White Rose of Avalon

Britain

  • Vivienne or Nimue: By Any Name the Enchantress of Merlin

    For this weeks’ Femme Fatale Friday I have chosen to take a brief look at the deadly aspect of Vivienne, or Nimue, the Lady of the Lake that became the undoing of Merlin!    No matter which of her many names you call her by, it is evident that in several versions of the Arthurian…

  • The Influence of the Mabinogion and Arthurian Legends

    For today’s post I would like to take a brief look at how the tales of the Mabinogion became influential to later tellings of Arthurian legends, inspired real monarchs (especially during the Wars of the Roses), and how those historical monarchs inspired more modern fantasy (namely Game of Thrones, or in book form A Song…

  • Elizabeth Woodville and Anne Boleyn Parallels

    For today’s post I would like to look at some of the parallels between the stories of Elizabeth Woodville and Anne Boleyn!    I have written about both of these queens multiple times, and I thought looking at them both would be an interesting post.    Elizabeth Woodville was the first “commoner” queen of England. …

  • Elizabeth Woodville as Manipulative Vixen

    For this week’s Femme Fatale Friday here at White Rose of Avalon I have chosen to look as the negative rumors spread about Elizabeth Woodville!    I have spoken about her love story with her King Edward IV before.   Earlier this week I wrote a comparison between her and Guinevere.   Given that the…

  • The Elizabeth Woodville and Guinevere Connection

    For today’s post I would like to discuss the connection between the legendary figure of Guinevere and the real queen Elizabeth Woodville!    This may seem a bit far fetched, but given the prevalence of Arthurian legends during the medieval period, many real royals would take inspiration from these legends.    Elizabeth Woodville’s daughter and…

  • The White Rabbit

    For today’s post, I would like to take a brief look at the figure of the White Rabbit from Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll.    This Victorian era fairytale is one of the most iconic children’s books to ever be published.   Alice entered Wonderland through falling down a rabbit hole after chasing…

  • The Taming of the Shrew

    Today I would like to discuss one of my favorite comedic plays by Shakespeare.    Now, I love Shakespeare in general, so it makes it difficult to choose favorites sometimes.    That being said, I have always ranked The Taming of the Shrew high on my list!    In particular with this post I will…

  • Birds as Emblems of Goddesses

    For today’s post I have chosen to discuss the birds that are sacred to my four favorite goddesses!    These goddesses are Aphrodite (Venus), Freya, Rhiannon, and Blodeuwedd!   All of these goddesses have bird associations, that make birds sacred to them in some way. First I would like to look at Aphrodite.  The Greek…

  • Faeries of Dark and Light

    Faeries, the Fair Folk, the Wee Ones, the Fae, there are literally thousands of ways to name these magical beings.     There are just as many, if not more, species of faerie beings.    Today they are most often thought of in terms of sweet flower faeries and pixies (like Tinkerbell).    This is…

  • The White Falcon

    Today I would like to discuss Anne Boleyn’s coronation song.    On Sunday June 1, 1533 Anne Boleyn was coronated Queen of England.   Her coronation ballad was titled The White Falcon, and was written to honor her new role as queen.    It was a time that Anne Boleyn and Henry VIII were at…