Sometimes, when writing a minor character into a historical novel, it’s not necessary to name the character if he or she isn’t terribly significant or doesn’t recur. Their purpose can be achieved through action alone. However, once in a while, research will offer an unexpected treat. While writing A Land Beyond Ravens, I needed to... Continue Reading →
From Little Doward to Another Battle
Earlier, I posted two blog articles about the twelve battles King Arthur allegedly fought and led to his consolidation of power. They are listed in the ninth century document, The History of the Britons (Historia Brittonum), attributed to a monk called Nennius. I offered my conjecture on the location of the first battle, on the... Continue Reading →
Arthur’s Battle List – Part 2
The sixth of Arthur's famed twelve battles, according to Nennius in the Historia Brittonum, took place on the River Bassas. As with most of the battles, the location has never been identified. It's not even sure that there were twelve battles—the possibility looms that perhaps the number may have been expanded to twelve in order... Continue Reading →
Arthur’s Battle List – Part 1
So many aspects concerning King Arthur's life continue to be debated over and over within the community of Arthurian historians. Among those points is a list of twelve battles that Arthur was alleged to have fought and won in his quest to consolidate power. The list comes from the document called Historia Brittonum, attributed to... Continue Reading →
Avalon: Gateway to Annwn
What exactly was the Isle of Avalon? Most scholars agree that it was some sort of spiritual center dating from very ancient times. Its tight association with the historical side of the Arthurian legends draws us to Celtic Britain in the fifth and sixth centuries, where clues of Avalon’s existence begin to emerge from the... Continue Reading →
A Different Kind of Normal
In the process of researching one of my book projects, I’ve found myself steered into the ancient world of Eurasia, southeastern Europe and those two regions’ relationship to Greece, which was the reigning power at the time. I haven’t found my story yet, but I do know the time is the fourth century BC, perhaps... Continue Reading →
Recrudescence
During a talk a few years ago, Elizabeth Strout, the Pulitzer Prize winning author of the book Olive Kitteridge, mentioned the word “recrudescence.” According to the Oxford English Dictionary this means, “The state or fact of breaking out afresh.” Sometimes it is applied to the state of something bad like an epidemic, but it can also mean... Continue Reading →
Homesick for Wales
A while back I had the pleasure to chat a bit with a gentleman who originally came from Wales, near Aberystwyth. We talked about the different Merlin traditions, how there is a south Welsh tradition as well as a northern one that emerged out of the border area of lowland Scotland. This tradition perceives of... Continue Reading →
Kathleen Guler 