Twilight of the Godlings
Throughout the recorded history of Britain, belief in earthbound spirits presiding over nature, the home and human destiny has been a feature of successive cultures.
From the localised deities of Britannia to the Anglo-Saxons’ elves and the fairies of late medieval England, Britain’s godlings have populated a shadowy, secretive realm of ritual and belief running parallel to authorised religion.
Bio
Francis Young, author of the acclaimed Twilight of the Godlings, will take us deep into the elusive history of these supernatural beings, tracing their evolution from the pre-Roman Iron Age to the end of the Middle Ages.
Arguing that accreted cultural assumptions must be cast aside in order to understand the godlings – including the cherished idea that these folkloric creatures are the decayed remnants of pagan gods and goddesses – this bold, revisionist lecture traces Britain’s ‘small gods’ to a popular religiosity influenced by classical learning. It offers an exciting new way of grasping the island’s most mysterious mythical inhabitants.
Francis Young studied Philosophy at Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge and Classics at University of Wales, Lampeter before receiving his doctorate in History from Cambridge University. He is a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society and regularly appears on BBC radio.
don’t worry if you miss it – we will send you a recording valid for two weeks the next day
