Mythical Britain

@mythicalbritain

Michael Smith. Author, printmaker, translator & illustrator of medieval romances. Whimsy, art. Published by Wilton Square Books. PhD research University of York. Follows the Blackburn Rovers. All photos mine unless on shared posts www.mythicalbritain.co.uk

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Mythical Britain@mythicalbritain· 25d

Hollow walls and ancient homes haunt the lonely landscape. Here, the impressive remains of Leamaneh castle, County Clare, combine a late 15th century tower house with a 17th century grand manor to create an impressive home which eventually fell into ruin in the late 18th century. #Ireland #TheBurren

Ruin of a castle set in a field with a farm nearby. The castle shows a house of four bays and three storeys (plus roof) with part of an earlier tower to the right. The former roof has collapsed. On the left corner, on the second floor, a garderobe projects out.

Mythical Britain@mythicalbritain· 26d

Friday Knight! Here’s to a great weekend ahead! #Linocut #Printmaking #Medieval

Linocut image of the head and shoulders of a knight wearing an open-faced helmet and smiling. In the background is a barred window set in a wall of pink bricks.

Mythical Britain@mythicalbritain· 27d

What eyes once peeped upon the gaze of others looking through? Delightful old doorway at Clare Priory in the county of Suffolk with some rather lovely features suggesting an intimacy of behaviour now lost to time. #AdoorableThursday #Suffolk #Medieval

Ancient round-topped wooden door, left open and barely hanging from its frame. The door is pierced by a pair of quatrefoil lights, both of which have four circular holes arranged at each corner about them. The door has been patch repaired, including at the bottom. Weeds are growing at the bottom while a pleasant garden setting is seen in the background.

Mythical Britain@mythicalbritain· 28d

How journeys start. All my inspiration for matters medieval began as a boy when perusing the Britains catalogues of the late 1960s/early 1970s. The artwork, the copy and the vibrancy of this page lit a flame which was never to die out. Yes, I still have the knights too, just waiting to do battle!

Catalogue page in colour showing illustrations of knights on foot and on horseback- and siege machines (catapult and ballista).

Mythical Britain@mythicalbritain· 28d

It’s Wednesday so that means werewolves in the canon of alliterative works! Humphrey de Bohun’s inspired 1350 commission of an English version of the Old French Guillaume de Palerne is here offered in a full translation. With linocut illustrations! What’s not to like!?! #WerewolfWednesday #Medieval

Image shows a Book called William and the Werewolf translated and illustrated by Michael Smith. The book has a maroon cover showing linocut images of a prince’s head and a wolf’s head reversed out in yellow. In the background is a selection of images in black and white which appear in the book.

Mythical Britain@mythicalbritain· 29d

What is thought to be the effigy of Conor na Siudane Ua Briain, King of Thomond, at Corconroe Abbey, Ireland. The king, also known as Conor The Broad Eyed, died at the battle of Siudan in 1268; as a benefactor of the abbey, he is commemorated there in this effigy. #TombTuesday #Ireland #TheBurren

A stone effigy of a medieval king lying on his back is set in a shallow-arched tomb recess in a monastery wall. Above him is a bass relied figure of a bishop facing directly towards the camera. Bright sunlight is cast diagonally upon the scene. Pillars can be seen to the left and another arched recess is to the right.

Mythical Britain@mythicalbritain· Jul 12

Talk to the stone! The local branch of the Stones of Stenness Appreciation Society captured communing with the ancestors on Orkney a couple of years back. #StandingStoneSunday #Sheep

Sheep and lambs huddled next to a damp stone sheltering against the wind. In the background a large megalith can be seen. Hills and empty field and some scattered farmsteads can be seen in the far distance. The sky is grey and cloudy.

Mythical Britain@mythicalbritain· Jul 10

A Friday knight for Friday night! An original linocut print in four colours featuring Sir Hugh Calveley of Bunbury, Cheshire, who fought with the Black Prince at Najera in 1367. More about Sir Hugh, his fabulous effigy and also this print can be found here: www.mythicalbritain.co.uk/post/a-chesh...

A colour linocut print of a knight charging on a white horse. The knight wears a jupon and shield, both bearing a coat of arms showing three calves on a white background crossed by a horizontal red band. The image is framed within a red border and the knight is shown against a blue background. Grass of different hues is shown beneath the horse. The knight wears a ceremonial battle helmet featuring a calf’s head as its crest.

Mythical Britain@mythicalbritain· Jul 9

A doorway of delight at Kilfenora, County Clare. The church (also called the cathedral) is home to some stunning early medieval high crosses featuring Romanesque and Celtic motifs. #AdoorableThursday

A bare and plain stone wall pierced by a diminutive archway. To the right is a decorated gothic sedilia still showing remarkably preserved exquisite tracery and a sculpture of a bishop’s head above it. To the left, higher up in the wall is a small doorway, also seemingly blocked. The floor in the foreground comprises large stone flags.

Mythical Britain@mythicalbritain· Jul 8

Last one sold! The final print of my first ever linocut of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is off to a new home in Oxfordshire. This print still brings me pleasure after all these years & was the one which set me off on my journey into the translation of medieval romances. #linocut #sggk #medieval

Picture of a colour print showing the head and shoulders of Sir Gawain in armour in red and the same of the Green Knight in green against a snowy background. Above the Green Knight is Gawain’s shield featuring the golden star on a red field. To the right in green is the great axe of the Green Knight. A postal tube and tissue paper lie behind.

Mythical Britain@mythicalbritain· Jul 8

Caer Bach, the small fort, in the hills above Conwy. Mound-like and comprising a simple ditch and a much degraded dry stone circular wall, it commands wide ranging views over the Conwy valley, including towards the Clwydian Hills with their own string of hillforts. #HillfortsWednesday

Low mound covered in bushes with remains of a dry stone wall. Mountains and hills can be seen in the distance below a dramatic cloudy sky. A dog is wandering about to the right.

Mythical Britain@mythicalbritain· Jul 5

Lonely in the landscape but lovely all the same. Maen Pen Ddu above the Conwy valley from earlier this week, demanding some attention in the sunshine. #StandingStoneSunday #Wales

Large standing stone set in mountainous scenery surrounded by green grass and with a blue sky above. A few, much smaller, stones are dotted about.

Mythical Britain@mythicalbritain· Jul 2

Faces from a former time look upon us now. The beautifully preserved Romanesque doorway of St. Caimin’s church on Inis Cealtra (Holy Island) in Lough Derg, County Clare, Ireland. The church is said to have been built by Brian Boru, High King of Ireland, in the early 10th Century. #AdoorableThursday

Stone archway in a wall showing an array of 16 different carved faces arranged above it in a frieze. There are two further archways arranged within it, making the actual entrance smaller and narrower. An iron barred gate now serves as a door. Grass can be seen in the foreground.

Mythical Britain@mythicalbritain· Jun 30

And the view towards Lough Derg as seen from Bohateh… a landscape with much meaning indeed to those who walked before!

In the foreground a fallen, lichen-covered dolmen overlooks a vast lake in the far distance. A grey sky looms above while the land below looks gloomy in its shadow.

Mythical Britain@mythicalbritain· Jun 30

Lonely in the landscape on the bleak, bogland moor… Bohateh wedge-shaped gallery tomb, County Clare (ca 2000-2500 BC/BCE) occupies a remarkable position overlooking the vast expanse of Lough Derg below it, with its many mythological and spiritual connections. A special place indeed for #TombTuesday

A lichen-covered dolmen of white and grey rocks can be seen to the left, standing in contrast against a green, bare landscape. A large capstone stands on top of smaller supporting boulders which have slipped and fallen over time. A threatening grey sky looms above. The fields behind are boggy and bare of trees.

Mythical Britain@mythicalbritain· Jun 28

A Saturday Knight for Sunday Morning! A Butler knight wearing what looks like a Barbuta decorating one of the pillars at Jerpoint Abbey, Ireland. The choice of helmet is fascinating and hints at the international trade in armour during this period. #medieval

Stone carving of a knight on a pillar. He wears an open faced Barbuta helmet, chainmail aventail and carries a small shield. He wears a dagger on his belt. In the background is a lawn on one side and the pathway of a ruined cloister on the other.

Mythical Britain@mythicalbritain· Jun 27

🎶🎶 Goodbye t’Jane, goodbye t’Jane…🎶 The late 15th century castle at Slade, Co Wexford, Ireland. A tower house built by the Laffan family with a 16th century fortified hall attached. The castle still holds a dramatic place in the landscape of the Hook peninsula despite its becalmed and ruined state.

A crenellated castle tower and two storey hall is centre of this photo. In the foreground is a small harbour with a boat in it. To the right is a road with a lone car parked by a wall next to the harbour. Seaside cottages are seen by the harbour on the left; farm buildings are to the right. The sky is grey.

Mythical Britain@mythicalbritain· Jun 26

A furry friend for Friday! This unidentified creature from the base of a pillar at Jerpoint Abbey, Co. Kilkenny, Ireland is one of the many fine carvings and sculptures found here which make the place famous. The abbey was founded in the 12th century but contains many features of later periods.

Stone carving of a small four legged animal with a smiling face. Its front leg appears wrapped around a large chin. The creature has a long tail stretching over its back, finishing in a bushy tip.

Mythical Britain@mythicalbritain· Jun 24

Golden and glorious, and fabulously fashioned! The Borrisnoe gold collar (ca 800 - 700 BC) is one of several of these magnificent items on display at the National Museum of Ireland, Dublin. You get an incredible feeling of intimacy when standing so close to such items, wondering who once wore them.

Large golden collar perhaps 14 inches across fashioned as a succession of four layers of rounded ridges, each interspersed with lesser ridges, smaller and some worked into what resembles stringed beads. The collar is open at the back and features a decorated gold disk at each side of the opening - possibly designed to hold a cloak?

Mythical Britain@mythicalbritain· Jun 23

The Dog and Dolmen - a home from home for archaeologists in the Welsh mountains! #TombTuesday

Small dolmen with a slanted capstone with a dog amongst the grass and stones in the foreground. The background shows mountain scenery with a looming grey sky above.

Mythical Britain@mythicalbritain· Jun 22

Wheat beer or Hwæt beer? No, unfiltered lager! This Beowulf is certainly a different adaptation of the Old English masterpiece! Beerwulf perhaps?! Cheers!

A glass of beer on a garden table next to the can it came from, bearing the name Beowulf.

Mythical Britain@mythicalbritain· Jun 22

Sweetly peep the popinjays depicted on the screen! Two birds amid flowers painted on a 14th century parclose screen at St Mary and All Saints at Willingham, Cambs. Popinjays, or parrots, also appear amid flowers in the decorations on Gawain’s helmet cloth in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight (l. 611).

Medieval painted panel in faded red showing two parrots painted in dark grey/green with bodies facing each other but heads pointed away. A primitive flower pattern can be seen below.

Mythical Britain@mythicalbritain· Jun 21

June’s hotting up for #Midsummer and Stonehenge is aflame and red roasting! One of my linocut prints from a few years ago seems appropriate for 2026. #SummerSolstice

Linocut print in red, orange and dark red showing Stonehenge dramatically set against a threatening red sky, seemingly raining but also suggestive of angry thunder and lightning. A group of people cower to the right as they approach the stones.

Mythical Britain@mythicalbritain· Jun 18

A hard day’s work at the press today working on a four-colour linocut print in muted colours. I’m thrilled with the final result - a seated knight talking with an abbess, derived from a medieval manuscript! #printmaking #linocut

A linocut print on a drying rack showing a cheerful knight in a yellow/orange jupon talking to an Abbess who is looking down from an open windrow in a brick wall. The knight is sitting on a stool on a multi-coloured tile floor. A barred window can be seen behind the knight’s head.

Mythical Britain@mythicalbritain· Jun 17

The first signs of malignancy, like some monstrous melanoma; a concrete tube and measuring tool tell of coming housing and an end to rural ways.

A green field and sandy path with countryside and trees in the distance and a hedge and woodland to the right. In the foreground is a large concrete tube about three feet high and two feet in diameter, in which is some form of blue measuring device, associated with measuring the water table prior to a large house building project.

Mythical Britain@mythicalbritain· Jun 16

Family power, finely fashioned by the skill of craftsmen unknown. This stunning alabaster monument depicts Sir Randal/Randle Brereton and Eleanor Dutton, at St. Oswald’s, Malpas, Cheshire. A fine example of Chellaston work, the effigy dates to the 1520s, prior to Randal’s death. #TombTuesday

Mythical Britain@mythicalbritain· Jun 15

One of four plates to fashion a print; I wonder what form it will take? #Printmaking #Linocut

A printmaking plate on a wooden surface, showing work in progress. Scattered around are the cuttings from the tools which can be seen to the right.

Mythical Britain@mythicalbritain· Jun 14

Thirteen feet high and fabulous in form; the great cross of St Brynach at Nanhyfer (Nevern) in Pembrokeshire, Wales. Dating from the tenth century (?), the cross is richly decorated on each side and situated near an avenue of ancient yew trees. Haunting and spiritually special! #StandingStoneSunday

Large pillar of stone capped by a Celtic cross. The stone is richly decorated with knot work carvings. A path runs to the right, cutting through a graveyard with gravestones dotted about. A church can be seen to the left. The branches of a yew trees are in the foreground.

Mythical Britain@mythicalbritain· Jun 12

Floral flourishes - one of four different faces on the font at Little Thurlow, Suffolk. This 12th Century delight at St Peter’s hints at the age of this charming rural church, which also contains some early Romanesque corbels despite the building’s 14th/15th century appearance. #FontsOnFriday

Square font with floral carving standing on a plain square pedestal. Behind can be seen a wooden screen, behind which can be seen the bell ropes to the tower plus a stained glass window. A wooden carved poppy head bench end can be seen to the right.

Mythical Britain@mythicalbritain· Jun 12

Old flames on the bark still speak of former passions; a hornbeam by the old branch line the last witness to bright eyes.