‘King Athelstan’s iPhone?’

    

Athelstan King,

Lord among Earls,

Bracelet-bestower and

Baron of Barons,

He with his brother,

Edmund Atheling,

Gaining a lifelong

Glory in battle,

Slew with the sword-edge

There by Brunanburh,

Brake the shield-wall,

Hew’d the lindenwood,

Hack’d the battleshield,

Sons of Edward with hammer’d brands.

Tennyson knew what he was talking about. That’s excerpted from his poem “The Battle of Brunanburgh,” published in 1880. Athelstan of course was king of the Anglo-Saxons in the early tenth century, and is remembered as the first king of England. His significance in Masonic lore is summarized quickly by Albert Mackey in his Encyclopedia (first printed in 1873):

But this edition of The Magpie Mason was meant to be a quickie to inform you of the Athelstan merchandise available from The Rest Is History podcast.

The Rest Is History’s Athelstan phone case.

On their X account, they joked “King Athelstan (r.924-939 AD) wouldn’t have understood what an iPhone is.” In the comments, Oliver Memories Bayley noted “Knew all about Bluetooth though.” Gotta love historian humor. Anyway, it’s the season of giving, etc., etc. Click here.

An Athelstan mug for your mead. More gifts here.

And click here to hear the podcast’s episode on Athelstan!

     

‘The Passing of Arthur’

     
Anthroposophy New York City has a calendar full of great events for April, and this one particularly deserves your attention. From the publicity:

The Passing of Arthur

By Third Wheel Collective

Thursday, April 13 at 7 p.m.

Anthroposophical Society of NYC

138 West 15th Street, Manhattan

$20 per person

A one-person telling of the epic tale from Alfred, Lord Tennyson’s narrative poems about the Arthurian legend, “The Idylls of the King.” After the 45-minute performance, there will be a half hour of music.

Third Wheel Collective is “a collaboration-based theater company that works within the medium of performance to explore, elucidate, and further develop a compassionate and holistic view of the world, the human journey, and art.”

Séamus Maynard

Séamus Maynard graduated from Guildhall School of Music & Drama in London, after training intensively in the Michael Chekhov Technique for several years. Séamus writes music and performs with The Living Roots Trio; he co-founded Quiet in the Head with Jonathan Talbott, an ensemble that composes and performs original, instrumental music for violin and guitar.

Meaghan Witri is

Meaghan Witri

an actor, director, and musician with a degree in Theatre/Performance and English Studies from Muhlenberg College. Among many stage roles she played the title role in the Actors’ Ensemble workshop production of Antigone by Jean Anouilh. Meaghan tours internationally as a soprano soloist performing in cathedrals and sacred spaces, and sings folk music with Séamus.