Legends of Caratacos
In which I look at the legacy of the ancient British resistance leader in later folklore, romance, and drama. Content note: child abduction; marital breakdown. We've looked before at the potential relationship between Shakespeare's Cymbeline (c. 1610/11) and the Snow White story. I'd like to dive again into the play's connections to other romances and legends about the Roman invasion of Britain in CE 43. The majority of the play's quasi-historical material comes by way of
Matter of the Greenwood: Will Scarlet
A look at the most shadowy Merry Man. Image: Patric Knowles as Will in The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938). Perhaps the least well...
Hamlet's voyage
Content note: familial murder and attempted murder; bigamy. "Thus set it down," decrees Claudius of his wayward nephew in Hamlet: "he...
Hail Éarendel!
In which I examine the connections of one of Tolkien's most famous characters to Shakespeare, Norse myth, and a local legend from...
Cymbeline and Snow White
Content note: murder; attempted murder (including familial and spousal); violent jealousy; rape. NB: This post has been edited since it...
