British peoples. We have had so-called “true” dragons; that is, four-legged, two-winged monsters that could breathe fire. These are the toughest challenges for any dragon-slayer or knight and have been the bane of many a stout heart. Such creatures are much sought-out as their tendency is to hoard gold, ever the tempter of men. Many a reluctant dragon-slayer has been persuaded to the hunt by the lure of dragon gold. Some have even obtained that prize.

Fiercer even than the true dragon is the wyrm — serpentlike and tricksy, they hide in holes and their poisoned breath kills all around them. The blood of these demons can render anything bathed in it impervious to fire; even a man, so the legend goes. Brave — or foolhardy! — and damned, is the soul who captures a wyrm and drinks its blood.

And those in the land of the western Celt tell tales of a beast called a gwiber, a lesser sort of wyrm that drinks milk and can be placated by an offering of milk. A common snake that drinks the milk of a nursing woman may transform into a gwiber.

Do you see yourself as a hero? What is a hero? I do not see myself as a hero, although the peoples of southern Britain would doubtless say I am. To them, who had not the knowledge, nor skill, nor courage to fight the demon, I am a hero who saved them from oppression and death when no one else could. Their vision of a hero would doubtless be the knight on fiery steed who charges into battle with sword aloft, fierce of mien and doughty of hand, careless for the safety of self. To me, a hero is an ordinary person who performs extraordinary deeds for altruistic reasons — either for protection, or maybe to uphold some higher, noble cause. But does that, then, not refute my own assertion that I am not a hero? Yes, I answered the call to aid the defenseless peoples of southern Britain, and yes, I employed my skills as a knight and the might of my arm, and put myself in harm’s way. But I failed my God in the Holy Land, I allowed myself to be tainted by the evil I saw around me, and so forfeited the right to be a servant of my faith. I will begin again, and work my way up toward the Light, toward a state where I might, some time in the future if God is good, be worthy of the title of Hero.

Are there other such monsters in your world? Definitely. Medieval Britain is full of monsters.  There are reports of all kinds of dragons and wyrms, including the Afanc and the Nwyvre, both water dragons. There are beasties such as the kelpie, which inhabits the waters and lochs of Scotland and appears as either a horse or a hoofed human; there is the Demon of Dartmoor, a legendary black beast reported to be either a huge cat or some kind of monstrous dog; Cernunnos, sometimes called Herne the Hunter or the god of the Wild Hunt, a manlike creature with the antlers of a great stag; there is the rather disgusting alp-luachra, a newtlike creature which crawls down sleepers’ throats to eat some of their last meal; Gwyllgi, the terrifying Welsh dog of darkness; Dearg-Due, an Irish vampiress; there are also Hell Hounds, boggarts, ghouls, and fiends of many shapes and sizes. Britain has a history rich in such monsters.

Author questions :

*Who are you? I am Cas Peace, a Brit who loves to write fantasy novels. I live in Hampshire, in southern Britain, with my husband and two rescue dogs, Milly and Milo. I trained as a horse-riding instructor back in the 1970s and ’80s, and owned my own Welsh cob, which I used for carriage driving as well as riding. I used to compete in cross-country carriage trials and carriage-dressage. Now I’m a full-time author, editor and proofreader. I’m also a folk singer/songwriter, and have written unique folk-style songs to accompany each of the nine novels in my triple-trilogy fantasy series, Artesans of Albia. My other hobbies include country walking, growing cacti, working in stained glass, singing in my local church choir, and playing the bodhran.

Why did you choose this world/era to write in? I’ve always been fascinated by dragons, and of course, England’s patron saint, George, was one of the most famous dragon-slayers ever. I grew up seeing pub signs with George and the dragon on them, and became more fascinated since I learned that George wasn’t actually English! He was born in Lydda, Syria Palaestina, and served in the Roman army. He died a Christian martyr, hence his being adopted as England’s saint. Although there is a school of thought that believes it was another George entirely who was the basis for England’s saint. Whatever the truth behind the historical figure, I decided to base my Dragon Eater story on George, and make him a veteran of the Crusades, as it’s said that the legend of him slaying a dragon was brought back by Crusaders. Also, I’m interested in how the druids shaped their world and thought it’d be neat to combine the two into one story.

Have you written for anthologies before? How does it differ from writing a novel? I’ve written short stories before and had a few published, but I’ve never been part of an anthology or tried to write to someone else’s direction. I found it quite liberating in a way, because I didn’t have to come up with the actual premise; I merely had to decide how to interpret it, and that was the fun part. Also, I was well within my comfort zone with the genre of HEROIKA. I really enjoyed it and would definitely do it again.

Writing for an anthology differs from writing a novel in that you (obviously!) have constraints on your final word count. This means that although your story must still have a clear plot and structure, you must condense the action and be sharp and concise. I think that writing a successful short story is a separate art form from writing a novel, and both art forms must be learned and practiced in order to get them right. Often, writers are better at one form than the other — it’s rare to find someone equally skilled at both. They do exist, of course, and I would love to think I could eventually be thought of as a writer who can produce shorts as enjoyable as my novels. Time will tell!

Are you a plotter or a pantser? I’m definitely a panster, which is why I’m not sure if I’ll ever make a really good short story writer. I believe that careful planning is much more important in a short story, whereas I really like to get my teeth into an idea and simply let my pen and imagination hold hands and run away with each other. I dislike putting constraints on my characters, my emotions, or my dialogue as I write, and prefer to just scribble down what comes into my head. Then, once I feel comfortable that I have something worth working on, I will edit and hone and cut and edit some more to make my ramblings into some kind of sense. When I first began writing my Artesans of Albia series, I had no idea what I was doing. I’d never written a novel before (much less an entire series!) and had no intention of showing it to anyone or trying to get it published. That idea came much later, after I’d summoned the courage to let someone read it and been told I ought to offer it to a publisher. The ideas for the series came thick and fast while I was writing, too fast, sometimes, for me to get them down. Nothing was planned, nothing thought out, and if I got stuck I only had to go dog walking or let my mind wander for the solution to pop into my head. I found it kind of scary —that feeling of being taken over by something I had no control over. Scary and wonderful and exciting all at once. I doubt I’d get those feelings were I to try to plan a novel, so I guess I’ll just have to wait an see if it ever happens again!

Tell us one unusual fact about yourself. I don’t like rainbows. Actually, I’m not too happy about anything odd in the sky. Weird clouds and colors freak me out, especially when we lived in Italy and wind-blown Saharan sand turned the sky and air blood-red for a day. I hardly went outdoors, it was so spooky!

Tidbit:

Recipe: Dragú with wyrmicelli pasta.

Ingredients:

A good quality cooking oil

1lb extremely lean, minced dragon meat

1 red onion

1 garlic clove (the softneck variety ‘silverdragonskin’ is best)

1 carrot (‘drakeheart’ has good color and flavor)

1 celery stick

Handful of mushrooms (black dragonback are best, if you can get them)

Half a pint of meat stock

Tomatoes

One large glass of warm, spiced dragon blood

Large pinch of Artemisia dracunculus

Pinch of salt.

Fresh wyrmicelli pasta

Method:

Heat the oil, add the dragon meat and cook until brown. Add the onion and garlic, fry for 3 minutes. Add the carrot and celery. Add the mushrooms and Artemisia dracunculus, then add the stock. Once mixed, stir in the glass of spiced dragon blood. Bring to boil and simmer on low heat for 2 hours, stirring occasionally.

Cook the wyrmicelli until nicely al dente. Turn onto a plate and top with the dragú mix. Sprinkle with gorgon zola cheese and enjoy!

Author website/blog: http://www.caspeace.com   http://www.peacewrites.blogspot.co.uk

Twitter: @CasPeace1

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cas.peace   https://www.facebook.com/artesansofalbia?ref=hl

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4180597.Cas_Peace

Amazon page: http://www.amazon.com/Cas-Peace/e/B0098KMASI