Mythical Britain
@mythicalbritain.bsky.social
Michael Smith. Author, printmaker, translator and illustrator of medieval romances. Whimsy, art. Published by Wilton Square Books. PhD research University of York. Follows the Blackburn Rovers. www.mythicalbritain.co.uk.
Pinned
The fourteenth century is alive again! I'm delighted to announce that my books are now published by @wiltonsquare.bsky.social. They should once again be available through all good trade outlets in the coming days; please do support your local bookshop. Events and signings soon - please bear with me!
A tomb with a view; Maen y Bardd or The Poet Stone on Tal-y-Fan near Conwy. Part of an amazing historical landscape which at one point, I’m told, was intended to be the route of the A55 expressway. Thank goodness that never happened! #TombTuesday
January 6, 2026 at 8:08 AM
A tomb with a view; Maen y Bardd or The Poet Stone on Tal-y-Fan near Conwy. Part of an amazing historical landscape which at one point, I’m told, was intended to be the route of the A55 expressway. Thank goodness that never happened! #TombTuesday
The first working week of the year ahead; what lights the far horizon?
January 5, 2026 at 8:31 AM
The first working week of the year ahead; what lights the far horizon?
In King Arthur’s Death (the Alliterative Morte Arthure), ca 1400, a king driven by overweening pride (or surquedry, as the poet has it) exceeds his powers & ignores the ethics of Just War to effect regime change. In the end, he loses his wife, his supporters, his kingdom and his life. Just saying…
January 3, 2026 at 6:34 PM
In King Arthur’s Death (the Alliterative Morte Arthure), ca 1400, a king driven by overweening pride (or surquedry, as the poet has it) exceeds his powers & ignores the ethics of Just War to effect regime change. In the end, he loses his wife, his supporters, his kingdom and his life. Just saying…
Elements of Han Solo, medieval style!
The Knight Who Never Was.
St Britius, Brize Norton (Oxfordshire) houses an unusual monument - a semi-effigial slab revealing glimpses of an armoured figure through apertures in the stone.
St Britius, Brize Norton (Oxfordshire) houses an unusual monument - a semi-effigial slab revealing glimpses of an armoured figure through apertures in the stone.
January 3, 2026 at 6:12 PM
Elements of Han Solo, medieval style!
Castles in the landscape
January 2, 2026 at 8:51 PM
Castles in the landscape
I shall not be sheepish so instead I’ll just say, Happy New Year!!!
January 1, 2026 at 12:28 AM
I shall not be sheepish so instead I’ll just say, Happy New Year!!!
End of year escapades high up in the hills. Pen-y-Gaer fortified enclosure above the Aberglaslyn pass near Beddgelert in Wales made for an excellent walking destination over the festive period. #HillfortsWednesday
December 31, 2025 at 9:27 AM
End of year escapades high up in the hills. Pen-y-Gaer fortified enclosure above the Aberglaslyn pass near Beddgelert in Wales made for an excellent walking destination over the festive period. #HillfortsWednesday
Where children learn and old lords rest deep in rural England. At St James’s, Somerton, Oxfordshire, village life seems timeless. Here, I was struck by how a transient moment of modern life was left as but a shadow by the tomb chest of Sir Thomas Fermor (d.1580) and his second wife Bridget Bradshaw.
December 28, 2025 at 8:12 AM
Where children learn and old lords rest deep in rural England. At St James’s, Somerton, Oxfordshire, village life seems timeless. Here, I was struck by how a transient moment of modern life was left as but a shadow by the tomb chest of Sir Thomas Fermor (d.1580) and his second wife Bridget Bradshaw.
The closest I’ll get to a White Christmas this year! Sheep below Easneye sprinkle their dust of snow out on the old Saxon floodplain. Happy Christmas everyone!
December 25, 2025 at 9:44 AM
The closest I’ll get to a White Christmas this year! Sheep below Easneye sprinkle their dust of snow out on the old Saxon floodplain. Happy Christmas everyone!
What better for Christmas frolics!?
Medieval Fool under a window ledge in Vitré, Breizh, for #ReliefWednesday. Fools cap, stick, bells on legs all present and correct. Bit eroded but still fooling around.
December 24, 2025 at 7:37 PM
What better for Christmas frolics!?
It’s Christmas Eve and this dog is alert for visitors from afar! I wish all followers of Mythical Britain a very Happy Christmas and all the very best for a restful and enjoyable festive period.
December 24, 2025 at 6:13 PM
It’s Christmas Eve and this dog is alert for visitors from afar! I wish all followers of Mythical Britain a very Happy Christmas and all the very best for a restful and enjoyable festive period.
Ricardian riches or Ralphian relics? This banner-bedecked tomb casket at Sheriff Hutton in the North Riding has long been connected with Edward of Middleham, son of Richard III although sculptural style cues date to the 1420s and suggest it might commemorate a lost son of Ralph Neville. #TombTuesday
December 23, 2025 at 8:17 AM
Ricardian riches or Ralphian relics? This banner-bedecked tomb casket at Sheriff Hutton in the North Riding has long been connected with Edward of Middleham, son of Richard III although sculptural style cues date to the 1420s and suggest it might commemorate a lost son of Ralph Neville. #TombTuesday
Not smiling and definitely not in Cheshire; the face of a cat looks down from the walls of St Peter’s at Little Thurlow, Suffolk. One of several delightful corbels at this special little church.
December 22, 2025 at 9:14 AM
Not smiling and definitely not in Cheshire; the face of a cat looks down from the walls of St Peter’s at Little Thurlow, Suffolk. One of several delightful corbels at this special little church.
Out upon the western plains the world turns once again; the ancient stones in magic light revive to banish darkness. Stonehenge in winter from an early linocut of mine from many years ago. #WinterSolstice #Stonehenge #WinterSolstice2025
December 21, 2025 at 7:41 AM
Out upon the western plains the world turns once again; the ancient stones in magic light revive to banish darkness. Stonehenge in winter from an early linocut of mine from many years ago. #WinterSolstice #Stonehenge #WinterSolstice2025
A fabulous lion from the Herefordshire School on the font at the church of St Mary Magdalene, Eardisley. The font, in a large cup shape, is a fine example of this type craftsmanship, combining 12C Romanesque style cues with Celtic-style interwoven work above and below the frieze. #FontsOnFriday
December 19, 2025 at 9:02 AM
A fabulous lion from the Herefordshire School on the font at the church of St Mary Magdalene, Eardisley. The font, in a large cup shape, is a fine example of this type craftsmanship, combining 12C Romanesque style cues with Celtic-style interwoven work above and below the frieze. #FontsOnFriday
Doors to adoration. This amazing miniature boxwood altarpiece in the British Museum is dated to 1511 and was made in the northern Netherlands. Box is incredibly dense wood but even so the workmanship represents amazing skill and craftsmanship in something less than a foot tall. #AdoorableThursday
December 18, 2025 at 9:00 AM
Doors to adoration. This amazing miniature boxwood altarpiece in the British Museum is dated to 1511 and was made in the northern Netherlands. Box is incredibly dense wood but even so the workmanship represents amazing skill and craftsmanship in something less than a foot tall. #AdoorableThursday
Out on the tip of the island where liminal lands dot the sea; a fascinating look at the ancient historic landscape of Cornwall at this time of the turning year.
I have an article in the @theguardian.com today about winter solstice in West Penwith – includes a stunning picture by Carolyn Kennett of Chûn Quoit with the midwinter sun setting into Carn Kenidjack! www.theguardian.com/travel/2025/dec/18/west-cornwall-perfect-place-celebrate-winter-solstice
Why west Cornwall is the perfect place to mark the winter solstice
With ancient standing stones and modern midwinter festivals, the West Penwith peninsula is a land of magic and mystery
www.theguardian.com
December 18, 2025 at 8:42 AM
Out on the tip of the island where liminal lands dot the sea; a fascinating look at the ancient historic landscape of Cornwall at this time of the turning year.
A great magic circle splendid and special clasping some long lost rich garment. The Strickland Brooch at the British Museum is bewitching in its beauty.
December 16, 2025 at 8:29 AM
A great magic circle splendid and special clasping some long lost rich garment. The Strickland Brooch at the British Museum is bewitching in its beauty.
Castles in the landscape
Gleninagh Castle • The Burren • County Clare
This towerhouse was built by the O’Loughlins who called themselves the ‘Princes of the Burren’.
When it was originally rendered and whitewashed, it would have made a distinctive landmark on the grey rocky shore of the Burren.
#Ireland #SpéirGhorm
This towerhouse was built by the O’Loughlins who called themselves the ‘Princes of the Burren’.
When it was originally rendered and whitewashed, it would have made a distinctive landmark on the grey rocky shore of the Burren.
#Ireland #SpéirGhorm
December 14, 2025 at 8:56 PM
Castles in the landscape
That harbinger of cold Harald’s host calls out to far horizons. Come, my shielded men, it cries, across the German Ocean.
December 13, 2025 at 9:19 AM
That harbinger of cold Harald’s host calls out to far horizons. Come, my shielded men, it cries, across the German Ocean.
The great ark in waves of green high up in the hillsides; one of my favourite castles in all of Britain and beautifully captured here.
December 13, 2025 at 9:02 AM
The great ark in waves of green high up in the hillsides; one of my favourite castles in all of Britain and beautifully captured here.
Faces from the distant past, fearful yet so frightening.
Beakhead moulding on the chancel arch at Tortington Church, West Sussex
December 13, 2025 at 8:48 AM
Faces from the distant past, fearful yet so frightening.
Watering down the beer again at the King’s Arms, York, yesterday… #PubsAndFloods
December 12, 2025 at 8:29 AM
Watering down the beer again at the King’s Arms, York, yesterday… #PubsAndFloods
The crucial links which bind the land and stop us turning inwards.
Lonely postbox, Isle of Yell, Shetland, 2004, photo by Martin Parr (Magnum).
December 12, 2025 at 8:21 AM
The crucial links which bind the land and stop us turning inwards.
Ancient circuitry, sharp and bright and wired to perfection.
Gilded disc brooches from the Galloway Hoard. Buried at the beginning of the 10th century, the hoard was discovered by a metal-detectorist in 2014 at Balmaghie in Kirkcudbrightshire. Now part of the collections at the National Museum of Scotland. 📸 My own. #FindsFriday
December 12, 2025 at 8:07 AM
Ancient circuitry, sharp and bright and wired to perfection.