Origins of Saint Nicholas The jolly man in the red and white who brings children presents every Christmas Eve in his sleigh pulled by reindeer is the result of hundreds of years of stories, legends, tradition and marketing campaigns. The ‘real’ Father Christmas hasn’t been completely forgotten, with popular culture even referring to him as …more
Category: Medieval
Festive Finds: PAS Christmas Countdown #3
STAG HARNESS PENDANT Reindeer and Christmas. The two words are so entwined and seem to fit together perfectly but reindeer haven’t always been associated with Christmas, so why are they today? In early versions of the legend, Santa Claus rode a white horse to deliver presents, but as the Saint Nicolas myth merged with local …more
Festive Finds: PAS Christmas Countdown #1
THE ANNUNCIATION Christmas celebrates the birth of Christ as told in the Nativity, with a key scene being when the angel Gabriel tells Mary that she will give birth to the son of God. This is known as the Annunciation and is mentioned in the Bible, the Dead Sea scrolls and the Qur’an; In Islam Jesus …more
‘Beyond the Vale of York’ conference – Saturday 11th July, York
On Saturday 11th July a fascinating day conference on coin hoarding will take place in York. The joint meeting of the Royal Numismatic Society and the British Numismatic Society will discuss hoarding from the Iron Age all the way through to the Stuart kings of the 17th century. Proceedings will start at 10.20am at the …more
Magna Carta and Fulk FitzWarin
This week it’s the 800th anniversary of the sealing of Magna Carta in 1215 by King John. Magna Carta is the most famous of a series of agreements between kings and barons which limited the power of the kings. It includes things that are still important today, such as taxation needing the consent of the …more
King John and Magna Carta
In the week marking the 800th anniversary of the signing of the Magna Carta it is interesting to consider this landmark in archaeological terms. Notably, the current British Library exhibition Magna Carta: Law, Liberty, Legacy features very few archaeological artefacts, many of which are dated after the events of 1215. This must be in part due …more
