THE SUNDAY SNAP

A vision of medieval village life in the time of Bad King John - and what’s on History, Etc this week

It’s a ridiculously beautiful winter morning, so I’ve come for a walk around the woods, meadows and memorials of Runnymede, where in June 1215 Magna Carta was agreed between King John and his rebellious barons.

Today there’s a new addition to the sights. It’s an installation called ‘Haymaking’ by a pair of artists known as Willowtwisters.

As the name suggests, these figures are sculpted from twisted strips of willow. Zoom in on my iPhone snap and you’ll see it’s a medieval village, where all are hard at work mowing hay. In the summer that’s still what this meadow is used for, as the long sweet grasses, which buzz with insects in spring, are cut and baled for animal fodder. (Today of course, they use a tractor.)

This week on History, Etc, we’re going back a bit further than the Middle Ages - to the Stone Age. I’ll be writing about the building of Stonehenge, and why that strange half-ruined Neolithic ‘installation’ still captivates our historical imaginations.

For subscribers there will also be an exclusive bonus post and a Q&A thread where you can request more articles and features. Then of course there’s the podcast, First Draft, which this week was recorded in the stunning medieval grounds of Wilmington Priory in Sussex.

If you’re not yet signed up for the full package, please consider it. This community and newsletter is driven by its subscribers, and the more of us there are, the more fun we’ll have.

Bye for now,

Dan