Bendigeidfran son of Llŷr was crowned king over this island and invested with the crown of London. One afternoon he was in Harlech in Ardudwy, at one of his courts; he was sitting on the rock of Harlech, above the sea, with his brother Manawydan son of Llŷr, and his two brothers on his mother's side, … Continue reading The Mabinogion: The Second Branch of the Mabinogi | Sioned Davies #Dewithon23
The genesis of this book was a desire to find out what were the effects on society of the most lethal disaster of recorded history - that is to say, of the Black Death of 1348-50, which killed an estimated one third of the population living between India and Iceland. A number of times throughout … Continue reading A Distant Mirror: The Calamitous 14th Century | Barbara Tuchman #USAnon-fiction
Based on John Edward Lloyd's History of Wales, Vol I and Koch's Celtic Culture Gwerful Mechain (c. 1460–c. 1502) is considered to be one of the first female Welsh poets. She wrote about female sexuality and the domestic issues of medieval women. Her parents were Gwenhwyfar and Hywel Fychan from Mechain (a medieval cantref or land division), in … Continue reading Cywydd y Cedor | Gwerful Mechain #Dewithon22
She rides out of the forest alone. Seventeen years old, in the cold March drizzle, Marie who comes from France. The first thing I did when I finished this powerful, compelling story about nuns-in-a-medieval-abbey was duck, duck, go! I was curious to find out how someone who lives in Gainesville, Florida came to write a … Continue reading Matrix | Lauren Groff #USAfiction
I wanted to read The Lady and the Unicorn thanks to the exhibition currently on at the Art Gallery of NSW. As a long-time cross-stitcher, the tapestries fascinate me. I've been to see them twice so far, & hope to see them one more time before the exhibition ends later this month.This is only the … Continue reading The Lady and the Unicorn by Tracy Chevalier
I don't read a lot of fantasy books and I nearly stopped reading The Poison Throne by Celine Kiernan when Wynter began talking to cats & ghosts! Stories about humans and animals talking together have rarely worked for me. Fortunately, the fantastical elements are limited and this novel reads more as an historial fiction. The … Continue reading Poison Throne | Celine Kiernan
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