Legend tells that somewhere off the coast of Ireland there was an island, always covered by intense fog and only seen on very rare occasions. Every seven years the fog would fade away, revealing this fabulous land. Mountains, green fields and a glowing city were briefly visible. This Celtic land was the home of fairies, … Read more
The inspiration for the painting was a ballad or poem ‘Hellalyle and Hildebrand’ that appeared in ‘A second batch of Danish ballads’ translated by Whitley Stokes from Danske Viser, vol. iii, 353, published in Fraser’s Magazine 51 (January–June 1855), pp 88–9. Whitley was the son of Burton’s friend William Stokes, and his note accompanying the … Read more
What is the origin of the word ‘brasil’? In my homeland, Brazil, it seems that everyone knows the answer. Following the definition of the German naturalist Alexander von Humboldt, it comes from brasa and is associated with the reddish colour of brazilwood (pau-brasil in Portuguese), a dyewood tree commonly found along the Atlantic coast of … Read more
Whitley Stokes’s translation into English of the Danish ballad describes the heroine Hellelil, who is actively involved in her downfall, the loss of her chastity, and the death of both her lover and herself. The poem tells of how her ‘father gave me a glorious guard: twelve noble knights were my watch and ward’. Hellelil … Read more
If the modern domesticated potato were to return to the Andes to seek out its roots (sic), it might find itself in company as alien and unrecognisable as the Irish-American who visits deepest Kerry in search of long-lost kin. The fresh-faced, pale and uninteresting new potato would consider its South American relations alarmingly odd—some purple-skinned, … Read more