Season 5 begins with Born of Fire. For this season we are diving into the medieval Bestiaries to discover the strange and familiar creatures that lie within its pages. In this episode we’re exploring the creatures that are associated with fire, with the main focus being that well-loved and feared mythical creature, the dragon.

There are some dark folkloric characters explored in this podcast and so, as always, I would recommend that you should listen through first before listening with younger members of your household.

For more folklore and stories, you can subscribe to my Substack newsletter. Just hop over to the Substack site and search for Cerridwen’s Cauldron or use the link in the show notes. You can upgrade to paid for just £5 a month to access extended episodes in the archives, extras and for this season, an exclusive monthly podcast for subscribers called The Story Forecast.

Signing up as a paid or free subscriber is much appreciated and helps to support the podcast and my work with folklore and story.

As always you can find me via the following channels:

www.facebook.com/ddstoryteller

www.instagram.com/thebarddawn

References:

Barber, Richard (1993) Bestiary MS Bodley 764, The Boydell Press, Woodbridge

Beowulf in Old English - https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/43521/beowulf-old-english-version

Bilingual Beowulf, translator unknown - https://www.mit.edu/~jrising/webres/beowulf.pdf

Borges, Jorge Luis, (2002) The Book Of Imaginary Beings, Vintage

Of Dragons and Diminutive Elephants by Riley Black (Accessed 2024) https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/of-dragon-diets-and-diminutive-elephants

Remedies Derived From The Dragon – (accessed 2024) http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.02.0137%3Abook%3D29%3Achapter%3D20

The Medieval Bestiary: Dragon – (accessed 2024) https://bestiary.ca/beasts/beastsource262.htm

Videen, Hana (2021) The word Hord: Daily Life in Old English, Profile Books

Music & Sound Effects

Midnight Tale by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) licensed under Creative Commons: Attribution 4.0 license http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Sound Effects via www.orangefreesounds.com

Season 5 begins with Born of Fire. For this season we are diving into the medieval Bestiaries to discover the strange and familiar creatures that lie within its pages. In this episode we’re exploring the creatures that are associated with fire, with the main focus being that well-loved and feared mythical creature, the dragon.

There are some dark folkloric characters explored in this podcast and so, as always, I would recommend that you should listen through first before listening with younger members of your household.

For more folklore and stories, you can subscribe to my Substack newsletter. Just hop over to the Substack site and search for Cerridwen’s Cauldron or use the link in the show notes. You can upgrade to paid for just £5 a month to access extended episodes in the archives, extras and for this season, an exclusive monthly podcast for subscribers called The Story Forecast.

Signing up as a paid or free subscriber is much appreciated and helps to support the podcast and my work with folklore and story.

As always you can find me via the following channels:

www.facebook.com/ddstoryteller

www.instagram.com/thebarddawn

References:

Barber, Richard (1993) Bestiary MS Bodley 764, The Boydell Press, Woodbridge

Beowulf in Old English - https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/43521/beowulf-old-english-version

Bilingual Beowulf, translator unknown - https://www.mit.edu/~jrising/webres/beowulf.pdf

Borges, Jorge Luis, (2002) The Book Of Imaginary Beings, Vintage

Of Dragons and Diminutive Elephants by Riley Black (Accessed 2024) https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/of-dragon-diets-and-diminutive-elephants

Remedies Derived From The Dragon – (accessed 2024) http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.02.0137%3Abook%3D29%3Achapter%3D20

The Medieval Bestiary: Dragon – (accessed 2024) https://bestiary.ca/beasts/beastsource262.htm

Videen, Hana (2021) The word Hord: Daily Life in Old English, Profile Books

Music & Sound Effects

Midnight Tale by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) licensed under Creative Commons: Attribution 4.0 license http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Sound Effects via www.orangefreesounds.com

Season 4 concludes with Episode 7 – Fleeing Food. In this episode we’re exploring some of the folklore, nature and stories surrounding tales of runaway gingerbread men, pancakes and bannock breads.

There are some dark folkloric characters explored in this podcast and so, as always, I would recommend that you should listen through first before listening with younger members of your household.

For more folklore and stories and an archive of up to 100 posts exclusively for paid subscribers, you can subscribe to my ‘Substack, Cerridwen’s Cauldron’. Just hop over to Substack and search for Cerridwen’s Cauldron or use the link in the show notes and you upgrade to paid for just £5 a month for an extra dose of wild storytelling to your inbox.

As always you can find me via the following channels:

www.facebook.com/ddstoryteller

www.instagram.com/dd_storyeller

References

Books:

Beeton, Isobella, (1994) Mrs Beeton's Book of Cookery and Household Management, Orion, revised edition.

Zipes, Jack, (2014) The Original Folk and Fairy Tales of the Brothers Grimm: The Complete First Edition, Princeton University Press.

Asbjorsen & Moe, (2013) East of the Sun and West of the Moon - Old Tales from the North, Pook Press.

Websites:

The Gingerbread Man and Other Runaway Foods

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/the-gingerbread-man-and-other-runaway-foods-2255339/The Runaway Pancake – ATU 2025 list - https://sites.pitt.edu/~dash/type2025.html

Season 4 continues with Episode 6 – The Bells, The Bells. In this episode we’re exploring some of the folklore, nature and stories surrounding church bells.

There are sometimes dark folkloric characters explored in this podcast and so, as always, I would recommend that you should listen through first before listening with younger members of your household.

For more folklore and stories and podcast extras, you can subscribe to my ‘Substack, Cerridwen’s Cauldron’. Just hop over to Substack and search for Cerridwen’s Cauldron or use the link in the show notes and you upgrade to paid for just £5 a month for an extra dose of wild storytelling to your inbox.

As always you can find me via the following channels:

www.facebook.com/ddstoryteller

www.instagram.com/dd_storyeller

References:

Books:

Ashe, Geoffrey et al (1973), Folklore Myths and Legends Of Britain, Readers Digest

Westwood & Simpson (2005) The Lore Of The Land, Penguin Books

Schneidau, Lisa (2022) River Folk Tales, The History Press

Online:

St Clements Bells ringing -

The Bells The Bells - https://literature.stackexchange.com/questions/23549/origin-of-the-bells-the-bells-quote

For Whom The Bell Tolls by John Donne - https://allpoetry.com/For-whom-the-Bell-Tolls

Folklore Thursday – Folklore of Bells - Folklore Thursday - https://folklorethursday.com/folklife/the-folklore-of-bells/

Superstition – Fun With Bells - https://funwithbells.com/episode/superstition

Church Bell Ringing Explained - https://restless.co.uk/leisure-and-lifestyle/art-and-culture/church-bell-ringing-explained/

Method Names - https://www.treblesgoing.org.uk/methodringing.html#

Bosham bell - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bosham#:~:text=There%20is%20a%20legend%20that,joined%20in%2C%20destroying%20the%20ship.

https://www.1066.co.nz/Mosaic%20DVD/text/buildings/boshamchurch.htm

Forrabury Bells - https://sacred-texts.com/neu/eng/prwe/prwe305.htm

Season 4 continues with Episode 5 – Castle Dwellers. In this episode we’re exploring some of the folklore, nature and stories surrounding castle ruins.

There are some dark folkloric characters explored in this podcast and so, as always, I would recommend that you should listen through first before listening with younger members of your household.

For more folklore and stories and podcast extras, you can subscribe to my ‘Substack, Cerridwen’s Cauldron’. Just hop over to Substack and search for Cerridwen’s Cauldron or use the link in the show notes and you upgrade to paid for just £5 a month for an extra dose of wild storytelling to your inbox.

As always you can find me via the following channels:

www.facebook.com/ddstoryteller

www.instagram.com/dd_storyeller

References:

Books:

Ashe, Geoffrey et al (1973), Folklore Myths and Legends Of Britain, Readers Digest

Henderson, William (1879). Folklore of the Northern Counties of England and the Borders (2nd ed.) W. Satchell, Peyton & Co

Jeffs, Amy (2023) Storyland: A New Mythology of Britain, Quercus Publishing

Westwood & Simpson (2005) The Lore Of The Land, Penguin Books

Online:

The Princes In The Tower - https://www.hrp.org.uk/tower-of-london/history-and-stories/the-princes-in-the-tower/#gs.5115me

The Ravens - https://www.hrp.org.uk/tower-of-london/whats-on/the-ravens/#gs.511dzx

Caring For Our Raven – Includes Munin’s escape story -

Welsh Myth Takes Wing –

https://www.theguardian.com/theguardian/2004/nov/20/guardianletters2

Sussex Giants - http://www.sussexarch.org.uk/saaf/giants.html

Mythical Creatures – Episode 4 - Redcaps - https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m001tj0y

Last Tuesday Society Lecture – 25th January 2024 – John Clark – Gog & Magog -

https://www.thelasttuesdaysociety.org

Season 4 continues with Episode 4 – ‘Persephone’s Pomegranate’. In this episode we’re exploring the folklore, nature and stories of the underworld.

On occasion there are dark folkloric characters explored in this podcast and so, as always, I would recommend that you should listen through first before listening with younger members of your household.

For more folklore, stories and podcast extras, you can subscribe to my Substack, ‘Cerridwen’s Cauldron’. Just hop over to Substack and search for Cerridwen’s Cauldron or use the link in the show notes and you upgrade to paid for just £5 a month for an extra dose of wild storytelling to your inbox.

As always you can find me via the following channels:

www.facebook.com/ddstoryteller

www.instagram.com/dd_storyeller

References:

Haynes, Natalie (2023) Divine Might 

Nelson, Dawn - Online and Live Events - www.ddstoryteller.co.uk/events.

Stephens, G Arbour, Folklore Volume 46 Issue 2, (1935) - Was Dozmare Pool a Celtic Lake of the Underworld? https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/0015587X.1935.9718597

5 Things You Didn’t Know About Pomegranates - https://www.kew.org/read-and-watch/surprising-pomegranate-facts#:~:text=In%20Greek%20mythology%2C%20the%20pomegranate,myth%20of%20Hades%20and%20Persephone.

Ancient and Veteran Churchyard Trees - https://www.caringforgodsacre.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/ANCIENT-YEW.pdf

King Arthur’s Adventures In The Underworld By Jon Kaneko-James   - https://www.spookyisles.com/king-arthur-underworld/

The Nine Worlds Helheim - https://norse-mythology.org/cosmology/the-nine-worlds/helheim/

Merry Met One And All,

Today was my last full day of storytelling before the festivities of the season commence. It is also the winter solstice, traditionally celebrated between the 21st and 23rd of December, a chance to pause and honour the shortest day of the year and the coming light.

I’m sharing a minute of quietude with you this evening. This is a moment I had whilst I prepared for storytelling sessions at The Weald & Downland Living Museum, a place and space I’m incredibly grateful to tell in.

Tomorrow is the shortest day and from that point forward the days will gradually get longer. Imperceptible at first but gathering momentum until we eventually reach the vernal equinox, when balance returns once more.

Take a moment to pause with the fire and the flickering flame of the parafin lamp as we welcome the return of the light this solstice.

Blessed be and a merry winter solstice to all

Season 4 continues with Episode 3 – Wise Old Salmon. In this episode we’re exploring the folklore, nature and stories of the ever resilient and persevering salmon.

The myth at the end of this episode is dark folks, there is nothing gentle about The Binding Of Loki so, as always, I would recommend that you should listen through first before listening with younger members of your household.

For more folklore and stories and podcast extras, you can subscribe to my ‘Substack, Cerridwen’s Cauldron’. Just hop over to Substack and search for Cerridwen’s Cauldron or use the link in the show notes and you upgrade to paid for just £5 a month for an extra dose of wild storytelling to your inbox.

As always you can find me via the following channels:

www.facebook.com/ddstoryteller

www.instagram.com/dd_storyeller

References

Books

Readers Digest, (1973) Folklore Myths And Legends Of Britain.

Thompson, Siolo, (2021) Winterseer Animal Companion Oracle, Llewellyn.

Westwood, Jennifer & Kingshill, Sophia (1988) The Fabled Coast: Legends & Traditions From Aroudn The Shores Of Britain and Ireland, Random House Books.

Westwood, Jennifer & Kingshill, Sophia (2011) The Lore of Scotland, Arrow Books.

Westwood, Jennifer (1987) Albion: A Guide To Legendary Britain, Paladin.

Websites:

Salmon Mythology & Foklore - https://treesforlife.org.uk/into-the-forest/trees-plants-animals/others/salmon/salmon-mythology-and-folklore/#:~:text=The%20Celts%20associated%20the%20salmon,it%2C%20thereby%20gaining%20all%20knowledge.

Salmon Folklore - https://thenestcollective.co.uk/salmon-folklore/

Salmon - https://www.cambrianwildwood.org/species/salmon/

New report warns of threat to small salmon populations -

https://naturalresources.wales/about-us/news-and-blogs/news/new-report-warns-of-threat-to-small-salmon-populations/?lang=en#:~:text=“Climate%20change%20is%20the%20most,survival%20in%20many%20Welsh%20rivers.

The Missing salmon - https://oceanographicmagazine.com/features/missing-salmon-alliance/

DD Storyteller on YouTube - www.youtube.com/ddstoryteller

Music Attribution:

Intro & Outro Music: Midnight Tale by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) licensed under Creative Commons: Attribution 4.0 license http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Incidental Music – Celtic Ambient Loop via Pixabay.

It’s back! Season 4 continues with Episode 2 – Strawberries Fair - and in this episode I’m exploring the folklore of the humble strawberry, both wild and propagated with lashings of cream and perhaps a scone or two.

Podcast extras for paid subscribers can be found in the tab at the top of this Substack. The extras for this episode include: a recipe for Strawberry Salsa which we have been eating lots of in our household recently, a short audio which is a whistle stop tour of some of my favourite story collectors of which the Grimm Brothers are one, a written version of the folklore included in this podcast and a link to a Spotify playlist which includes a variety of strawberry themed music.

On occasion there are dark folkloric characters explored in this podcast and so, as always, I would recommend that you should listen through first before listening with younger members of your household.

For more folklore and stories and podcast extras, you can subscribe to my ‘Substack, Cerridwen’s Cauldron’. Just hop over to Substack and search for Cerridwen’s Cauldron or use the link in the show notes and you upgrade to paid for just £5 a month for an extra dose of wild storytelling to your inbox.

As always you can find me via the following channels:

www.facebook.com/ddstoryteller

www.instagram.com/dd_storyeller

References

Books

Baker, Margaret (2018) Discovering The Folklore Of Plants, Shire Publications Ltd

Dent, Susie, (2018) Brewers Dictionary Of Phrase & Fable.

Nozedar, Adele (2010) The Illustrated Signs & Symbols Sourcebook: An A to Z Compendium Of Over 1000 Designs, Harper Thorsons, London.

Nozedar, Adele (2012) The Hedgerow Handbook: Recipes, Remedies & Rituals, Square Peg.

Mabey, Richard (1986), The Journals Of Gilbert White (1751-1773) Volume 1 edited by Francesca Greenoak, Century Hudson Ltd.

Wright, John (2020) The Foragers Calendar, Profile Books

Websites:

Cwmffrwd Farm Campsite - https://www.thewildofthewords.co.uk/cwmffrwdfarm

Highland Titles - https://www.highlandtitles.com/blog/clan-fraser-scotland

From the Pulpit: Strawberries and a fruitful faith -

https://eu.argusleader.com/story/news/2015/06/06/pulpit-strawberries-fruitful-faith/28373763/#

Heironymous Bosch, Garden Of Earthly Delights via Museo Del Prado. https://www.museodelprado.es/en/the-collection/art-work/the-garden-of-earthly-delights-triptych/02388242-6d6a-4e9e-a992-e1311eab3609?searchid=d094b55c-c9ff-a7d7-90f8-727dbbe2b8f1

The Garden’s Trust - https://thegardenstrust.blog/2017/05/20/saints-sinners-sex-and-strawberries/

The Story Of The Strawberry - https://www.historyworkshop.org.uk/food/the-story-of-the-strawberry

Strawberries: The Fruits Of Love - https://mythcrafts.com/2019/07/25/strawberries-the-fruits-of-love/

Music Attribution:

Intro & Outro Music: Midnight Tale by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) licensed under Creative Commons: Attribution 4.0 license http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Incidental Music – Celtic Ambient Loop via Pixabay.

Welcome to Season 4 and the first theme for this season is ‘The Horned Gods’. In this episode I explore the prince of the forest, the stag and its associated folklore, gods and mythology. 

On occasion there are dark folkloric characters explored in this podcast and so, as always,  I would recommend that you should listen through first before listening with younger members of your household.

To 'Rewild Yourself Through Story', join me on patreon for digital zines, a book club, audio stories, previews, earlier extended versions of this podcast and online workshop.

www.patreon.com/ddstoryteller

For more stories woven with folklore and the old ways you can find me via the following channels:

www.facebook.com/ddstoryteller

www.instagram.com/dd_storyeller

References

Books

Barber, Richard (1992) Bestiary: MS Bodley 764, The Folio Society

Borges, Jorge Luis, (2002) The Book Of Imaginary Beings, Vintage Books, London

Dent, Susie, (2018) Brewers Dictionary Of Phrase & Fable.

Monaghan, Patricia, (2014) Encyclopedia of Goddesses & Heroines, New World Library, California. 

Nozedar, Adele (2010) The Illustrated Signs & Symbols Sourcebook: An A to Z Compendium Of Over 1000 Designs, Harper Thorsons, London.

Russell et al (1973), Folklore. Myths & Legends Of Britain, Reader’s Digest.

Websites:

Forest law by Jane Winters, Institute of Historical Research

 https://earlyenglishlaws.ac.uk/reference/essays/forest-law/

Commoners & Commoning https://www.new-forest-national-park.com/commoners-commoning/

Deer Species - The British Deer Society https://bds.org.uk/information-advice/about-deer/deer-species/

Gundestrup caldron - https://www.britannica.com/topic/Gundestrup-Caldron

Cernunnos - https://www.britannica.com/topic/Cernunnos

The Legend of Sadhbh - https://stairnaheireann.net/2016/03/17/the-legend-of-sadhbh/

Deer Mythology & Folklore - https://treesforlife.org.uk/into-the-forest/trees-plants-animals/mammals/deer/deer-mythology-and-folklore/

Black Spot - Netflix - https://www.netflix.com/gb/title/81079046

Music Attribution:

Intro & Outro Music: Midnight Tale by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) licensed under Creative Commons: Attribution 4.0 license http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/