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Dorset Ooser
The Dorset Ooser () is a wooden head that featured in the 19th-century folk culture of Melbury Osmond, a village in the southwestern English county of Dorset. The head was hollow, thus perhaps serving as a mask, and included a humanoid face with horns, a beard, and a hinged jaw which allowed the mouth to open and close. Although sometimes used to scare people during practical jokes, its main recorded purpose was as part of a local variant of the charivari custom known as " skimity riding" or "rough music", in which it was used to humiliate those who were deemed to have behaved in an immoral manner. The Dorset Ooser was first brought to public attention in 1891, at which time it was under the ownership of the Cave family of Melbury Osmond's Holt Farm. After travelling with Edward Cave to Somerset, the Ooser went missing around 1897. Since then, various folklorists and historians have debated the origins of the head, which has possible connections to the horned costumes som ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Ooser 2
''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the most frequently used word in the English language; studies and analyses of texts have found it to account for seven percent of all printed English-language words. It is derived from gendered articles in Old English which combined in Middle English and now has a single form used with nouns of any gender. The word can be used with both singular and plural nouns, and with a noun that starts with any letter. This is different from many other languages, which have different forms of the definite article for different genders or numbers. Pronunciation In most dialects, "the" is pronounced as (with the voiced dental fricative followed by a schwa) when followed by a consonant sound, and as (homophone of the archaic pr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Morris Dance
Morris dancing is a form of English folk dance. It is based on rhythmic stepping and the execution of choreographed figures by a group of dancers, usually wearing bell pads on their shins. Implements such as sticks, swords and handkerchiefs may also be wielded by the dancers. In a small number of dances for one or two people, steps are near and across a pair of clay tobacco pipes laid one across the other on the floor. They clap their sticks, swords, or handkerchiefs together to match with the dance. The earliest known and surviving English written mention of Morris dance is dated to 1448 and records the payment of seven shillings to Morris dancers by the Goldsmiths' Company in London. Further mentions of Morris dancing occur in the late 15th century, and there are also early records such as bishops' "Visitation Articles" mentioning sword dancing, guising and other dancing activities, as well as mumming plays. While the earliest records invariably mention "Morys" in a court ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Charles Herbert Mayo
Charles Herbert Mayo (1845–1929) was a Dorset clergyman and antiquarian. Life Mayo was born in 1845, the third of three children of William Mayo, the rector of Folke, and his wife Charlotte (née Dyer). He received a Master of Arts degree from Lincoln College, Oxford. s:Alumni Oxonienses: the Members of the University of Oxford, 1715-1886/Mayo, Charles Herbert He was appointed Rural Dean and Non-Residentiary Canon of Salisbury and was vicar of Longburton from 1872 to 1912. Whilst there he lived at Longburton Rectory. His great enthusiasm was local history and he promoted its study by publishing many books and articles on the subject, of which 34 are held in the British Library. His greatest work was the Bibliotheca Dorsetiensis published in 1885, which has yet to be supplanted as the standard Dorset antiquarian bibliography. This was derived from his large personal collection of Dorset ephemera and publications. From 1888 until 1921 Canon Mayo was the Dorset Editor of the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Somerset And Dorset Notes And Queries
( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , established_date = Ancient , established_by = , preceded_by = , origin = , lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset , lord_lieutenant_name = Mohammed Saddiq , high_sheriff_office =High Sheriff of Somerset , high_sheriff_name = Mrs Mary-Clare Rodwell (2020–21) , area_total_km2 = 4171 , area_total_rank = 7th , ethnicity = 98.5% White , county_council = , unitary_council = , government = , joint_committees = , admin_hq = Taunton , area_council_km2 = 3451 , area_council_rank = 10th , iso_code = GB-SOM , ons_code = 40 , gss_code = , nuts_code = UKK23 , districts_map = , districts_list = County council area: , MPs = *Rebecca Pow (C) * Wera Hobhouse ( LD) * Liam Fox (C) * David Warburton (C) * Marcus Fysh (C) * Ian Liddell-Grainger (C) * James Heappey (C) * Jacob Rees-Mogg (C) * John Penrose (C) , police = Avon and Somerset Police , web ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cuckold
A cuckold is the husband of an adulterous wife; the wife of an adulterous husband is a cuckquean. In biology, a cuckold is a male who unwittingly invests parental effort in juveniles who are not genetically his offspring. A husband who is aware of and tolerates his wife's infidelity is sometimes called a wittol or wittold. History of the term The word ''cuckold'' derives from the cuckoo bird, alluding to its habit of laying its eggs in other birds' nests. The association is common in medieval folklore, literature, and iconography. English usage first appears about 1250 in the medieval debate poem '' The Owl and the Nightingale''. It was characterized as an overtly blunt term in John Lydgate's "Fall of Princes", . Shakespeare's writing often referred to cuckolds, with several of his characters suspecting they had become one. The word often implies that the husband is deceived; that he is unaware of his wife's unfaithfulness and may not know until the arrival or growt ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Marlborough, Wiltshire
Marlborough ( , ) is a market town and civil parish in the English county of Wiltshire on the Old Bath Road, the old main road from London to Bath. The town is on the River Kennet, 24 miles (39 km) north of Salisbury and 10 miles (16 km) southeast of Swindon. History The earliest sign of human habitation is the Marlborough Mound, a prehistoric tumulus in the grounds of Marlborough College. Recent radiocarbon dating has found it to date from about 2400 BC. It is of similar age to the larger Silbury Hill about west of the town. Legend has it that the Mound is the burial site of Merlin and that the name of the town comes from Merlin's Barrow. More plausibly, the town's name possibly derives from the medieval term for chalky ground "marl"—thus, "town on chalk". However more recent research, from geographer John Everett-Heath, identifies the original Anglo-Saxon place name as ''Merleberge'', with a derivation from either the personal name of ''Mærle'' combined wi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wiltshire
Wiltshire (; abbreviated Wilts) is a historic and ceremonial county in South West England with an area of . It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset to the southwest, Somerset to the west, Hampshire to the southeast, Gloucestershire to the north, Oxfordshire to the northeast and Berkshire to the east. The county town was originally Wilton, after which the county is named, but Wiltshire Council is now based in the county town of Trowbridge. Within the county's boundary are two unitary authority areas, Wiltshire and Swindon, governed respectively by Wiltshire Council and Swindon Borough Council. Wiltshire is characterised by its high downland and wide valleys. Salisbury Plain is noted for being the location of the Stonehenge and Avebury stone circles (which together are a UNESCO Cultural and World Heritage site) and other ancient landmarks, and as a training area for the British Army. The city of Salisbury is notable for its medieval cathedral. Swindon is ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mummers Play
Mummers' plays are folk plays performed by troupes of amateur actors, traditionally all male, known as mummers or guisers (also by local names such as ''rhymers'', ''pace-eggers'', ''soulers'', ''tipteerers'', ''wrenboys'', and ''galoshins''). Historically, mummers' plays consisted of informal groups of costumed community members that visited from house to house on various holidays. Today the term refers especially to a play in which a number of characters are called on stage, two of whom engage in a combat, the loser being revived by a doctor character. This play is sometimes found associated with a sword dance though both also exist in Britain independently. Mumming spread from the British Isles to a number of former British colonies. It is sometimes performed in the street but more usually during visits to houses and pubs. It is generally performed seasonally or annually, often at Christmas, Easter or on Plough Monday, more rarely on Halloween or All Souls' Day, and ofte ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Layamon's Brut
Layamon's ''Brut'' (ca. 1190 - 1215), also known as ''The Chronicle of Britain'', is a Middle English poem compiled and recast by the English priest Layamon. Layamon's ''Brut'' is 16,096 lines long and narrates the history of Britain. It is the first historiography written in English since the ''Anglo-Saxon Chronicle''. Named for Britain's mythical founder, Brutus of Troy, the poem is largely based on the Anglo-Norman French '' Roman de Brut'' by Wace, which is in turn a version of Geoffrey of Monmouth's Latin ''Historia Regum Britanniae''. Layamon's poem, however, is longer than both and includes an enlarged section on the life and exploits of King Arthur. It is written in the alliterative verse style commonly used in Middle English poetry by rhyming chroniclers, the two halves of the alliterative lines being often linked by rhyme as well as by alliteration. Language and style The versification of the ''Brut'' has proven extremely difficult to characterise. Written in a loos ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Layamon
Layamon or Laghamon (, ; ) – spelled Laȝamon or Laȝamonn in his time, occasionally written Lawman – was an English poet of the late 12th/early 13th century and author of the ''Brut'', a notable work that was the first to present the legends of Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table in English poetry. J. R. R. Tolkien valued him as a transmitter of early English legends in a fashion comparable to the role played with respect to Icelandic legend by Snorri Sturluson. Life and influence Layamon describes himself in his poem as a priest, living at Areley Kings in Worcestershire. His poem had a significant impact on medieval history writing in England and the development of Arthurian literature and subsequently provided inspiration for numerous later writers, including Sir Thomas Malory and Jorge Luis Borges. Brut '' Brut'' (ca. 1190) is a Middle English poem compiled and recast by the English priest Layamon. It is named after Britain's mythical founder, Brutus of Tro ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ronald Hutton
Ronald Edmund Hutton (born 19 December 1953) is an English historian who specialises in Early Modern Britain, British folklore, pre-Christian religion and Contemporary Paganism. He is a professor at the University of Bristol, has written 14 books and has appeared on British television and radio. He held a fellowship at Magdalen College, Oxford, and is a Commissioner of English Heritage. Born in Ootacamund, India, his family returned to England, and he attended a school in Ilford and became particularly interested in archaeology. He volunteered in a number of excavations until 1976 and visited the country's chambered tombs. He studied history at Pembroke College, Cambridge, and then Magdalen College, Oxford, before he lectured in history at the University of Bristol from 1981. Specialising in Early Modern Britain, he wrote three books on the subject: ''The Royalist War Effort'' (1981), ''The Restoration'' (1985) and ''Charles the Second'' (1990). In the 1990s, he wrote b ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wicca
Wicca () is a modern Pagan religion. Scholars of religion categorise it as both a new religious movement and as part of the occultist stream of Western esotericism. It was developed in England during the first half of the 20th century and was introduced to the public in 1954 by Gerald Gardner, a retired British civil servant. Wicca draws upon a diverse set of ancient pagan and 20th-century hermetic motifs for its theological structure and ritual practices. Wicca has no central authority figure. Its traditional core beliefs, principles, and practices were originally outlined in the 1940s and 1950s by Gardner and an early High Priestess, Doreen Valiente. The early practices were disseminated through published books and in secret written and oral teachings passed along to their initiates. There are many variations on the core structure, and the religion grows and evolves over time. It is divided into a number of diverse lineages, sects and denominations, referred to as ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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