Beasts of the Olde World

𝚃𝚠𝚘 𝚜𝚝𝚛𝚊𝚗𝚐𝚎 𝚏𝚊𝚒𝚛𝚒𝚎𝚜 𝚊𝚛𝚎 𝚘𝚗 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚠𝚊𝚢．．．

Hello all! I am alive, I’ve just been buried deep in research on a couple of the most surprisingly interesting topics I’ve ever covered.

As you might expect, I have a list of potential mythical creatures to cover that is more than a mile long. But it’s never quite as simple as just picking one and going with it - the trick is finding something interesting enough about the creature to warrant a video in the first place. Alas! Not all mythical creatures are created equal!

And, as I’m sure long-time viewers will agree, the best examples usually reveal something about the people who believed in them, and what their lives were like. But looking back over the channel, I’ve realised that many of the creatures that I find most fascinating, particularly in British folklore, not only reveal something about people, but about their relationship with the landscape around them.

This is a great revelation for me too, because I’m learning something about myself in the process, and it may ultimately lead to a change in the way content on this channel is produced in the long run. But more on that in future posts.

For now, let’s just say that I found my studies on the Highland Urisk (or Urisg) deeply fascinating, having known next to nothing about them when I began the research, and I’m really excited for the video on these strange and little-known creatures to come together.

One of the many surprises the Urisk had up its sleeve was a connection to another rather famous fairy - a frequently-requested topic and one I’ve been putting off for a long while. The connection was, to my knowledge at the time, VERY surprising, and so I fell into a long bout of unexpected research on the Leanan Sídhe (Leanan Sith, Leanan Sighe, Leanhaun Shee etc etc). It’s fair to say the research had some sprawl to it, which is why there has been a bit of a delay since the last video about the Wag-at-the-Wa’.

I had earmarked the Leanan Sídhe episode as a Patreon exclusive, as her reputation as a vampiric and sexually predatory fairy felt like something I would rather avoid on YouTube, but to say I was surprised by the full Leanan Sídhe story would be a massive understatement

So, two rather unusual, and unexpectedly related fairies will soon be on their way to the channel: the Urisk and the Leanan Sídhe - and both have turned out to be much stranger than their modern reputations suggest.

Stay tuned - I’m really excited to hear what you think of them!

Nick

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1 week ago | [YT] | 277

Beasts of the Olde World

⚡OUT NOW!⚡
Check out my in-depth look at how the Cyclops from Christopher Nolan’s new film The Odyssey is a substantial departure from the character we meet in Homer’s original epic of the same name - a creative choice for which Nolan has since received considerable criticism.

Join us as we discuss how Homer’s Polyphemus may be iconic, but Nolan is not the first to make sweeping changes to this character. Theocritus portrayed him as an awkward, fumbling, lovesick shepherd. Ovid built upon this idea, casting him as a jilted and vengeful lover; while Virgil forged his own Polyphemus in a particularly tragic shape.

And it’s arguable that Homer made just as sweeping a change when he molded the Cyclopes into violent, lawless, cheese-making cave-dwellers, when Hesiod insists that the three original cyclopes were the children of Ouranos and Gaia (the primordial forces of the Earth and the Sky) - characters who embodied the power of the storm, and also happened to be the master craftsmen who forged Zeus’s thunderbolt.

So how is it that one mythical creature - and indeed one character - can appear in so many profoundly different ways? How can the divine craftsmen who built the weapons of the gods in one account, suddenly in another become monstrous, violent shepherds who (when they are not eating people alive) spend their days alone in caves, making cheese and tending to their flocks? And what does all this say about the Cyclopes themselves?

⚡Find out here⚡
👉👁️ https://youtu.be/3bT7gyoUURo

More Beasts of the Olde World is on the way too - next up will be the Urisk, and the Leannán Sìth, both coming soon

2 weeks ago | [YT] | 112

Beasts of the Olde World

Check out my new video about Yggdrasil - the wounded world tree of Norse Myth - and why the Norse gods live in a dying universe...

Watch it here: 👀👉 https://youtu.be/CFlyL03UWdc

It's a fun watch - even if only for the comedy value of listening to me trying to pronounce the old Norse words for absolutely aything at all!

We're getting close to 1,000 subscribers now over on Myths of the Olde World - if you'd like to help us get there, it'd be great if you could pop over and check a few videos out!

Cheers, Nick

2 months ago | [YT] | 105

Beasts of the Olde World

Out tomorrow - an examination of the devil.

We'll discuss the surprising origins of the iconic image that Satan has in the modern day, as well as how this has come about, and the other ways in which he was imagined throughout the ages.

I really enjoyed making this one - it threw some big surprises at me along the way - hopefully it will do the same for you!

Hope to see you tomorrow!
Nick

3 months ago | [YT] | 204

Beasts of the Olde World

Thanks to everyone who has already subscribed to my new channel - Myths of the Olde World!

If you haven't already, please hop over and check out the first batch of videos there - including the most recent addition: an exploration of the Titans, how they came to power, their role in the Greek mythological universe, and why they were ultimately overthrown by Zeus.

⚡ Subscribe to Myths of the Olde World → youtube.com/@mythsoftheoldeworld?si=qHOfHmquhoekVh…

The Titans → • https://youtu.be/38zN2OXqaOo

New mythological arena, same Olde World style!

Hope to see you there!
Nick

3 months ago | [YT] | 103

Beasts of the Olde World

So last week this channel passed 50,000 subscribers, which is a strange and wonderful thing to write.

These days I am trying very hard to ignore the analytics and just focus on making the videos that I want to make, but this felt like something that really needed marking in some way - so thank you all so much! To everyone who has subscribed, left comments, liked or shared the videos, supported the Patreon, or simply spent time here listening to me ramble on about these old stories, I cannot tell you how grateful I am.

It’s been a really difficult year for me personally - as many of you know I lost my dad just before Christmas, which was a great shock and a grief like I’ve never known. There have been other challenges too, which I don’t wish to go into, but suffice to say I’ve had enough going on that I’ve felt unable to properly concentrate on basically anything, and my commitment to the channel has certainly been tested.

That’s partly why a milestone like this, along with the remarkable response to the recent video on the fae, has meant a great deal to me. It’s given me a renewed sense of energy after a very dark time, and a real belief that I can make this work.

I am taking my return to Youtube slowly, so (for the time being at least) I’m aiming for a video once a fortnight, but in all honesty my video policy is now closer to “they’ll be ready when they’re ready”, and I won’t be rushing things out for the sake of meeting schedules or deadlines. Last year showed me quite clearly that a weekly turnaround for a video, including all the research, writing, voice-over, filming, image search, sound levels and video editing is not something I can comfortably keep up with; it leads very quickly to burnout, and has resulted in videos that I am not exactly proud of. I need to feel proud of the content I put out here, or quite simply, it isn't an enjoyable process - so if videos aren't as frequent as they once were, that's why.

With all that said, keep your eyes peeled for a new episode coming this Friday at the usual time - where we’ll be looking at the curious history of one of the most famous beings in world mythology. More on this to follow later in the week…

And finally thank you as well to everybody who has subscribed to my new channel - Myths of the Olde World, which goes beyond mythical creatures to deal more broadly with myths from across the world - if that sounds like your thing then go and check it out if you haven’t already. Link below:

⚡ Subscribe to Myths of the Olde World → youtube.com/@mythsoftheoldeworld?si=qHOfHmquhoekVh…

Some Myths videos to check out:
Ragnarök → • https://youtu.be/XSMyfuuHupU
The Titans → • https://youtu.be/38zN2OXqaOo

Thank you all for helping to keep the Olde World alive. Your support is both humbling and baffling in equal measure - and I really appreciate it.

Best wishes from a currently sweltering Yorkshire in the North of England!

Nick

3 months ago | [YT] | 372

Beasts of the Olde World

New videos all out now for you to sink your teeth/eyes/ears into - including three from my new channel, Myths of the Olde World!

It's good to be back! I hope you enjoy the new content and that all is well with you in your corner of the world. I will be having a bonfire tonight - only fitting seeing as it's Beltane!

Links to new vids:

Who really are the fae?
https://youtu.be/itBKAzLcGeg

Who are Odin's Ravens?
https://youtu.be/LWq9o9X2z8Q

The Truth about Ragnarok
https://youtu.be/XSMyfuuHupU

Who are the Morai (the Three Fates)?
https://youtu.be/gdDez2Rx6y4

🔥🔥🔥

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4 months ago | [YT] | 203

Beasts of the Olde World

Beasts is back this Friday!

Join us for an in-depth look at the Fae, examining how people used to view them 350 years ago. We'll discuss their appearance, their behaviours, their society and their impact on the daily lives of ordinary people. This will be the first of many deep-dives into the Fae - this time round there's a special focus on Robert Kirk's exploratory work The Secret Commonwealth of Elves, Fauns and Fairies, but we'll be covering other works with different ideas further down the line.

Also launching this Friday is the new channel - Myths of the Olde World!
Where Beasts covers mythical creatures from within folklore at large, Myths will look at ideas, concepts and characters from within more classical mythology.
Expect deep-dives into Greek and Norse Mythology, as well as Arthurian Legend, Mysticism and Demonology and much more too. Don't forget to subscribe!

Finally, on a personal note, I just wanted to say thank you for all your messages of support in the wake of my dad's passing. I have been through bereavements before (I was very close with all of my grandparents, none of whom are still with us) but nothing even comes close to losing a parent.
The last few months have genuinely been the most difficult of my entire life: without getting into detail, it's been a bit of a case of not raining but pouring - basically since mid-December, with multiple setbacks that have delayed my return to YouTube far longer than I had hoped.

It'll be a bit of a phased return, because honestly I'm not sure if I'm 100% yet or not, and these things really shouldn't be rushed - but videos will be coming out at least semi-regularly for the forseeable. So yeah, thank you all for your kind words, as well as you patience, support and understanding over what has been a very testing stretch.

I really hope you enjoy the new vid - and the new channel too (launching with three videos!)

Nick

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4 months ago | [YT] | 297