# shakespearesunday cumbria

Pre-A Midsummer Night's Dream, the classical belief was that fairies were beautiful, temperamental, & dangerous, larger-than-life beings who could grant humans gifts or punishments on a whim. This folklore was also a way to explain why bad things happened.

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2022-06-05

Morning all, here, welcoming you to today’s theme of:

FAIRIES!

Bring on your tweets with the hashtag for a retweet. Image: When the Fairies Came by Ida Rentoul Outhwaite, 1920s.

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2022-06-05

A fairy doctor was a kind of wise woman or cunning man in Ireland who was taught good magic by fairies. They were called "fairy doctors" because they used their magic to heal people hurt by bad fairies just like a regular doctor healed those hurt by diseases.

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2022-06-05

In the epic Persian poem The Shahnameh, the divine being Sorush appears in the form of a peri to Keyumars, the first Shah of Iran, to warn him of the demonic spirit Ahriman. Keyumars assembles an army, including peri soldiers, to defeat Ahriman.

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2022-06-05

"The Story of the Prince & the Peri" is about a young woman whose new husband, the son of a shah, won't speak a word to her. She discovers he's already bound in marriage to a peri princess. Once she breaks the spell, her husband declares his love for her.

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2022-06-05

Peri (or pari) are winged, fairy-like beings in Persian myth who live in the land of Paristan on Mount Qaf. Originally they were spirits denied entry to Paradise until they completed atonement. Under Islamic influence, they became more benevolent & mischievious.

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2022-06-05

In the fable of Shita-kiri Suzume ("Tongue-cut Sparrow"), an old man was rewarded with treasure after showing compassion to an injured bird. His wife, who had cut the bird's tongue, got her comeuppance after making a wrong choice because of her greed. 1/4

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2022-05-29

“Now, my co-mates and brothers in exile,
Hath not old custom made this life more sweet than that of painted pomp?”
As You Like It, Act II, Sc 1

Image: John Leigh Pemberton

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2022-05-23

In the countryside around Cambridge a whole host of dialect persisted into the 20th century, including:
Doddy = small
Fourses = afternoon meal eaten by workers in the fields
Slud = wet mud
Fen nightingales = frogs

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2022-05-22

Morning all, here welcoming you to this Sunday’s theme of:
CITY vs COUNTRY! Use the hashtag for a retweet!
Images: Vintage Ladybird books

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2022-05-22

In Aesop's fable "The City Mouse & the Country Mouse," a city mouse convinces his cousin, a country mouse, that city life is better than country life. After they narrowly escape a cat while in the city, the city mouse admits country life is safer & easier.

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2022-05-22

Hi everyone, hope your week is going well! A reminder that this Sunday (22/5) the theme is:
CITY vs COUNTRY.
Get those tweets ready with - retweets after 10:30 am. Maude xx
(Images: Vintage Ladybird book covers)

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2022-05-19

Beatrix Potter based Peter Rabbit & Benjamin Bunny on 2 of her own pets. Her first rabbit was named Benjamin Bouncer. He loved buttered toast & was taken for walks on a lead. He was followed by Peter Piper who performed tricks & accompanied Beatrix everywhere.

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2022-05-16

The cat-sìth, is a fairy creature from Celtic mythology, said to resemble a large black cat with a white spot on its chest. Legend has it that the spectral cat haunts the Scottish Highlands. It is described as being as large as a dog.

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2022-05-15


Man-Lion, Narasimha, found in Vedic literature, is an Avatar of Vishnu who incarnates to destroy evil & restore Dharma. Also referred to as the “three-eyed lord” [Tryambaka Lord], he is known primarily to his devotees as “The Great Protector.”

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2022-05-15


Look and see the saddle markings
Where the fairy warriors rode them.
(As they ride them still at midnight,
On Midsummer's Eve at midnight,
When we mortals all are sleeping.)
–Anne G. Biddlecombe.

This poem fixed the Pembrokeshire Corgi into fairy folklore.

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2022-05-15

In Cumbrian folklore, a Bargest is a frightening spirit which has the power of foretelling death. It generally appears in the form of a large black dog. A strike from it's paw leaves a wound that never heals

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2022-05-15

The Axehandle Hound is a creature of lumberjack folklore in Minnesota & Wisconsin. These forest-dwelling dogs have heads like axe blades & bodies like wooden handles. They feed exclusively on discarded axe handles left in forests.

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2022-05-15

In Welsh lore, corgis are considered fairy dogs, as fairies ride them like horses & use them to pull coaches. In one legend, a farmer's children bring home two corgi puppies they found in a hollow, & the farmer declares them gifts from the fairy folk.

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2022-05-15

In Bavaria farmers will tie small baskets of wild strawberries to the horns of their cattle as an offering to the elves. It is believed that by offering the elves their favourite foods they will in return ensure the cows produce plentiful calves and milk.

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2022-05-08