Dr Tom Morcom

Just finished my first year of teaching at UCL- it’s been fulfilling honestly, especially convening so much Norse, teaching texts in modern lit way out of my comfort zone, and getting stuck in on the pastoral side. Shattered currently but happy (also I have a moustache now)

Please consider submitting an abstract for the workshop I’m involved in this autumn in Oslo!

So TheSaleroom is an excellent auction scraping site that tracks most uk auctions. I’ve got alerts set up for certain book related stuff but it’s also worth having a search with certain keywords and see what you dig up. They take an additional commission tho- so bid directly not on their site

I Hear You’re a Druid Now, Father?! (On Christianity, Neo-Druidism, and Blog Drama) Eighteenth-century print of a Wicker Man sacrifice in ancient Britain, attended by both a Druid and a Bishop of some kind. Image from Llyfrgell Genedlaethol Cymru / National Library of Wales. I sta…

(I did recently write something including Stukeley's weird Anglican-Paganism here if anyone's interested: lucubrationscrachddysg.wordpress.com/2024/10/02/i...)

Weird little follow up- the destruction of this site (Arthur’s O’on, possible Roman triumphal monument) so enraged Sir James Clerk that he built a dovecote that was an exact replica of it on the roof of his stables. It still exists!

Interested in the #Gjellestad #Viking ship discovered a few years ago? Read all about its context in this special issue of the journal Viking. journals.uio.no/viking/issue...

Cheers Hugh! just had a look, not even a passing mention of Cerne!

Thanks Clare! I also thought it was a shame and it wasn’t clear from the listing if the library has closed or is just clearing “outdated” books. Some seriously old stuff being practically given away- I also got this early economic pamphlet proposing a tax on malt rather than beer from 1696

@helengittos.bsky.social another troublesome appearance from Stukeley here!

And here is a self portrait of the man himself, absolutely radiating charisma

The Repertory is much weirder and more eclectic but gives a fascinating insight into Antiquarianism at the time. A personal fave is the eminent Sir William Stukeley fantasising about punishing a landowner who destroyed a local landmark and Grose producing a supporting illustration of the torture!

As a Cornishman, I fully support his clear love for St Michael’s Mount, which he draws from a range of distances and angles and describes in extremely close and precise detail

The Antiquities of England, Scotland, Wales, and Ireland (1785-1789) are part travelogue, part evocative descriptions of historic landmarks and buildings (some now lost) all studded with historical anecdotes and folklore as well as Grose’s own stunning tinted drawings

Dundee Public Library recently auctioned a lot of the oldest books in their catalogue and I got hold of some rare and unusual gems for very little (and as the only bidder, likely saved them from the skip). The centrepiece is a complete set of Grose’s Antiquities and his Antiquarian Repertory

Thanks Alan, great to see you here!

New here - would love to be added please!

Better late than never I suppose! Hi, I’m Dr Tom Morcom and I’m currently filling in as Associate Lecturer in Old Norse at UCL. My research interests are mainly Old Norse sagas and narratology but I’ve pinwheeled between plenty of other areas too- recently codicology, typology, and the Cerne Giant!