The Wanderer Anglo Saxon History, mythology, Folklore and religion

A person may use such force as is reasonable in the circumstances for the purposes of (in the alternative): -

In assessing the reasonableness of the force used, prosecutors should ask two questions:

The courts have indicated that both questions are to be answered on the basis of the facts as the accused honestly believed them to be (R v Williams (G) 78 Cr App R 276), (R. v Oatbridge, 94 Cr App R 367).

To that extent, it is a subjective test. There is, however, an objective element to the test. The jury must then go on to ask themselves whether, on the basis of the facts as the accused believed them to be, a reasonable person would regard the force used as reasonable or excessive.

It is important to bear in mind when assessing whether the force used was reasonable the words of Lord Morris in (Palmer v R 1971 AC 814);

"If there has been an attack so that self-defense is reasonably necessary, it will be recognised that a person defending himself cannot weigh to a nicety the exact measure of his defensive action. If the jury thought that in a moment of unexpected anguish a person attacked had only done what he honestly and instinctively thought necessary, that would be the most potent evidence that only reasonable defensive action had been taken ..."

The fact that an act was considered necessary does not mean that the resulting action was reasonable: (R v Clegg 1995 1 AC 482 HL). Where it is alleged that a person acted to defend himself/herself from violence, the extent to which the action taken was a necessary will, of course, be integral to the reasonableness of the force used.

In (R v O’Grady 85 Cr App R 315), it was held by the Court of Appeal that a defendant was not entitled to rely on, so far as self-defense is concerned, upon a mistake of fact that had been induced by voluntary intoxication.

A Choice of Anglo-Saxon Verse contains the Old English texts of all the major short poems, such as 'The Battle of Maldon', 'The Dream of the Rood', 'The Wanderer', and 'The Seafarer', as well as a generous representation of the many important fragments, riddles and gnomic verses that survive from the seventh to the twelfth centuries, with facing-page verse translations. These poems are the wellspring of the English poetic tradition, and this anthology provides a unique window into the mind and culture of the Anglo-Saxons.

Robin Hood was the legendary bandit of England who stole from the rich to help the poor. The stories about Robin appealed to common folk because he stood up against—and frequently outwitted—people in power. Furthermore, his life in the forest—hunting, and feasting with his fellow outlaws, coming to the assistance of those in need—seemed like a great and noble adventure.

Early Sources. The earliest known mention of Robin Hood is in William Langland's 1377 work called Piers Plowman, in which a character mentions that he knows "rimes of Robin Hood." This and other references from the late 1300s suggest that Robin Hood was well established as a popular legend by that time.

A collection of ballads about the outlaw Robin Hood, A Lytell Geste of Robin Hode, was published in England around 1489. From it and other medieval sources.

The Robin Hood ballads reflect the discontent of ordinary people with political conditions in medieval England. They were especially upset about new laws that kept them from hunting freely in forests that were now claimed as the property of kings and nobles. Social unrest and rebellion swirled through England at the time the Robin Hood ballads first became popular. This unrest erupted in an event called the Peasants' Revolt of 1381.

Tales of Robin Hood. One of the medieval ballads about Robin Hood involved Sir Guy of Gisborne. Robin and his comrade Little John had an argument and parted. While Little John was on his own, the Sheriff of Nottingham captured him and tied him to a tree. Robin ran into Sir Guy, who had sworn to slay the outlaw leader. When they each discovered the other's identity, they drew their swords and fought. Robin killed Sir Guy and put on his clothes.

Disguised as Sir Guy, Robin persuaded the sheriff to let him kill Little John, who was still tied to the tree. However, instead of slaying Little John, Robin freed him, and the two outlaws drove off the sheriff's men.

Another old story, known as Robin Hood and the Monk, also began with a quarrel between Robin and John. Robin went into Nottingham to attend church, but a monk recognized him and raised the alarm. Robin killed 12 people before he was captured.

When word of his capture reached Robin's comrades in the forest, they planned a rescue. As the monk passed by on his way to tell the king of Robin's capture, Little John and Much seized and beheaded him. John and Much, in disguise, visited the king in London and then returned to Nottingham bearing documents sealed with the royal seal. The sheriff, not recognizing them, welcomed the two men and treated them to a feast. That night Little John and Much killed Robin's jailer and set Robin free. By the time the sheriff realized what had happened, the three outlaws were safe in Sherwood Forest.

A 48‐line fragmentary poem in Old English dealing with part of the tragic tale of Finn and Hildeburh, a later part of which is sung by the scôp in Beowulf, II. 1,063–1,159. The fragment is included by F. Klaeber in his edition of Beowulf (1922, etc.) and in other editions. 

The fragment of the Finnsburh poem and the Finnsburh reference in Beowulf somewhat overlap. The song sung during the celebration at Heorot follows the events described in the poem. This overlap in narratives is one reason why these two works are studied together.

The original manuscript of the Fight at Finnsburh is now lost, but it is known to have existed on a single leaf in the Lambeth Palace Library, page 489. The text was published in a transcription made by George Hikes in 1705.

The Fight at Finnsburh is an example of a typical Germanic `heroic lay' describing warriors' deeds in battle and the speeches of significant warriors during the battle. The poem resembles others of the same genre such as The Battle of Maldon and is quite different from the epic form of Beowulf.

Beowulf is the only poem that associates the parties involved as Danes and Frisians.

Welund tasted misery among snakes. The stout-hearted hero endured troubles had sorrow and longing as his companion's cruelty cold as winter - he often found woe Once Nidud laid restraints on him, supple sinew-bonds on the better man. That went by; so can this.

This episode of the Wanderer has David Casserly as a guest. 

David Casserly was born and brought up in Bolton where he still lives. His first book "Massacre, The Storming of Bolton" published in 2011, came after a lifelong fascination with the subject and in learning the facts behind the story.

He is a guest speaker for Blackpool and Fylde College on their history degree program and works for Lancashire Museum Service as an Arms and Armour specialist on events. He is a qualified instructor under the British Federation of Historical Swordplay, a member of Acadamie Gloriana, an English Martial Arts Group, and is a Fellow of the Anglo-Zulu War Historical Society.

Mead was a very important part of a heathens civilization and culture. It helps define their leisure time and identity as a people and thus gets a prominent role in their stories and myths. Mead is no different from the Northern peoples during the Viking age. So important, in fact, that they use the drink as essentially a metaphor for how the inspiration for creative endeavors possesses people. The Mead of Poetry is a mythical beverage that causes its drinker to gain great wisdom, to the point of being able to recite any information or answer any question. There’s a whole myth devoted to its creation and the aftermath of such a valuable treasure existing.

I accidentally left a few mistakes in the audio, because I have a new setup, I'll make sure that doesn't happen again.

Woden was a war god, and he appeared in heroic literature as the protector of heroes; fallen warriors joined him in Valhalla. The wolf and the raven were dedicated to him. His magical horse, Sleipnir had eight legs, teeth inscribed with runes, and the ability to gallop through the air and over the sea. Woden was the great magician among the gods and was associated with runes. He was also the god of poets. In outward appearance he was a tall, old man, with flowing beard and only one eye (the other he gave in exchange for wisdom). He was usually depicted wearing a cloak and a wide-brimmed hat and carrying a spear.

In this story, we see him as a creator god

This episode is very short, but It is a fun episode that talks about the Teutonic Knights fighting the Undead, This article is presented as fact from the sources I read. It is clearly complete fantasy but it was a great read. Unfortunately, I can no longer find this information on the internet.

But I hope you enjoy the episode.

This episode is a short talk about the quarterstaff, it discusses some of the histories of the staff, and some of the people that used the staff as a weapon of defense.

The name "quarterstaff" is first attested in the mid-16th century. 

George Silver, an English Gentleman, and Maister of the English martial arts who wrote two books (1599, 1605) including lengthy sections on staff fighting uses the term "short staff"  Joseph Swetnam, writing in 1615, distinguishes between the "quarterstaff" of 7 or 8 feet (2.1 or 2.4 m) in length and the "long staff" of 12 feet (3.7 m).[3]