Author: Nick Ibbitson
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Here be Dragons!
The Dragon Guardian Ring – A Continuous Watch Some designs don’t arrive all at once.They emerge through tension — a sense that something is close, but not yet resolved. This ring began with the dragon carvings of Norwegian stave churches, particularly . These forms were not decoration in the modern sense, but guardians — placed…
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The Legend of Waylands Smithy
Journey to Wayland’s Smithy – A Ring, A Place, A Legend There is a place on the Ridgeway in Oxfordshire where the boundary between landscape and story feels unusually thin. is an ancient Neolithic long barrow, older than the Anglo-Saxons who later gave it a name, and older still than the legend that would come…
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Runes – a window on the past?
What do runes really represent? They are often described simply as an ancient alphabet — a system of symbols used to record early northern European languages.
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Deep Dive into Runes
There’s now a new free resource on the site for anyone curious about runes. Rune Meanings is a complete guide to the 29 characters of the Anglo-Saxon Futhorc. Each rune has its own page, exploring its form, use, symbolism, and historical context. Simply open the page, select a rune, and follow it through. While other…
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The Fourfold Oath
The Fourfold OathBeot · Frith · Wyrd · Ordstír There are objects that adorn, and there are objects that bind. The Fourfold Oath belongs to the latter. separate ideas, but parts of a single lived reality. This is not an invention in the modern sense. It is a recognition — a gathering of forces that…
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The Wayland Cycle
Three Rings from the 7th-Century Legend Some designs arrive quickly. Others feel as though they have been waiting in the landscape for a very long time. The first chapter of the Wayland Cycle belongs firmly to the latter kind. This set of three titanium rings grew from a desire to make something more than “runic…
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Seeing the Depth in Things
On history, landscape, and what waits beneath the surface There are people who can stand in front of an ancient monument and see nothing but a pile of old stones. To me, this is a source of sadness, because to look at such a place and see only rubble is to miss the extraordinary depth…
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The Wayland’s Smithy Ring
The First Artifact of the Wayland Cycle Some stories survive not because they are written in books, but because they become part of the landscape. High on the Berkshire Downs stands an ancient mound known today as Wayland’s Smithy. Built over 5,000 years ago as a Neolithic burial chamber, the monument long predates the Anglo-Saxons…
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The ORÐSTÍR and Warding Rings
The Rings These rings were made as companions to one another.Both draw on early Scandinavian runic traditions from the Viking Age, when runes were used not only for writing but also for marking meaning, memory, and protection. The designs are engraved using a modern tool – a laser – but the forms and ideas behind…
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Riding Through Tolkien Country
How a Motorcycle Ride Led Me into the World of Runes Sometimes inspiration arrives in unexpected ways. For me it began with a motorcycle ride through the hills, forests, and valleys of the Welsh border country. As a rider I’ve always enjoyed exploring quiet roads and old landscapes, and the route between the Forest of…