The newly restored grave of the last sin eater in England, Richard Munslow, is to be celebrated with a church service – BBCNews.
“The Last Sin Eater (2003)”is a film starring Heath Ledger, one I enjoyed watching the once, but has not been watched again even though the DVD resides in my collection. It’s not the only film with this title, “The Last Sin Eater (2007)” featured this old custom too.
Memories
I’ve mentioned this before, but memories of my father include his wine making and beer brewing hobby. Most of what he created, to my taste buds, was vile, but others seemed to relish it. The only brew of his I liked was a raspberry wine that still tasted of raspberries and was quite sweet. He’d spend hours and hours in his wine-shed (literally a concrete block/brick shed that was attached to the house) filtering and bottling and labelling. And tasting it. Never forget the tasting it. He’d often spend much of the day tiddly from it!
Tea would be delivered to the shed door, empty mugs whisked away. Scottish bagpipe or marching military band music would ooze out of the door, alerting everyone to what he was up to. Occasionally, the music would stop and he would come out to declare he was feeling woozy. We’d feed him some sugary snack suitable for a diabetic and then feed him properly, he’d recover and off he’d go back to his brewing. You couldn’t get him to stop and eat when he was in the middle of something, nor would he eat any food delivered to him.
He had a brewing passion for years, and before it consumed his waking moments he would spend his days working on fixing and welding cars. Tea would be left on the wall, empty mugs removed. We often said he’d pass away while under a car and the only way anyone would notice was that un-drunk mugs of tea would line up on the wall. As it was, he passed away in hospital from Alzheimers’, cancer, arthritis, diabetes and high blood pressure. And that is an entirely different story. And there are many tales of my father and his blinkered missions to do things or collect things from nature or his DIY diasasters. He meant well, though he was very proud and couldn’t be told there was trouble ahead if he carried on doing what he was doing.
Perhaps I’ll relate tales and memories of my father in this blog.
Sloe, fruit of the Blackthorn (Prunus spinosa)
Sloe comes from the Old English slāh. It is the fruit of the blackthorn or sloe tree that has a pale-blue waxy bloom on its surface. Sloes ripen in the Autumn and, in Britain, are traditionally collected after the first frosts in October or November. The fruit is used to make jams and preserves, and they are used to make sloe ‘gin’ – a liqueur made by infusing sloes and sugar in gin, vodka or neutral spirits.
Straight blackthorn stems have traditionally been made into walking sticks. Shillelaghs, blackthorn sticks, were favoured as weapons in faction fights in C19th. Ireland. Commissioned officers of the Irish regiments of the British Army carry blackthorn sticks.
Blackthorn is generally considered unlucky to bring indoors, and in some areas of Britain it meant a death would follow.
The flowering of blackthorn is said to coincide with a spell of cold weather. In areas it was considered wise to plant no tender plants outside until the blackthorn has finished flowering. The best time for sowing barley was when the blackthorn flowered. Two country rhymes follow, the first from North-East England and South-East Scotland, the second from Gloucestershire.
When the slae tree is white as a sheet
Sow your barley, wither it be dry or wet.When the blckthorn blossom’s white
Sow your barley day and night.
In Sandwich, Kent, each incoming Town Mayor is present with a blackthorn stick.
In Herefordshire and Worcestershire, a wreath or globe of Blackthorn twigs would be scorched on a fire on New Year’s morning and then burned in a wheatfield in the furrows and its ashes scattered over the wheat. Then a new globe or wreath would be made and hung in the farmhouse kitchen ready for next year. It was believed that this ritual would rid the field of the devil. In a similar vein, Blackthorn would be scorched and hung up with mistletoe for good luck.
I’ve chosen apples and brambles for today’s blog as they always seem to go together. I noticed the blackberries on the brambles ripening during my jolly around the Valley Lines last week. I’ve not been blackberrying in years and years, most probably not since I was a child. I remember the abundance of blackberry pies, blackberry and apple crumbles, blackberry jam, apple jelly and frozen blackberries in our home. With six children, there were plenty of us to gather them! There were also the trips to collect whinberries (blueberries), as well as visits to ‘pick your own’ farms to harvest strawberries, raspberries and loganberries.
In later years, it would be my father who collected crab apples and blackberries to make his wines – along with sloes and young nettle leaves, young oak shoots, rosehips, rose petals, dandelions, and anything else he could brew. I never appreciated his brews – all except the raspberry wine he made one year which was sweet and still tasted of the fruit – though others thought they were wonderful. I do remember spending long hours writing out labels for his wine; I’ve always had nice handwriting and dabbled with calligraphy in the past too. Now that’s something I’d forgotten about.
A few years ago a friend suggested, quite strongly, that I should collect sloes and make sloe gin, as well as to harvest the fruits of nature. Well, I’ve not done so yet…
There are many recipes on tinternet and in books for blackberries, apples and so on, so I’ll not repost them. Mind you, I could say the same about superstitions, myths, herbalism and the like, but I’m pulling together information for myself from many diverse sources, perhaps for future reference or just because I’m interested in it in the here and now, I don’t know.
Crab Apple (Pyrus malus)
The crab apple tree is native to Britain and is the wild ancestor of all the cultivated varieties of apple trees. Apples of some sort were abundant before the Norman Conquest and were probably introduced into Britain by the Romans. Twenty-two varieties of apples were mentioned by Pliny; there are now around two thousand cultivars. In the Old Saxon manuscripts there are many mentions of apples and cider.
The Encyclopedia of Bartholomeus Anglicus, printed in Cologne around 1470, has a chapter on the apple:
Malus Appyll tree is a tree yt bereth apples and is a grete tree in itself…it is more short than other trees of the wood wyth knottes and rinelyd Rynde. And makyth shadowe wythe thicke bowes and branches; and fayr with dyurs blossomes, and floures of swetnesse and lykynge,; with goode fruyte and noble. And is gracious in syght and in taste and vertuous in medecyne…some beryth frute and harde, and some ryght soure and some ryght swete, with a good savoure and mery. [1].
The apple has been used as a symbol for sin, sexual seduction, beauty, love, sensuality, love between two men. In art, Venus is often shown holding an apple as a symbol of love. Apples also feature in many fairy tales, Snow White perhaps being the best known example where a poisoned apple puts Snow White into a deep sleep.
In the Old Testament of the Bible, it represents man’s fall; in the New Testament it represents man’s redemption from that fall. The phrases ‘the apple of one’s eye’ and ‘a word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of silver’ both come from the Bible.
The larynx in the human male is called the ‘Adam’s Apple’ because of the folk-tale about the Forbidden Fruit sticking in Adam’s throat and causing a bulge.
Heracles, the Greek hero, as part of his Twelve Labours had to travel to the Garden of the Hesperides. His task there was to pick the golden apples growing on the Tree of Life that could be found at the centre of the garden.
Eris, the Greek goddess of discord, was disgruntled after she was excluded from the wedding of Peleus and Thetis. To retaliate, she tossed a golden apple that was inscribed with ‘Kallisti’ – for the most beautiful one – into the wedding party. Hera, Athene and Aphrodite, three of the goddesses attending the party, claimed the apple. Paris of Troy was chosen to select the recipient of the apple. After being bribed by both Hera and Athena, Aphrodite tempted him with the most beautiful woman in the world, Helen of Sparta. He awarded the apple to Aphrodite and in doing so indirectly caused the Trojan War.
Another Greek myth concerns Atlanta who raced all her suitors in an attempt to avoid marriage. She outran all but Hippomenes (also known as Melanion) who defeated her not by cunning but by speed. Hippomenes knew he could not win in a fair race, so he used three golden apples, which were gifts from Aphrodite, the goddess of love, to distract Atlanta. It took all three apples and all of his speed, but Hippomenes was successful, winning the race and Atlanta’s hand.
In Norse mythology, Iduna, the goddess of Spring and youth, nurtures an apple orchard in Asgard. Every evening she would feed an apple to the gods and goddess in order to keep their youthfulness.
In Celtic mythology, Conle receives an apple which feeds him for a year, but alsogives him an irresistible desire for fairyland.
The mystical Isle of Avalon, the famed placed of eternal rest for Celtic heroes, including King Arthur, literally means ‘apple land’ or ‘apple island’.
Isaac Newton, according to popular legend, came up with the theory of universal gravitation after observing an apple falling from a tree.
Wassailing the orchard trees on Christmas Eve, or the Eve of the Epiphany, is still practiced in Britain. Herrick mentioned it among his ‘Ceremonies of Christmas Eve’:
Wassaile the trees, that they may beare
You many a Plum and many a Peare:
For more or lesse fruits they will bring,
As you do give them Wassailing
The Wassailing ceremony consisted of the farmer, his family and labourers going out into the orchard after supper, bearing with them a jug of cider and hot cakes. The latter were placed in the boughs of the oldest of best bearing trees in the orchard, while the cider was flung over the trees after the farmer had drunk their health in some such fashion as the following:
Here’s to thee, old apple-tree!
Whence thou may’st bud, and whence thou may’st blow.
Hats full! Cap full!
Bushel – bushel bags full!
And my pockets full too! Huzzah!
The toast was repeated three times, the men and boys often firing off guns and pistols, the women and children shouting loudly.
Roasted apples were usually placed in the pitcher of cider and were thrown at the trees with the liquid.
A mixture of hot spiced ale, wine or cider with apples and bits of toast floating in it was known as ‘lamb’s wool’. The name is derived from the Irish ‘la mas nbhal‘ meaning ‘the feast of the apple gathering’ (All Hallow’s Eve), which is pronounced something like ‘lammas-ool’ and this became corrupted into ‘lamb’s wool’. Each person who drank the spicy beverage would also take out an apple, wish good luck to the company, and eat it.
It was believed that if an apple tree blossomed out of season then misfortune or death was foretold.
If the Sun shone through the branches of apple trees on Christmas Day, or Old Christmas Day, then there would be an abundant crop of apples.
Peel an apple so that the peel remains in one long strip. Throw the strip over the shoulder to form the initial of a potential husband on the ground. This is an activity that is performed particularly at Hallowe’en.
To indicate the direction of a lover’s home, flick an apple pip into the air while reciting ‘North, south, east, west, tell me where my love does rest‘.
Children were warned that Awd Goggie and Lazy Lawrence were nursery bogies that protected orchards and unripe fruit.
The proverb ‘An apple a day keeps the doctor away’ seems to have been first recorded in the form ‘Eat an apple on going to bed and you’ll keep the doctor from earning his bread’.
Bramble or blackberry (Rubus fruticosus)
The shoots of bramble have the ability to root where they touch the ground thus forming an arch. Sufferers from boils, rheumatism and hernia were passed through the arch formed in this way. Sometimes, a child suffering from whooping cough was passed under the arch seven times. The cough was then thought to leave the child and stay within the bramble.
In the Highlands of Scotland, people used a length of bramble shoot entwined with ivy and rowan to ward off evil spirits.
Eating blackberries after the first frost was considered unlucky. In the UK, superstition says that blackberries should not be picked after Michaelmas (29 September), or the 10 October (Michaelmas by the old calendar). It is said the devil has claimed them by urinating over them, spitting on them, stamping on them or wagged his tail over them and so leaving his mark on the leaves. The link with Michaelmas is because this feast celebrates the battle when Archangel Michael drove Satan out of Heaven and hurled him down to Earth; perhaps the joke is that he landed in a bramble bush, but this is not clear.
Note to self…and other reflections
More art to do! Yay! Got some ideas … maybe … need to work on my more stylised, black-line and colour work …using acrylic inks or paints for the vibrancy of colour …
I’m so glad I started a blog, regardless of whether anyone reads it or not. It’s given me a focus to both research, write and be inspired to create art.
If I’m honest I’ve been seriously lacking that focus and impetus for a long while thanks to my emotional state … I do tend towards depression, though I do my best to ameliorate it by engaging in activities that give me pleasure, but lately nothing much has done that … I’ve felt like I’ve been going through the motions, with no real purpose to them. Not that everything needs a purpose, and doing something for the sake of the joy or contentment it brings is purpose enough. However, I’ve been struggling with allowing myself to do pleasurable things, to feel the joy they bring … and perhaps the recognition of this this morning will help me move forward with my therapy, and in allowing myself to feel joy and pleasure.
As I look back at earlier entries, I can see how my approach is slowly evolving in terms of how I present information. I’ll eventually work out a consistent ‘format’ that suits me in terms of colours of ‘quotes’, illustrations, references, hyperlinks.
Morning dew and duw…
This blog title is a kind of a pun. In Welsh, Duw means god. The expression ‘duw duw’ is often used to mean ‘well I never’, ‘well,well’, or ‘dear me’, though it is often used in the place of a swear word.
After a chilly night, I woke to find the first dew of late summer covering the cars in the street. As if any other reminder of the rapid approach of Autumn is needed. I do love dew, the way droplets of it cling to spiders webs and sparkle in the early morning Sun like jewels; the way the wetness intensifies the dusty, dry colours of late Summer.
Dew and folklore
Dew gathered on St Bride’s Day (1st February) was considered to be particularly good for the complexion. Bathing the face in dew early on May Day (1st May) Morning was excellent for the complexion, helping to whiten the skin and eradicate freckles. [1]
Samuel Pepys, on 28th May 1667, recorded the following in his diary:
After dinner my wife went down with Jane and W. Hewer to Woolwich in order to a little ayre, and to lie there tonight and so to gether May dew tomorrow morning, which Mrs. Turner hat taught her as the only thing in the world to wash her face with, and I am contented with it.
His wife obviously believed that any time in May would do.
May dew was also occasionally reported as generally medicinal, especially for weak limbs. Also, some claimed that you could ‘make a wish’ while gathering it [1].
Some dewy weather proverbs [2, 4] are:
When dew is on the grass, rain will never come to pass. When grass is dry at morning light, look for rain before the night.
If three nights dewless there be, ’twill rain you’re sure to see.
With dew before midnight, the next sure will be bright.
If you wet your feet with dew in the morning, you may keep them dry for the rest of the day.
Dew beliefs from Launceston, Cornwall include
…a swelling of the neck can be cured by going to the grave of the latest young person of the opposite sex before sunrise on the first of May (Beltane, ‘May Day’) and gathering the dew by passing the hand three times from the head to the foot of the grave. The dew is then applied to the neck… A child weak in the back may be cured by drawing him over grass wet with morning dew on each of the mornings of May first, second and third. [3]
Herse was the Greek goddess of the plant-nourishing dew. Her parents were Zeus and Selene [5].
A bit more trolling round the world weird web, as well as my reference books, for information on some of the plants I saw on my travels on Friday. I get lost far too easily in the search for knowledge and information, but it’s always an enjoyable journey.
Beech (Fagus sylvatica)
Around the UK wishes can often be seen tied to beech trees. This custom has it’s origins in Celtic tree mythology where the beech is known as the tree of wishes. Fallen beech branches were seen as invitations to make a wish by writing it on a beech twig and then pushing the twig deep into the ground. The wish would then be taken by the wishing fairies to the Fairy Queen who would consider it. [1] Rods of beech are often favoured by water diviners. [2]
The Greek deities Apollo and Athena were said to have sat, as vultures, in the branches of an oak or a beech tree to watch the war between the Trojans and the Greeks. [3, 4]
Beech nuts are known as mast [5].
Norse tradition says that tablets of beech were used to make the very first writing tablets for the runes. It is also a sacred wood of the Summer Solstice [10].
Sycamore (Acer pseudoplatanus)
The Sycamore is also known as the Great Maple [5]. The winged seeds of the sycamore are called helicopters and were used in flying competitions by children. The sycamore was the favoured wood for making love spoons in Wales, which are made from a single piece of wood [6].
In Montgomeryshire there was a belief that sycamore trees kept the fairies away and stopped them from spoiling the milk [7].
In Scotland the feudal lairds used sycamore tress, known as dool or joug trees, as their gallows. Further south, in Wiltshire, sycamores had unlucky associations, perhaps because they were also sometimes known as ‘hanging trees’ [8].
The Sycamore is sometimes called the Martyrs’ tree after the Tolpuddle Martyrs who first met beneath a sycamore tree in 1843 and formed a secret society to fight starvation and poor wages. Unfortunately, they were caught and sentenced to seven years transportation to Australia. They were pardoned after two years and returned home [9].
It’s started to rain steadily and quite heavily here. It’s also feeling rather chilly for an August day. The rain prompted me to look at folklore and superstitions mentioning rain. As I was sat at the ‘puter it was easier to go and do a Google than to go looking for my books on such topics.
There’s a good list of weather-lore at Down Gardening Services, and a lot more on the world weird web.
I like ‘The daisy shuts its eye before rain’ simply because I like daisies! I always think they look bright stars set in a green firmament. They always cheer one up!
The name daisy comes from the Old English ‘dæges eage‘ which means ‘day’s eye’ because the petals open at dawn and close at dusk (unless it’s about to rain!). In Welsh they are called ‘Llygad y Dydd‘, which also means ‘eye of the day’. It’s scientific name is Bellis perennis.
According to Roman mythology, Vertumnus, the guardian deity of orchards, pursued a young tree nymph named Belides after he saw her dancing with the other nymphs at the edge of the orchard. Belides did not want his attention and so she asked the gods for help to escape Vertumnus. As the powerful King of Argos was grandfather to Belides, the gods agreed to help. They transformed her into a tiny flower called Bellis, and so she escaped a terrible fate.
The Celts had a legend that daisies were the spirits of babies who had died during birth. The daisies grew to help relieve their parents’ grief with their simple beauty and innocence.
Making daisy chains was a childhood activity enjoyed by many of us. I wonder how many of us knew at those tender ages that parents used to put daisy chains around children’s necks to prevent them being stolen by fairies. Apparently, daisy chains should always have their ends joined so that they form a circle that represents the Sun, the Earth and the cycle of life.
Plucking the petals from a daisy, one by one, and reciting ‘s/he loves me, s/he loves me not’ is a common divinatory superstition. Placing the root of a daisy under one’s pillow is said to produce a dream or a vision of one’s future love/partner.
The symbolic and legendary meanings of flowers dates back to Elizabethan times, however it was the Victorians who assigned simple messages to flowers. It was a period in time when social etiquette meant that men and ladies could not express their feelings openly and so the use of the colour and type of flower to express what they could not say or show became popular. The daisy was associated with simplicity and modesty. The message of the daisies in the language of flowers is that of gentleness, innocence and purity in both the giver and receiver.
Art is the Adventure 