"The Necromancer of the Black Forest": a truly "horrid novel"

"The Necromancer, or A Tale of the Black Forest" is one of seven 'horrid novels' mentioned in Jane Austen's Gothic satire "Northanger Abbey". The Necromancer is one of the more well-known of these, as it has been reprinted at least five times since Austen was writing. This paper gives a history and summary of the novel and how the German original may have influenced other writers of the time. It also considers the framing narrative of the story as well as the Gothic tropes that the author uses looking at it in relation to Todorov's discussion of the Fantasti

Sympathy for the Devil: the legend of Gog and Magog

In an effort to ensure England’s political presence on the on the European stage, a Welsh monk named Geoffrey of Monmouth wrote Historia regum Britannie which, among other elements, included the arrival of Britain’s first civilised settlers who had to rid the land of the indigenous population of giants. In Geoffrey the giants are seen as monstrous and brutish; 150 years later a poem was written in Anglo-Norman, Dez Grantz Geantz in which the giants were treated more sympathetically: they were given a voice and allowed to explain their origins. This paper examines the legend of Gogmagog (or Gog and Magog) and discusses his/their presence in the London Guildhall with reference to later pageants and storie

Wayland: smith of the gods

This paper considers the origins of the legend of Wayland, the Anglo-Saxon mythological smith. The origins of the Wayland legend come from Scandinavia but have roots in classic literature. Almost all literary references to Wayland have been lost and it is believed that a feast day dedicated to Wayland has been Christianised; however, it is possible to trace his legend through some lines of poetry and through objects such as the Franks Casket. A Neolithic burial site in Berkshire was appropriated as the place where travellers would leave their horses to be shod by the supernatural smit

Pearl and the medieval dream vision

Based on Classical and Biblical authorities, many medieval writers used the dream vision, either as a literary device, political subversion or as a way of conveying a mystical experience. In some ways the dream vision negated responsibility from the material they were conveying. This paper considers some uses of the medieval dream vision, with particular reference to the devotional, elegiac poem, Pear

Chivalry in Gawain and the Green Knight

Written in a Cheshire dialect, the fourteenth century poem Sir Gawain and the Green Knight tells a tale in the style of a romance of King Arthur’s Court when Camelot is in its infancy and what happens when Sir Gawain accepts a challenge from a mysterious Green Knight who comes to court at Christmas Time. This discussion considers the moral dilemma that Gawain faces and how his chivalry and courage are tested to the limit in a game to be played to the death, where he has not been told all the rule

Kissing Heaven’s door: the Judas episode in the Voyage of Brendan

This paper discusses the Judas episode and a number of versions of the Voyage of Brendan and the Irish and Latin Vitae of Brendan, as well as the ‘Twelve Apostles of Ireland’. It considers some of the sources and analogues including the Apocalypse of Paul, the Medieval Legend of Judas and Dante’s Inferno. It also addresses the vivid descriptions of torture in the Anglo-Norman version. In all versions the principal theme is generally one of Mercy and Divine forgiveness for the good deeds that one performs in their lifetime; this motif is not universally accepted by writers contemporary with the composition of the voyage and it underscores the ‘liberal theology’ that is apparent through much of the Navigati

The medieval legend of Judas Iscariot: the Vita of Judas and the Gospel of Barnabas

This paper looks at the development of the Judas Legend, particularly in the Middle Ages. The beginning of the paper establishes a foundation: how reliable are the canonical gospels and how did the legend develop along with the early church (particularly considering the Apocryphal infancy gospel and the recently discovered Gospel of Judas) before considering two texts of the medieval period: The Vita Judas, dating from around 1150 incorporated the recently re-discovered Oedipus legend and has Judas guilty of Oedipus’s crimes as well as crimes that subvert the natural order as found in the Bible); the second text is The Gospel of Barnabas, a non-canonical gospel dinting from the early fourteen century that has been worked over by Muslim scribes and in which Judas is always on the periphery of the disciples, never believing Jesus’ teaching. In this gospel, he betrays Jesus but through a miraculous transformation Judas is crucified in Jesus plac

Nicole Oresme’s treatises on cosmography and divination: a discussion of the Treatise of the Sphere

Nicole Oresme was part of the intellectual elite of Charles V, King of France. In the 1360s, Oresme was concerned about the interest that Charles was showing in astrology and was concerned that his tendency towards superstition might influence matters of State. At a time that the term 'astrology' was used interchangeably to mean the study of celestial bodies as well as a means of divination, Oresme wrote two treatises to explain the differences. The Treatise of the Sphere was his attempt to explain cosmography in lay term

Vision in the Anglo-Norman Voyage of Brendan

This paper considers the concept of vision as it is used in the Anglo-Norman Voyage of Brendan. It is concerned with sight, blindness and understanding particularly in relation to the supernumerary monks – those late-coming monks that join Brendan’s Voyage of Paradise, but do not succeed in their quest. The principal encounters are the appearance of the devil in the Deserted City, the damnation of the monk at the Smithy of Hell, and the third supernumerary who mysteriously vanishes after Brendan’s encounter with Judas Iscariot. The paper also discusses the blinding cloud on an Island of Three Choirs in the source material for the Anglo-Norman Voyage, which is the Latin Navigatio sancti Brendani abbatis, which is the occasion where the second supernumerary leaves the cre

Some Celtic otherworld motifs in Brendan’s Voyage to Paradise

In Brendan’s Voyage to Paradise, there are scenes which suggest a translation from the natural world to the supernatural realms. These scenes have corresponding elements in Irish Voyage Tales. The scenes in the Voyage of Brendan include the Celebration of the Feast of St Peter and St Paul, the celebration of Easter on the back of Jasconius, the Crystal Pillar and the mist barrier that surrounds Paradise. Despite the Navigatio of Brendan’s message of Christian salvation, the pagan heritage of these texts is still eviden