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In Honor of St. Nicholas’s Day
Here’s a little Greek exercise I did a couple years ago:
Μάμμη ἐπατήθην ὑπ᾽ ἐλάφου.
περὶ προτὰς χείμονος ἔβαινεν.
περὶ Ἁγίου Νικολάου ένδιαζεις;
πάππος γε κἀγὼ πιστεύομεν.
If it isn’t grammatically perfect, well, that may not be straying too far from the source material.
History Makes Fantasy Cool
So Nicole Singer at Fantasy Faction:
I’m a history major at heart, so one of the things I love seeing in fantasy is how authors draw on real-world history to fuel their worlds. Whether it be historical events, people or cultures, it always keeps me intrigued. Fantasy, perhaps more so than any genre besides historical fiction, has a chance to delve into history, play with it, and make it a powerful factor in storytelling. Here are some of my favorite examples of how history gets woven into science-fiction and fantasy.
Another aspect of history-within-fantasy that I especially enjoy is the “secret history” trope. In worlds with some sort of “masquerade,” where wizards, vampires, gods, or whatever are secretly walking among us, what additional insight could they shed on the history we think we know? What really happened in Siberia in 1908? Who really built Stonehenge, and why?
One example of this is found in Jim Butcher’s Harry Dresden novels, where Bram Stoker’s Dracula was actually commissioned by a group of vampires in order to undermine a rival group by exposing all their weaknesses. Though not strictly fantasy, just about every episode of the TV show Quantum Leap revealed the protagonist interacting with real-world history in surprising and entertaining ways.
What do you think? How else can fantasy make history cool?
How to Find a Book in a Medieval Library
According to medievalist Erik Kwakkel, they used a sort of low-tech GPS system:
A book was tagged with a unique identifier (a shelfmark) that was entered into a searchable database (a library catalogue), which could subsequently be consulted with a handheld device (a portable version of the catalogue).
And now I want one.
The World Needs Books!
Preach it, Madison!
Sunday Inspiration: Purpose
What do we live for if not to make the world less difficult for each other?
—George Eliot
Irish Fairy Tales
Irish Fairy Tales by Edmund Leary is now available in the public domain. According to the Celtic Myth Podshow,
The author of the tales contained in this volume was one of the brightest and most poetic spirits who have appeared in Ireland in the last half century. It is needless to say that he was also one of the most patriotic Irishmen of his generation–patriotic in the highest and widest sense of that term, loving with an ardent love his country, its people, its historic traditions, its hills and plains, its lakes and streams, its raths and mounds. Like all men of his type, he lived largely in the past, and his fancy revelled much in fairy scenes of childhood and youth. So reads the introduction to this book, originally published in 1906 and containing some great Fairy Tales.
You can read or download Irish Fairy Tales at Project Gutenberg.
Thanksgiving 2014
I’m thankful for
- Twenty years of marriage to the smartest, kindest, most wonderful woman in the world
- A healthy, happy, and mostly well-adjusted teenager
- The privilege of taking care of parents who have always taken care of me
- Able and dedicated coworkers
- A small but enthusiastic Taylor Smart fan club
- Homeowner’s insurance
- The end of political campaign ads for another two years
- The Academy for Classical Education
- Google Books
- The Bibb County Public Library
- Zydeco music
- Pepakura and the geniuses who design and build it
- The Christmas light show at Callaway Gardens
- The University of Kentucky men’s basketball team
- Indoor plumbing
- Faith
- Hope
- Love
What are you thankful for?
Thanksgiving 2014
I’m thankful for
- Twenty years of marriage to the smartest, kindest, most wonderful woman in the world
- A healthy, happy, and mostly well-adjusted teenager
- The privilege of taking care of parents who have always taken care of me
- Able and dedicated coworkers
- A small but enthusiastic Taylor Smart fan club
- Homeowner’s insurance
- The end of political campaign ads for another two years
- The Academy for Classical Education
- Google Books
- The Bibb County Public Library
- Zydeco music
- Pepakura and the geniuses who design and build it
- The Christmas light show at Callaway Gardens
- The University of Kentucky men’s basketball team
- Indoor plumbing
- Faith
- Hope
- Love
What are you thankful for?
Faeries and Folklore, Part Three
Leo Elijah Cristea’s third post on Faeries and Folklore at Fantasy Faction discusses some famous faeries from folklore and literature.
Sunday Inspiration: The Long Term
Don’t judge each day by the harvest you reap, but by the seeds you plant.
—Robert Louis Stevenson
Darrell J. Pursiful 