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  • The Headless Bear and the Woman Who Became a Hoop June 7, 2016

    Author: Beach Combing | in : Modern
    The Headless Bear and the Woman Who Became a Hoop

    Headless bears must be one of the strangest of all British bogeys. Where do they come from, what do they mean? This is a question for another day. But here is the single most detailed account of an encounter with one. The events described too place 9 May 1584 in the house of one Stephen […]

    Daily History Picture: Dragon! June 7, 2016

    Author: Beach Combing | in : Historical Pictures
    Daily History Picture: Dragon!

    13 cent?

    Daily History Picture: Medieval Carving June 6, 2016

    Author: Beach Combing | in : Historical Pictures
    Daily History Picture: Medieval Carving

    Captured in an eighteenth century book

    Visiting Duat in Dreams June 6, 2016

    Author: Beach Combing | in : Ancient
    Visiting Duat in Dreams

    Every culture in history has had its own unique take on dreams from Viennese voodoo to Zhuang Zhou dreaming of butterflies, from the Aboriginal dream quest to lucid ‘shamanic’ dreaming, looking at your life line on your left hand as you gently snore. However, Beach has recently become intrigued by the Ancient Egyptians and dreams. […]

    New History Books: Jutland! June 5, 2016

    Author: Beach Combing | in : New History Books
    New History Books: Jutland!

    John Brooks on what promises to be a very good CUP book on The Battle of Jutland! It was time…

    The Victorian Ancestor of an Internet Scam June 5, 2016

    Author: Beach Combing | in : Modern
    The Victorian Ancestor of an Internet Scam

    Here is a nineteenth-century version of a modern internet scam. The gentry who have more brains than money, and less honesty than either, are now, it seems, calling in the services of the telegraph to promote their purposes. A gentleman writes to the Times showing the modus operandi, which appears to be altogether new. The […]

    Saint Francis Meets the Sultan June 4, 2016

    Author: Beach Combing | in : Medieval
    Saint Francis Meets the Sultan

    It is a WIBT moment from the Middle Ages. At the centre of his court, the highest of the lords of the earth, Sultan al-Kamil, nephew of Saladin and protector of the holy places; and before him, an unkempt Christian holy man with a reputation for doing unpredictable things, St Francis of Assisi. The meeting took […]

    Daily History Picture: Ghost Warning! June 3, 2016

    Author: Beach Combing | in : Historical Pictures
    Daily History Picture: Ghost Warning!

    Drag the reader in… Like the ‘not for weak hearted’ at cinemas.

    The Man Who Lived with the Fairies? June 3, 2016

    Author: Beach Combing | in : Modern
    The Man Who Lived with the Fairies?

    Here is a fairy reference that is worth spending some time over. In 1919 a northwestern English scholar published this short note. In academic terms it translates into, ‘look I don’t have time for this nonsense but somewhere out there someone will be interested and, God knows, this is out of the ordinary’. No one […]

    Daily History Picture: Bird Catcher June 2, 2016

    Author: Beach Combing | in : Historical Pictures
    Daily History Picture: Bird Catcher

    One of the most sinister figures in the Victorian countryside

    Silly Helmets from the Middle Ages June 2, 2016

    Author: Beach Combing | in : Medieval
    Silly Helmets from the Middle Ages

    As he reported in an earlier post Beach has recently been looking through the various volumes of medieval armour and arms, particularly those of Guy Francis Laking (all online and all free if you have time and inclination). Last time he did crests. This time he thought that he would try silly hats. It goes […]

    Beachcombed 72 June 1, 2016

    Author: Beach Combing | in : Beachcombed
    Beachcombed 72

    Dear Reader, Two weeks of relative rest and two weeks of maps, nineteenth-century manuscripts and joy with a very small teaching load. Thanks, as always, to the multiple linkers: Amanda, Invisible, Chris S, Joan, Ricardo, Wade and others. I’ve put the very best contributions below to the posts from this month: the cream follow here, […]