The link between shoes and good luck might have come from the tale of unofficial Saint John Schorne. He performed the remarkable feat of conjuring the #devil into his boot. 👢 This legend may have resulted in shoes being seen as spirit traps. 👻 After his death in 1313, Schorne’s legend became quite famous and was the second most popular pilgrimage in England, generating so much money it was appropriated by the Crown 👑 and moved to Windsor in the 15th century. Shorne’s legend is also thought to have led to the creation of the jack-in-the-box 🤡 – which is called ‘diable en boîte’ (‘boxed devil) in French. *Image: St Helen Gateley, Norfolk from Flickr, 15th century.
Tag Archives: England
Arbella Stuart & Divination
In Tudor times, divination and astrology were common practices and the casting of #horoscopes was taken very seriously. In a letter to her grandmother, Arbella Stuart (1575-1615), a claimant to Elizabeth I’s throne, mentions that she has enclosed her hair, which was cut on the “sixth day of the Moon”. This lunar precision was necessary as the hair was going to be used astrologically to cast a horoscope to foretell Arbella’s chances of becoming Queen of England.
Moonlight Lore
In some parts of Northern England it was thought that sleeping in moonlight could make you blind, cause birth defects or alter mental health. Many thatched cottages have extra thatch extensions projecting over upstairs windows to protect moonshine from falling on sleeping inhabitants. 🌚🌜
Blackthorn & Stone 