A myth is as good as a mile

We live in disenchanted times. We barely do God, most of us don’t do magic and frenzied consumerism occupies our minds more than any local spirit of place. At first glance it looks as though the supernatural folktales of old — those witches and giants who lend their names to pools or hilltop crags in Britain’s remoter spots — are all but lost.

From this premise, the medievalist Carolyne Larrington examines the stories that characterise some of Britain’s place names, and considers how the mythological patterns of fairy brides and rampaging dragons might have shaped the way our ancestors saw both the places they inhabited and the world at large. These supernatural influences are not limited to the past, as any Game of Thrones enthusiast could tell you, and as Larrington herself demonstrates in a sweep of contemporary culture that includes Irvine Welsh, zombie movies and the Harry Potter books.