Category Archives: Uncategorized

Following on from my post about medieval and e-book publication and how medieval books really were compilations or syntheses of stories, we can probably say the same about the Iliad and the Odyssey. Bronze age Greece was a literate society … Continue reading →

I recently tweeted a link about a researcher in Oklahoma who was working on a new and definitive English translation of Wigamur, an early German medieval novel that forms part of the Arthurian canon, but so obscure that even the … Continue reading →

There’s an interesting report in New Scientist today that, contrary to traditional belief, women lived with their soldier menfolk while they were stationed on the frontier – and until things started going pearshaped in the 300’s most Roman soldiers were … Continue reading →

Primary Colors the the book of the 1996 US election campaign. It’s really about Bill and Hillary, Bill Clinton’s 1992 election campaign, not to mention Bill’s pecadillos and the quiet lunacy of American presidential politics. When I first read it, … Continue reading →

Well we’re back at work now and the festive season is truly over. Like a lot of people our festive time consisted of some family time, some freeway time, a few good things like lobster on the barbecue and a … Continue reading →

Bookstores are largely dead – killed by Amazon and the ereader. Especially when you consider the logistics – in a country such as Australia, at the arse end of the world, electronic delivery is always going to trump shipping containers … Continue reading →

Last weekend it rained. Seriously rained. But by Sunday morning it had cleared enough for us to consider a drive out. We tossed a coin between a loop inland or a dash down to the coast and back for a … Continue reading →

As we know, Latin didn’t die with the western Roman empire. It continued in use as the language of the church, and by and by became the language of scholarship. After all many of the Renaissance masters and later wrote … Continue reading →

I’ve just been reading Geoffrey of Monmouth’s History of the Kings of Britain, which to my shame I have to admit I’d never read in full before. Which is a pity, for while it is a work of fiction, it … Continue reading →

Some years ago I became quietly obsessed with the question as to whether an Anglo Saxon notable ever made it to India. The jury’s still out as whether Sighelm managed the journey, but everything I’ve read since has convinced me … Continue reading →