For the Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross: The Dream of the Rood

The Ruthwell Cross, early 8th c.,
carved with lines from a
Northumbrian version of this poem
(19th-c. photograph)
[Source LINK]

Hwæt, ic swefna cyst     secgan wylle,

 hwæt me gemætte     to midre nihte

 siþþan reordberend     reste wunedon.

 þuhte me þæt ic gesawe     syllicre treow

 on lyft lædan     leohte bewunden, 

 beama beorhtost.  ….

(From The Vercelli Book, late 10^th-c. West Saxon)

Although this has nothing to do specifically to do with the historical origins of the current feast [LINK], it seems appropriate….

"Lo! I will tell the dearest of dreams

That I dreamed in the midnight when mortal men

were sunk in slumber. Me-seemed I saw

A wondrous Tree towering in air,

Most shining of crosses compassed with light.

World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War (2006)

By Max Brooks

Compelling. That is the word I keep coming back to in describing this book both to my son, who is interested in reading it, and the friend who gave it to me when he discovered I might be interested in reading it as he was about to donate it to the library.

I'm not really that big into the zombie genre, although I do follow The Walking Dead on TV (not in the comics, though), and thought Zombieland to be quite amusing. Really, though, I think those are the only examples of zombie fiction I've ever followed in any medium, other than incidental appearances in stray episodes or issues of series I was already into. Mindless predatory ambulatory corpses as a plot device in horror/thriller stories just never appealed to me in and of themselves. Zombieland is of course a satirical send-up of the genre, with its own appeal (and Woody Harrelson. And Emma Stone). What attracted me to The Walking Dead TV series – not immediately, I might add, but as a result of good reports from colleagues – was the focus not on the “mindless predatory ambulatory corpses” but rather the “survivors,” and in fact I seem to recall that comics creator Robert Kirkman has indeed said that they are the true “walking dead” in the story he's telling. At least in the case of the TV series, the focus on a small group of people fighting for their lives on a day by day basis in a world of virtually unimaginable horror makes for some really gripping story-telling.

Geographical Ramblings in the United Kingdom

In recent years, my wife and I have made a couple of historical tours of England and Scotland.  In 2008, during Spring Break, we started at London, working our way around and up to Loch Ness, and ultimately flew back home out of Glasgow.  In June 2010, our then-fourteen-year-old son joined us in a whirlwind tour starting at Edinburgh, travelling into the Western Isles, then south ultimately back to London from where we departed.  Both trips were entirely self-guided, focussing mainly on places of historical interest to myself as an historian specializing in early medieval Britain.  We did a lot of other fun stuff as well.  Along the way both times my wife and I each kept copious notes and took hundreds of pictures, which ultimately resulted in my putting together extended illustrated travelogues that allow us to revisit those wonderful days and share them with family and friends.  I have now completed reformatting those travelogues and have posted them here for all to see and, hopefully, enjoy.  The two trips respectively may be joined by clicking on the pages UK 2008 and UK 2010 just under the banner at the top of this blog.

Cheers!