Last week, we met William Turner, who revolutionised English herbals in the 16th century by publishing the first one in English. This gave more people access to the herbal knowledge he felt people should have – although it’s likely he intended for physicians and apothecaries to use it. This week, we’re going to meet Nicholas […]
William Turner: Meet the Father of British Botany
Herbalism has seen a boom in interest in recent years as people seek to find closer relationships with nature and create ways to supplement their wellbeing. The practice has a long history all over the world, with many cultures offering their own uses for the plants and trees that grew in their region. Having such […]
Elizabeth Blackwell: Pioneering Herbalist and Botanical Illustrator
If you’re interested in herbalism or plant lore, chances are that you’ve perused a herbal or two in your time. Culpeper’s Complete Herbal: A Compendium of Herbs and Their Uses, Annotated for Modern Herbalists, Healers, and Witches is a particularly well-known title, even if the contents have been surpassed with scientific advancements. Yet did you […]
Folklore and Storytelling: A Narrative Match Made in Heaven
Storytelling is something we all do on a daily basis, whether we’re aware of it or not. Maybe we’re telling a funny anecdote about something that happened on the way to work. Perhaps we’re recounting how we first met the bride during a wedding speech. Or how about retelling our favourite folk tale to help […]
Folklore and Cinema: The Trick Films of Georges Méliès
Visionary film director and stage magician Georges Méliès is perhaps the earliest filmmaker who saw the visual potential of folklore. Among others, mermaids, sirens, ghosts, devils, and sorcerers are plentiful in his films. True, many of these figures become important for their centrality to the ‘tricks’ his films became famous for. Meanwhile, his films became […]
The Folklore of Stringed Musical Instruments: The Viola, Irish Harp, Violin, and Guitar
Musical instruments appear scattered throughout various folktales. A drum lies at the centre of the Tedworth Drummer story. Pipers and drummers try to follow underground tunnels, only to mysteriously vanish. But what of the musical instruments themselves? What folklore or stories swirl around the physical items? A listener requested the folklore of musical instruments some […]
