{"version":"1.0","type":"rich","provider_name":"Acast","provider_url":"https://acast.com","height":250,"width":700,"html":"<iframe src=\"https://embed.acast.com/$/65a28c429ba8e30016dff20e/697f33e4db08d05cf6bcc39c?\" frameBorder=\"0\" width=\"700\" height=\"250\"></iframe>","title":"Arthurian Tales of Darkness and Valour ~ with scholar, storyteller and author Simon Heywood","description":"<p><strong>On this full snow moon, Tom Muir has a fascinating fireside chat with Simon Heywood, Doctor of Philosophy and Senior Lecturer at University of Derby, who is also an authority on Arthurian stories and an elegant storyteller. </strong></p><p><br></p><p><strong><em>If you're inspired to do so, you can buy us a dram on Ko-fi, with our hearty thanks: </em></strong><a href=\"https://ko-fi.com/orkneyology\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\"><strong><em>https://ko-fi.com/orkneyology</em></strong></a></p><p><br></p><p><strong>Join the conversation to find out such things as ...</strong></p><p><br></p><ul><li><strong><em>Who was King Arthur? Was he a real person?</em></strong></li><li><strong><em>The time when the English were unwelcome invaders who came into Britain by boat (ironically)</em></strong></li><li><strong><em>What was the first written account of Arthur and his court?</em></strong></li><li><strong><em>King Arthur, the national hero of Wales</em></strong></li><li><strong><em>The French connection: where did Lancelot come from?</em></strong></li><li><strong><em>Was Arthur an \"English\" king?</em></strong></li><li><strong><em>What if such a magical thing as an honourable king really did happen?</em></strong></li><li><strong><em>The tragedy when those trying to do right fail</em></strong></li><li><strong><em>Cornwall and King Arthur</em></strong></li><li><strong><em>The return of the king</em></strong></li><li><strong><em>Glastonbury and Avalon</em></strong></li><li><strong><em>The Holy Grail and the Spear of Destiny</em></strong></li><li><strong><em>The dark genius behind Arthur: Merlin and his terrible crimes</em></strong></li><li><strong><em>Tennyson's act of evasion in his Arthurian vision, and how he was made a \"freeman\" of Kirkwall</em></strong></li><li><strong><em>Vortigern's last stand; who keeps tearing down his tower? The story of the two drgons of Wales</em></strong></li><li><strong><em>The sword in the stone - is it Excalibur?</em></strong></li><li><strong><em>Morgan leFay</em></strong></li><li><strong><em>Lot (Earl Lyot of Orkney?) and his wife, the powerful Morgause; Lot's sons, knights of the Round Table</em></strong></li><li><strong><em>The moving circle of stones at Stonehenge</em></strong></li><li><strong><em>Are any of the details based in historical fact?</em></strong></li><li><strong><em>Camelot and Guinevere</em></strong></li><li><strong><em>Mordred the \"monster\"</em></strong></li><li><strong><em>Arthur's birth and the Questing Beast</em></strong></li><li><strong><em>Who is in the boat, coming to fetch the wounded Arthur to take him to Avalon?</em></strong></li></ul><p><br></p><p><strong><em>About Simon: </em></strong><a href=\"https://shonaleigh.uk/about/simon-heywood/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\"><strong><em>https://shonaleigh.uk/about/simon-heywood/</em></strong></a></p><p><strong><em>Simon's books:</em></strong><a href=\" https://www.waterstones.com/author/simon-heywood/1465389\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\"><strong><em> https://www.waterstones.com/author/simon-heywood/1465389</em></strong></a></p>","author_name":"Tom Muir and Rhonda Muir"}