Castles cover the landscape of Europe. Many have lasted because they are built ofstone, but it takes some imagination to see how they looked when they were thehomes of the wealthy and powerful. Wherefore this course. A castle was a fortified structure, the home and admirative center of a magnate(great man) or king, and the […]

Ever heard that expression ‘beyond the pale’? Someone behaves dreadfully and someone else says, ‘tsk, tsk, that’s beyond the pale’. The English administration in Ireland coined that phrase about the ‘wild’ Irish. Wild? Why and what was the Pale?  Ireland has clans too, not just Scotland. Clan comes from clann, the Gaelic word for children […]

‘From the fury of the northmen, Oh Lord, deliver us.’ The vikings (aka northmen) burst on the scene in Britain in the late 8th century. In 793 the ‘heathen destroyed God's church on Lindisfarne by rapine and slaughter’. In that year ‘immense whirlwinds and flashes of lightning, and fiery dragons were seen flying in the […]

Castles cover the landscape of Europe. Many have lasted because they are built of stone, but it takes some imagination to see how they looked when they were the homes of the wealthy and powerful. Wherefore this course. A castle was a fortified structure, the home and administrative centre of a magnate (great man) or […]

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In England, before the Norman Conquest of 1066, fairies were called elves. Fairy is a word borrowed from French. Walt Disney would have you believe that fairies are sweet little creatures with wings and wands, helpful entities like Tinkerbell and the Tooth Fairy. Walt was wrong. In many lands people believe it's not wise to […]

Where is the road to a New York Times bestseller? Let me point you in the right direction—write a fantasy! Different sources of fantasy have inspired a torrent of novels and films. I’m sure you’re familiar with Rowling’s Harry Potter novels or G.R.R. Martin’s Game of Thrones. Or perhaps you’ve read Guy Gavriel Kay’s The […]

Want to write a novel set in Scotland? A New York Times bestseller?? How about a series? Scottish stories are wildly popular after the successful novels of Diana Gabaldon: Outlander, Fly in Amber, Voyager, followed by six more huge books which tell the adventures and trials of Jamie Fraser and Claire.   Gabaldon placed her […]

The ancient Celts believed that all things, animate and inanimate, possessed a spirit. Mountains, hills and trees were manly; rivers and meadows were feminine. The Celts knew that spirits watched their every move. So any action was carefully considered because of the effect it might have on their destiny. Ogham, the first Gaelic alphabet, was […]

Magic is distinguished from religion in that a magical practitioner usually acts for the benefit of one person whereas a priest acts for the benefit of a group or society. The word ‘magic’ comes from Old Persian, and we are familiar with the Latin spelling magus or French mage. In this course you'll find out […]

Scotland and Ireland loved their heroes in the Early Middle Ages. On many a winter night people sat round a central fire listening to stories from myths and legends--the mini series of the era. They battled their enemies and dodged wicked spells. They wooed and won fair maids. The greatest Gaelic epic celebrates a cattle […]