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Spear (Griffith Novel)
''Spear'' is a 2022 fantasy novella by Nicola Griffith. Drawing on Arthurian mythos, the book refashions the story of Percival and the Holy Grail but makes the character of Percival a woman. The protagonist of Griffith's version is Peretur, a girl raised alone in the wilderness by her mother, who develops a magical ability to communicate with animals. She sets out to explore the world dressed as a boy and seeks to join the service of King Arturus as a knight. At his court she becomes involved with his search for the Holy Grail and discovers that her own heritage is connected to it. Griffith wrote ''Spear'' after being invited to contribute to an anthology of Arthurian retellings: her planned short story grew into a longer work. Griffith uses Welsh names for many characters and draws on Celtic mythos, such as the Tuath Dé and their treasures, thereby depicting a "Celtic Arthur". Peretur endures a series of challenges that bear close resemblance to stories in the Arthurian tr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nicola Griffith
Nicola Griffith (; born 30 September 1960) is a British American novelist, essayist, and teacher. She has won the Washington State Book Award (twice), Nebula Award, James Tiptree, Jr. Award, World Fantasy Award, ''Los Angeles Times'' Book Prize, and six Lambda Literary Awards. In 2024 she was inducted into the Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame. In 2025, the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association named her the 41st Damon Knight Memorial Grand Master in recognition of her significant contributions to the literature of science fiction and fantasy. Personal life Griffith was born 30 September 1960 in Leeds, to Margaret and Eric Griffith.Griffith, Nicola (2007). ''And Now We Are Going to Have a Party, Volume 1: Limb of Satan''. Seattle: Payseur & Schmidt. Griffith's family is Catholic and she is one of five children. She knew she was gay by age 13. Griffith is cousin to British actor Clare Higgins. Griffith's earliest surviving literary efforts include an illu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hild (novel)
''Hild'' is a 2013 historical novel and the sixth novel by British author Nicola Griffith. ''Hild'' is a fictionalized telling of the life of Hilda of Whitby, also known as Hild of Streoneshalh, a significant figure in Anglo-Saxon Britain. The book includes a map, a glossary of terms, and a pronunciation guide. The novel was first published in the United States by Farrar, Straus and Giroux on November 12, 2013 and in the United Kingdom on October 4, 2014 through Blackfriars Books. Griffith has stated that the book will be the first in a trilogy. The second book in the trilogy, ''Menewood'', was published on October 3, 2023. Novel summary In seventh-century Britain, small kingdoms are merging. Edwin of Northumbria plots to become the king of all the Angles through force, bribery, and religious coercion. The king's niece Hild grows up bright, curious, and willful in this world of violence and mysticism. She learns to fight with staff and sword and to speak several languages. Alt ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Boys King Arthur - N
A boy is a young male human. The term is commonly used for a child or an adolescent. When a male human reaches adulthood, he is usually described as a man. Definition, etymology, and use According to the ''Merriam-Webster Dictionary'', a boy is "a male child from birth to adulthood". The word "boy" comes from Middle English ''boi, boye'' ("boy, servant"), related to other Germanic words for ''boy'', namely East Frisian ''boi'' ("boy, young man") and West Frisian ''boai'' ("boy"). Although the exact etymology is obscure, the English and Frisian forms probably derive from an earlier Anglo-Frisian *''bō-ja'' ("little brother"), a diminutive of the Germanic root *''bō-'' ("brother, male relation"), from Proto-Indo-European *''bhā-'', *''bhāt-'' ("father, brother"). The root is also found in Norwegian dialectal ''boa'' ("brother"), and, through a reduplicated variant *''bō-bō-'', in Old Norse ''bófi'', Dutch ''boef'' "(criminal) knave, rogue", German ''Bube'' ("knave, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lia Fáil
The () or (; "Stone of Fál") is a stone at the Inauguration Mound () on the Hill of Tara in County Meath, Ireland, which served as the coronation stone for the King of Tara and hence High King of Ireland. It is also known as the Stone of Destiny or Speaking Stone. According to legend, all of the kings of Ireland were crowned on the stone up to Muirchertach mac Ercae, . Geology Archibald Geikie noted resemblances to the calcareous red sandstone of which the Stone of Scone is composed; it is not currently believed the stones originated from connected quarry sites. It has also been identified as a whitish granitoid. Mythical origin There are several different, and conflicting, legends in Irish mythology describing how the is said to have been brought to Ireland.William Forbes Skene: The Coronation Stone. Edmonston & Douglas, 1869. p. 23 The Lebor Gabala, dating to the eleventh century, states that it was brought in antiquity by the semi-divine race known as the T ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Excalibur
Excalibur is the mythical sword of King Arthur that may possess magical powers or be associated with the rightful sovereignty of Britain. Its first reliably datable appearance is found in Geoffrey of Monmouth's ''Historia Regum Britanniae''. Excalibur as the "sword in the stone" functioning as the proof of Arthur's lineage is an iconic motif featured throughout most works dealing with Arthur's youth since its introduction in Robert de Boron's ''Merlin''. The sword given to the young Arthur by the Lady of the Lake in the tradition that began soon afterwards with the '' Post-Vulgate Cycle'' is not the same weapon, but in '' Le Morte d'Arthur'' both of them share the name of Excalibur. Several similar swords and other weapons also appear within Arthurian texts, as well as in other legends. Forms and etymology The name ''Excalibur'' ultimately derives from the Welsh ( Breton , Middle Cornish ), which is a compound of , , and , . Caledfwlch appears in several early Welsh wo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Merlin
The Multi-Element Radio Linked Interferometer Network (MERLIN) is an interferometer array of radio telescopes spread across England. The array is run from Jodrell Bank Observatory in Cheshire by the University of Manchester on behalf of UK Research and Innovation. The array consists of up to seven radio telescopes and includes the Lovell Telescope at Jodrell Bank, Mark II, Cambridge, Defford in Worcestershire, Knockin in Shropshire, and Darnhall and Pickmere (previously known as Tabley) in Cheshire. The longest baseline is therefore 217 km and MERLIN can operate at frequencies between 151 MHz and 24 GHz. At a wavelength of 6 cm (5 GHz frequency), MERLIN has a resolution of 40 milliarcseconds which is comparable to that of the HST at optical wavelengths. Some of the telescopes are occasionally used for European VLBI Network (EVN) and Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI) observations in order to create an interferometer with even larger ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nimuë
The Lady of the Lake (, , , , ) is a title used by multiple characters in the Matter of Britain, the body of medieval literature and mythology associated with the legend of King Arthur. As either actually fairy or fairy-like yet human enchantresses, they play important roles in various stories, notably by providing Arthur with the sword Excalibur, eliminating the wizard Merlin, raising the knight Lancelot after the death of his father, and helping to take the dying Arthur to Avalon after his final battle. Different Ladies of the Lake appear concurrently as separate characters in some versions of the legend since at least the Post-Vulgate Cycle and consequently the seminal ''Le Morte d'Arthur'', with the latter describing them as members of a hierarchical group, while some texts also give this title to either Morgan or her sister. Names and origins Today, the Lady of the Lake is best known as the character called either Nimue, or several scribal variants of Ninianne and Vivi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Guinevere
Guinevere ( ; ; , ), also often written in Modern English as Guenevere or Guenever, was, according to Arthurian legend, an early-medieval queen of Great Britain and the wife of King Arthur. First mentioned in literature in the early 12th century, nearly 700 years after the purported times of Arthur, Guinevere has since been portrayed as everything from a fatally flawed, villainous, and opportunistic traitor to a noble and virtuous lady. The variably told motif of abduction of Guinevere, or of her being rescued from some other peril, features recurrently and prominently in many versions of the legend. The earliest datable appearance of Guinevere is in Geoffrey of Monmouth's pseudo-historical British chronicle ''Historia Regum Britanniae'', in which she is seduced by Mordred during his ill-fated rebellion against Arthur. In a later medieval Arthurian romance tradition from France, a major story arc is the queen's tragic love affair with her husband's best knight and trusted f ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sir Kay
In Arthurian legend, Kay (, Middle Welsh ''Kei'' or ''Cei''; ; French: ''Keu''; Old French: ''Kès'' or ''Kex'') is King Arthur's foster brother and later seneschal, as well as one of the first Knights of the Round Table. In later literature he is known for his acid tongue and bullying, boorish behaviour, but in earlier accounts he was one of Arthur's premier warriors. Along with Bedivere, with whom he is frequently associated, Kay is one of the earliest characters associated with Arthur. Kay's father is called Sir Ector, Ector in later literature, but the Welsh accounts name him as Cynyr Ceinfarfog. Cai in Welsh tradition Cai or Cei is one of the earliest characters to be associated with the Arthurian mythology, appearing in a number of early Welsh texts, including ''Culhwch and Olwen, Culhwch ac Olwen'', ''Three Welsh Romances, Geraint fab Erbin'', ''Three Welsh Romances, Iarlles y Ffynnon'', ''Peredur fab Efrawg'', ''Breuddwyd Rhonabwy'', ''Pa gur, Pa Gur'', and the Welsh Tr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Geas
A ' or ' (pl. ') is an idiosyncratic taboo, whether of obligation or prohibition, similar to being under a vow or curse, yet the observance of which can also bring power and blessings. It is also used to mean specifically a spell prohibiting some action. ' are common in Irish and Scottish folklore and mythology, as well as in modern English-language fantasy fiction. The word originates in Old Irish, also known as Old Gaelic, and retains the same form in Modern Irish (nominative singular ' , nom. plural '' ''; genitive sg. ' , gen. pl. ' ). In modern Scottish Gaelic, the spelling has evolved in a slightly different direction (nom. sg. ' , nom. pl. ', gen. sg. ' or '). It has also been borrowed into English in both forms (sg. ''geas'' or ''geis'' or , pl. ''geasa'')). In Irish mythology A ' can be compared with a curse or, paradoxically, a gift. If someone under a ' violates the associated taboo, the infractor will suffer dishonor or even death. Conversely, the observing o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Caerleon
Caerleon ( ; ) is a town and Community (Wales), community in Newport, Wales. Situated on the River Usk, it lies northeast of Newport city centre, and southeast of Cwmbran. Caerleon is of archaeological importance, being the site of a notable Roman Empire, Roman legionary Castra, fortress, Isca Augusta, and an Iron Age hillfort. Close to the remains of Isca Augusta are the National Roman Legion Museum and the Roman Baths Museum. The town also has strong historical and literary associations: Geoffrey of Monmouth elevated the significance of Caerleon as a major centre of British history in his ''Historia Regum Britanniae'' (c. 1136), and Alfred Lord Tennyson wrote ''Idylls of the King'' (1859–1885) while staying in Caerleon. History Pre-Roman history The area around Caerleon is of considerable archaeological interest, with a number of important Neolithic sites. By the British Iron Age, Iron Age, the area was home to the powerful Silures tribe and appears to have been the centr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
