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Continuing the fairy theme from last week, I'm sure you know that the rulers of the fairies in A Midsummer Night's Dream are Oberon and Titania. But what was Shakespeare's own source for these characters? Well, "Oberon" is a French variation on the Germanic name "Alberich," which translates as "king of the elves." Alberich was a dwarf (the ( Read more... )

The date of Midsummer varies somewhat from one country to another, but in the United Kingdom and some other countries, it was the twenty-fourth of June. A few days off from the solstice, to be sure, but so was the Sol Invictus (and, hence, Christmas). Or maybe the solstice dates changed somewhat over the centuries? I think I've seen both ( Read more... )

Well, summer is, as they say, icumen in. I believe the actual solstice is tomorrow, but I'm not sure it really matters in the modern United States, where businesses usually use Memorial Day as the beginning of the season. But for the English of the Middle Ages, the beginning of summer was May Day, and Midsummer's Eve was celebrated on the night ( Read more... )