White Rose of Avalon

Maranda Wabik

  • Dionysus

    The ancient Greek God Dionysus was the god of wine, revelry, and madness!   The Roman name of this god was Bacchus.    This party hardy deity had a huge cult following all through the ancient world.   There are several unique things about this particular god.    He is the only god of Olympus…

  • Happy Dionysia!

    In honor of the ancient Festival of Dionysia, which took place in Spring in ancient Greece, likely in March, I am declaring this week Dionysus Week at White Rose of Avalon!   Stay tuned daily for blog posts that focus on the life, loves, and world of this god of wine, revelry, and madness.   …

  • Royal Mistresses

    Monarchs throughout time have taken mistresses to satisfy their desires.   Especially French kings had special places at court for their mistresses.   There was in fact a particular title in the French royal court for a king’s mistress.   The king’s official mistress is known best by the original French term, maitresse-en-titre.    One…

  • Guinevere and Isolde

    The tales of legendary queens Guinevere and Isolde are very similar in many ways.    Both of these woman were in love triangles where they fell in love with knights that served their husbands.   Both were willing to risk their very lives for the love that consumed them.   Both were nearly burned at…

  • Courtly Love

    The dynamics of courtly love, and the so called games of courtly love were very specific.    The ideation of courtly ideals was incredibly popular throughout Europe in the medieval period.    This usage of courtly love ideals carried over into the Tudor age.    Anne Boleyn, for example, was well versed in the art…

  • The Chivalric Code

    The medieval code of chivalry is something that was developed and followed by royal knights and kings during the middle ages.   There were several tenets of the code of chivalry. The code of chivalry as listed on medieval-life-and-times.info is as listed below: To fear God and maintain His Church To serve the liege lord…

  • Lady Godiva

    Lady Godiva was a noblewoman in Coventry in the eleventh century.    She was famous for being fervently opposed to her husband’s taxation of the citizens.   Being a woman in her era meant that she was not likely to be heard by her husband in matters of state.    So she famously took extreme…

  • Medieval Poetry

    Medieval poetry is a type of literature that was inspired by the legends that were popular at the time.   The medieval period was the time of the epic poem.    The Canterbury Tales, The Decameron, and The Romance of the Rose are examples of this poetry.   The Lais of Marie de France was…

  • Rumpelstiltzkin

    The tale of the faerie man called Rumpelstiltzkin is one of a man who can turn straw into gold.   He came to the aide of a young woman who was tasked with turning straw into gold by a king.   Since she was a simple miller’s daughter she was willing to give up anything…

  • Fairytale Re-Imaginings

    Today I want to discuss the multitude of fairytale re-imaginings that have become so popular in the last decade.   The major surge in re-imaginings in my opinion began with Once Upon a Time in 2011.    Also in 2011 the film version of the novel Beastly came out.   In 2014 Maleficent turned the…