It would be trite indeed for me to write that mountains loom large in human history. Yet at the same time it must be acknowledged that they do play a remarkable role in the myths and histories we have repeated for millennia.
Just what is a spell? Merriam-Webster defines it as “a spoken word or form of words held to have magic power,” “a state of enchantment,” and also “a strong compelling influence or attraction.” A very satisfactory definition indeed. For myself, I have long considered a spell very much akin to a prayer, for in the […]
Should anyone one day tell me that I don’t know my ass from Medieval history, in a very short time from now I shall be able to reply with confidence that thanks to having read Dr. Kathryn L. Smithies’ “Introducing the Medieval Ass” I most certainly do.
Although I’ve read and taught William Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet” more times that I can readily recall, until I made yet another reading of it just recently I had not sufficiently noted the natural history aspect of Friar Laurence. And the more I mused upon the passage quoted below, the more it struck me that his skills as an herbalist / botanist are truly the element upon which the resolution of the entire play turns.