#ghosts of norfolk

[ghostcatcherire]

Drumbeats of the Past: Uncle Gerald's Fateful Meeting with the Hickling Drummer Boy

Embrace the chill and dive into the eerie beauty of the Norfolk Broads with my latest blog post—a winter ghost story that will send shivers down your spine! 👻✨

(Phantom Drummer. Image Source: Bing Image Creator) My step-uncle Gerald lived in the village of Hickling, nestled in the heart of the Norfolk Broadlands. He was one of the few remaining reed cutters, a job with a long, proud tradition in the area but sadly dying out as fewer people needed thatch for their homes. (Gerald Nudd 1940-1999. Artist unknown. Image Source: ©E.Holohan) It was back in…

[thetrueparanormal]

A new haunted location, documenting The Muckleburgh Collection in Norfolk, has been uploaded to the world's largest database of paranormal research 😄

[archivist-crow]

On this day:

NORFOLK RECTORY FLUIDFALL

On August 30, 1919, a "liquid poltergeist" was in residence at the Swanton Novers Rectory in Norfolk, England. Leading newspapers carried the saga of an oily substance that seeped through the ceilings, spreading from random patches to spurting fountains and flows of liquid. It was suggested the house was built over an oil well, but when the liquid proved to be refined gasoline, the theory was abandoned. Other liquids appeared. Thirteen different indoor showers proved to be water, methylated spirits, sandalwood oil, paraffin, or gasoline. A quart was collected every ten minutes.

The rectory walls and ceilings were torn open, but no source of the flows could be found. Wreckage and vapors forced the Reverend Hugh Guy to vacate the premises. Blame for the fiasco was placed on the fifteen-year-old housemaid, Mabel Phillipo. A stage magician, Oswald Williams, and his wife investigated the phenomenon—for science, they said, and not for the publicity. The water supply was shut oft, and pails of water, salted for identification purposes, were placed around the house. The Williamses hid inside the premises and emerged shortly after with a red-faced Mabel. They declared that the housemaid, having been caught throwing water on the ceiling, had broken down and confessed.

Soon after, Mabel countered that her face had been red because Mrs. Williams had repeatedly slapped her and that they had threatened her with prison if she did not admit to the antics. In court, Guy said that although he was not there, he knew the girl had not been hit. No one explained how the girl obtained the expensive substances on her meager wages or managed to transport fifty gallons of fluids to the ceiling, under the eyes of investigators, without being caught. In the end, the case was thrown out of court.

Text from: Almanac of the Infamous, the Incredible, and the Ignored by Juanita Rose Violins, published by Weiser Books, 2009

[indyfilmlibrary]

Dial (2024) – 3.5 stars

Director: Josh Trett Writer: Josh Trett Cast: Olivia Bourne, Denise Stephenson, Sonia Soomessur, Greg Lindsay-Smith Running time: 15mins It’s been more than five years since Josh Trett became the first director to receive a review from Indy Film Library. The Black Shuck was a meditation on death, the grieving process, and learning to embrace life again – and in many ways Trett’s latest effort…

[mybam2u]

Afterlife/Otherside Luma Norfolk Ghost (LIVE) projection experiment # 250

[peacockstalemusicalstorytelling]

The Ghost Ballad of Susan Nobes (A True Story)

[sleepyconfusedpotato]

Thank you for the tag @efingart @revnah1406 @kaitaiga @islandtarochips @alypink @alexa-mwll @welldonekhushi and @eccentrcks !

A little list to showcase your oc's favorite things:

Name: Charlotte "Jade" Le Jardin

Universe: OG! and Reboot!Modern Warfare

Favorite book (and why): Le Petit Prince (The Little Price). It's a classic kid's story from France that her father and mother read to little Lottie during their runaway times. As she grows old, she reads a lot of books to understand the popular cultures, but she enjoys Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. She's a dreamer!

Favorite song: A Million Love Songs by Take That

Favorite piece of clothing they own: She loves ALL her turtleneck, but she loves a particular semi-transparent green skirt that her mother made for her!

Favorite "little treat": Mr. Kiplings!

Favorite person in their lives: Mum and Dad (I mean, come on. she gave her entire life to replace them in MI6). But Ghost is coming in hot 😏

Dream home (if there were no obstacles, financial or otherwise): She'd love to live in the English countryside. Maybe in Norfolk, near her family's garden. A medium sized cottage that could house her family, where she can do whatever she wants inside.

Dream life: Wherever Ghost is with their children (they'll get it).

---

Tagging @pricescigar @adlerboi @applbottmjeens and YOU! 🫵

[connectparanormal]

Brown Lady Ghost Photo

The Brown Lady of Raynham Hall is a famous ghost photograph taken in 1936 by photographers Hubert Provand and Indre Shira for Country Life magazine. Captured at Raynham Hall in Norfolk, England, the image reportedly shows a ghostly figure descending a staircase, shrouded in a brownish haze resembling a woman in a flowing gown. Believed to be the spirit of Lady Dorothy Walpole, who allegedly died under mysterious circumstances in the 18th century, the photo has been a subject of fascination and debate. While some consider it compelling evidence of the paranormal, skeptics argue it could be the result of double exposure, camera tricks, or light reflections. The image remains one of the most iconic and controversial ghost photographs in history.

[marypickfords]

The Stalls of Barchester (Lawrence Gordon Clark, 1971) A Warning to the Curious (Lawrence Gordon Clark, 1972) Lost Hearts (Lawrence Gordon Clark, 1973) The Treasure of Abbot Thomas (Lawrence Gordon Clark, 1974) The Ash Tree (Lawrence Gordon Clark, 1975)

“For all five of these adaptations, Gordon Clark worked with cinematographer John McGlashan and sound recordist Dick Manton, who he credits with establishing the gloomy look that would be the hallmark of the series (as well as editor Roger Waugh who edited all the original series’ James adaptations save 1973’s ‘Lost Hearts’). Central to that aesthetic were the authentic East Anglian locations that have been the inspiration for many a terror tale, even aside from those of M.R. James.

‘James lived in East Anglia—the region that encompasses Norfolk and Suffolk—for most of his life,’ explains Helen Wheatley, citing this as one reason James set many of his stories there. ‘However, there is also a broader sense of the region as being rather out on a limb, a relative hinterland, which lends itself to ghost story telling,’ she continues. ‘In James’ stories, and their television adaptations, the geography and landscape of the region—expanses of flat land, the whispering grasses of the East Anglian coast line, sparsely populated agricultural land—has a particularly haunting quality.’

This landscape is key to the series’ hauntological appeal. Scholar Derek Johnston has an extensive catalogue of writing that examines nostalgia in relation to the Christmas ghost story—and the A Ghost Story for Christmas series in particular—and notes that the Victorian middle class idealization of rural life was subverted by James’ stories, which presented the country as peaceful on the surface but a place of dark, tumultuous secrets. He also points out that East Anglia is a land of invaders and colonizers, writing in his essay ‘Season, Landscape and Identity in the BBC Ghost Story for Christmas’ that ‘The connection to the local soil and landscape runs generations deep, but it has also been built upon the remains of earlier populations, with earlier connections to that landscape, overrun by the incomers...the landscape may encourage identification with the nation, but it also emphasises how the landscape is interpreted through the history of human action upon it.’” — Kier-La Janisse, from Yuletide Terror: Christmas Horror on Film and Television (2017).

[resident-dumb-fuck]

My dealer: got some straight gas 🔥😛 this strain is called “the battle of bosworth field” 😳 you’ll be zonked out of your gourd 💯

Me: yeah whatever. I don’t feel shit.

5 minutes later: dude I swear I just saw the ghosts of the people I murdered

My buddy Norfolk pacing: lord Stanley is lying to us

[aikoiya]

A DP au idea

A scholar just recently arrived at Amity Park because of a newspaper show 2 ghost that exactly look like the 2 being that is shown through the ancient art and stories that even the most knowledgeable scholar wanting to know about, and that newspaper went to their house in Norfolk and while He could send other to investigate, he felt like investigate it himself as he have some knowledge about the being called ecto ghost from his ex (who got his information from his brother for some reason?)and leave his chapter librarian in charge of the house while the scholar leaves.

After arriving at Amity Park, the scholar looked around the town and, after confusing some locals with his Irish accent, found that the ancient ghosts are called phantom and plasmius(good) and that they are Enemies (weird) and they appear when the ghost first appeared at Amity Park (wait what?)and their defense (aside phantom) is Fenton family and that give the scholar deja vu and before he thinks of this, suddenly ghosts appeared as they causing trouble and a ghost that obsessed with box pressing him and the scholar saw phantom appear and fighting ghost and capturing them into a thermo (for some reason) and before he went after phantom to ask questions, the box ghost distract him and phantom goes away to capture more ghosts, the scholar stand there staring at box ghost and calm down, breath though his nose, and flick his finger through the ghost head using his solar sorcery to give box ghost extreme pain for causing stupidity and walk to the Fenton work to ask questions about ghosts and both phantom and plasmius.

After going to the Fenton work the scholar see a man talking to.... Wait.... No... No no no NO NONO NO NOOOOOOOOOO. Occam stands there, blank eyes ,thinking about his life choices and what goes wrong with it as he got one question for god......

WHY IS BIG-D HERE AND WHY THE MAN HE TALKING TO LOOK LIKE A SANE VERSION OF HIM!?!?!?!?

HAHAHHAHAHHAHHAHAHHHHAHAHHA

HAPPY (early) APRIL FOOL

It's actually the continuing post about DPx HTP about Occam O'Connell (hope you watch episode 4) went to Amity Park to investigate phantom and plasmius, the same time the previous dpxhtp post take place, and saw, his ex, Big-D and (unknown to Occam) his brother Jack Fenton. What do you think about my April FOOL and do you get the hint that the scholar is Occam before the reveal?

Funny you should mention it. I literally just got finished watching it!

It was fun! I enjoyed it! Also, Occam was great. I really enjoyed him, but I'm so sad that Lord Fatique was massacred like that.

Anyway, I actually first thought it was from D's perspective, but as soon as Solar magic was mentioned, I was like, "wait... YES!!"

I just love Occam's character & I love the sort of sorcery he uses!

Also, I think that the prank was actually interesting & it could actually make for a fun feature of your story.

Also, my brother told me that Mages bend reality, but they do it through rituals that requires skill & uses components. The way you described them, it sounded more like they could just think of what they wanted & make it so without any sort of preparation. If that's not the case, then I like them the way he described it!

[jamesfrain]

🎬📽️🎞️Wolf Hall: The Mirror and The Light | Episode One Analysis

Part I [First minutes, and Wolsey references]

The new series premiered yesterday (10 Nov), and I am keen to analyze the first episode titled 'Wreckage.'

── .✦First and foremost, I want to clarify that my analysis is based on the novel, "The Mirror and The Light" At times, I may reference historical events as well. ── .✦Secondly, this analysis is grounded in my personal perspective; yours may differ, and I welcome a respectful discussion in the comments. ── .✦Lastly, please be advised that this analysis will contain spoilers.

At the end of the first series, Anne was executed, and the final scene showed Cromwell being greeted by Henry, who appeared pleased with the outcome of the recent events. We now revisit Anne's final moments from a new perspective. At the same time she is being executed, Henry is marrying Jane Seymour. Cromwell is away ensuring that everything proceeds as planned. This may be the first significant change in the adaptation for the new series. In the book "Bring Up the Bodies," Cromwell has a series of interactions following Anne's execution and was with the king prior to the wedding ceremony.

However, in this version, he returns home to prepare for attending the newlywed couple. (I must admit, I missed the interactions that occurred after Anne's death. The burial scene, coupled with the dialogues featuring Suffolk, Norfolk, and Kingston, plays a crucial role in highlighting Gregory's character development at that moment.)

On his way home, he has an interesting interaction with Rafe, which I noticed had a different tone than what the book conveys. In this scene, Cromwell appears emotional, or perhaps remorseful. When Rafe asks if he has any message for the king, Cromwell responds, "No message. Back to your new master," with tired eyes that suggest he is possibly worn out.

In the book, the tone is a bit different. After indicating he has no message for the king, Rafe mentions his wife, saying, "Helen will be glad to know the lady is beyond her misfortunes now." Cromwell is taken aback by this statement and replies, "She does not pity her, does she?" Rafe answers, "She thinks that Anne was a protector of the gospel, and that cause is, as you know, dear to my wife’s heart." This exchange leads to a sharper tone, as Cromwell responds, "Oh, well, yes. But I can protect it better." Here, Cromwell seems to be justifying his actions toward Anne with a hint of passive-aggressiveness.

"Anne was not pitiful," Cromwell insists. "Have you not told Helen how she threatened me with beheading? And she was planning, as we now know, to cut short the life of the king himself."

To be fair, I believe the script tries to condense all of this into Cromwell's line:

"When negotiation and compromise fail, then your only course is to destroy your enemy. Before they wake in the morning, Rafe, have the axe in your hand."

Whoever had the idea of bringing Wolsey back as a ghost has my respect. To me, he serves as Cromwell's own conscience—a figure who fully understands him. The reference to the coat is brilliant. In the series, Wolsey states, "When I was alive, my people wore orange tawny. The king might not want to be reminded."

In fact, in the book Cromwell has owned this coat since the days of Wolsey. When he searches for it, Richard Cromwell remarks, "You put that coat away when the Cardinal came down. You had no heart for it."

Wolsey appears once more in this episode, consistently acting as Cromwell’s conscience. He reminds Cromwell of his actions to avenge his deceased Cardinal. I believe Cromwell tries to justify his wrongdoings by relieving his mind in these reflections. In the book, Call-Me brings up the topic:

"People have been talking about the Cardinal. They say, look at what Cromwell has wrought in two years against Wolsey's enemies. Thomas More is dead. Anne, the queen, is dead. They look at those who slighted him during his lifetime—Brereton, Norris—though Norris was not the worst..." Cromwell responds, "If I wanted revenge on Wolsey’s enemies, I would have to strike down half the nation."

The idea that Wolsey introduces in the series—that Henry could also suffer from Cromwell's vengeance is intriguing and suggests further development. I speculate that perhaps Cromwell's eventual downfall may relate to a sense of vengeance toward Henry. The lack of Cromwell’s presence and his constant support of the king could be interpreted as a form of revenge against Henry in the years following 1540. (I can elaborate on this if needed, but it's just a speculation.)

Wolsey says: 'You've wreaked a terrible vegeance on my enemies in these days, my friend. Thomas More and the queen, her brother... Brereton, Norris.'

'Of course, some might ask who was the greatest of Wolsey's enemies? Some might ask when chance serves, what revenge will Cromwell take on his sovereign?'

"When he says, 'Such thoughts might reach the king, and that would be the end of it,' it serves, in my point of view, as a warning of the dangers he will face when he lets his guard down and speaks too much."

TO BE CONTINUED...

[thetrueparanormal]

Tomorrow a new haunted location article, documenting somewhere in Norfolk, will be uploaded to the world's largest database of paranormal research 😄

[cinemaocd]

The Mirror and the Light stream of concsciousness ramble on Wreckage....GO!

So the opening works really works for me I think the new footage is seamless and even the aging works because the tone shift is dramatic at the end of season one...the lighting the excessively bright lighting in the wedding scene and I'm wondering dear god Peter I hope you haven't taken to heart all our bitching about the brightness levels in season one??? Surely this is an aesthetic/artistic choice and then I remember that it matches the discordantly sunny scene at the end of season one when Henry embraces cromwell after Anne is killed. I love that Rafe and Crom just exchange one word "done" and Rafe wishing it weren't bloody and being a tad accusatory and I remember those scenes in the book when Anne flirted with Rafe in order to tease him ...So much of the dialog is very um not in the book but I like the ax quote it probably has a precedent. Love that we are diving straight into the plot and Call me is a different person but the same clothes and the dialog has to be too on the nose to help newcomers, which is a choice and I guess I'm fine with it because it's ep one. Still. Keep up people. The ambiguity continues when we don't actually know what the letter is though its implied its from Mary and if so in the next scene Crom fully lies to the king's face about it. Love the lightning in the tower scene with Chapuy, kinda wanted it to be a folly outside under the open sky like in the book but I guess they couldn't just conjure up a sunny day. the hilarious chapuy cromwell frenemy banter continues...OMG seeing Richard, even from behind I knew it was him and he looks more like historical Crom every minute and is probably closer to his age than mark but oh look Crom's wee knife. I love that we are getting bad ass crom and his knives and his bully boy moves with the poles and calling himself a dog (*dies) and especially the scene in the privy chamber when he practically tackles fitz...The scene with mary was letter perfect to the book but somehow missed the tone of the book which was funny but also tragic...and the mouse bones embrace was entirely great and lilith lesser is KILLING it and she'll pray for him and dear god he needs it...oh the cap thing was sexy when it should have been awkward but I forgive because when they are busted by lady shelton and she says "unhand the lord privy seal" it kills me...love crom and lady shelton they are another great pair of flirts. Oh and then the triumph of the signing and lording it over the other lords and norfolk having to eat shit was golden. Henry gets scarier/weirder in every scene and I love it. Margaret Douglas making the most of her two lines and being HBIC throughout was golden: FORESHADOWING. Jane continuing to be awkward as well as flirtatious with cromwell...also love the scene where they walked through a dark hallway and he leads her into the light of the dance...the light of Henry's love. Oh and the lovely reunion between Mary and her father only marred by the weirdness of Henry saying "you've loved and done as much for her as my kin" and then qualifying it...TACKY, but then jovial crom at the cheerless picnic with his boys where he is telling them all smiles about the white rose promise to Katharine and they all total bitches about it except Richard. I love you Richard. I don't remember Ghost!Wolsey having this many lines in the book but I can never get enough JP in a red Cardinal's gown so I don't care. Cromwell's orange jacket is amazing but I think Mark is actually having some kind of asthma attack in some scenes because he's wheezy, maybe they should build a fan into his suit. Same thing with Damien, though I think his breathlessness might be character work as Henry is getting progressively less fit as it goes on.

[midwestbramble]

Black Dog Folklore Book Review

I'm a sucker for spirits. I'm also a sucker for dogs. And you're telling me there's a book about dog spirits?! Absolutely I'm reading that.

⛧─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───⛧

Contents:

Synopsis

What I Liked

What I Didn't Like

Overall Thoughts

Conclusion

⛧─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───⛧

Published 2016

"A comprehensive study of the image of the Black Dog in folklore, with an extensive gazetteer of UK sightings and traditions.

The study of folklore is very often the examination of symbolism and symbolic interpretation changes over time. Many ghosts appear or behave in a way that seems less naturalistic than symbolic and this is certainly true of the image of the Black Dog.

It is telling that apparitions of ghostly Black Dogs have been sighted, felt, heard and experienced in an unnatural way by people for nearly a millennium now and yet people stumble across information about them by chance when attempting to provide themselves with an explanation for what has occurred. Many people's knowledge of the subject stretches no further than The Hound of the Baskervilles and where they are more familiar, people often think that the Black Dog is evil or portentous in the manner of the Shuck.

Black Dog Folklore aims to redress this balance. It is the first full-length study of the phenomenon by a single author, containing a gazetteer of over 750 key UK eyewitness accounts and traditions drawn from the author's archive."

-from the back of the book

⛧─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───⛧

⛧─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───⛧

What I Liked

The book does a wonderful job of using sources such as newspapers (and others) and talking with people about their experiences. Each chapter focuses on a specific type of black dog spirit, from the protective to the shuck and how they've been experienced in certain areas. Along with pictures of specific sites named after the black dogs, you'll find detailed descriptions of how they came by those names. Even the history of people's belief in the first corpse buried in a churchyard becoming it's protector as well as the idea of the first soul to cross a new bridge going to the devil are discussed and it's relations to the black dog ghosts seen there.

⛧─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───⛧

⛧─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───⛧

What I Didn't Like

While the book isn't perfect, I can't find anything in it that stands out that I didn't like. I thought it was well written, and didn't see any obvious grammatical or spelling errors. The sources were adequately cited and the reasoning was sound. The book is specifically about UK sightings and folklore, and there are a couple short references to the US where a sighting was had which could be taken as off topic geographically, but I didn't think it was much of nuisance. Just if we are being nitpicky.

⛧─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───⛧

⛧─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───⛧

Overall Thoughts

If you're curious about any dog ghosts in the UK this would be a great book to get an overview of what you could encounter. The appendix in the back of the book also has the sightings by place name such as Guernsey or Kent or the Isle of Wight or Norfolk, for example. I enjoyed reading it and was able to do so in front of family that wouldn't approve of my cavorting with spirits without incurring any remarks.

⛧─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───⛧

⛧─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───⛧

Conclusion

Everyone is always asking about animal spirits and this book is a good one for dog spirits specifically. You can find the book on Amazon, the publishers website Troy Books, Goodwill Books, RitualCravt, and more (I found this one at a local used book store).

*all images from the book*

[thiswaycomessomethingwicked]

Do you have good recommendations of books/movies/ect that either do a particularly good job explaining certain facets of it (you mentioned Early Modern Catholicism recently, which was what got me thinking of this), or simply captures a vibe of the period in a way you think was particularly well-done?

Thanks!

Oooh like late medieval/early modern Catholicism/religious movements of the time (i.e., reformation)?

I think some of my favourites are:

Little Hours (film) - ok, so hear me out. Boccaccio would have LOVED the recent film interpretation of those stories of his (it's stories one and two from the third day, if I remember right. Been a while since I read the Decameron). It's modern in language, music, humour and incredibly pop-modern particularly. Yet the clothes and scenery etc. are all more or less of the late 14th century. Boccaccio, who wrote in the vernacular and enjoyed the bawdy and "common" entertainments of the day, would have been like "yes, you get it. you get what I'm doing" about it.

Just a fun, raunchy story of the late medieval era and it does capture some of the vibes~~.

(Story time: I got into an argument with one of the more curmudgeonly and pedantic historians I know irl and he was so against this movie and I was like "I'm sorry that you're wrong and Boccaccio's ghost is going to laugh at you but it is what it is I guess".)

Wolf Hall (book and show) - while I love the show, I recommend the books over it (for many reasons, not the least of which is: let Thomas Cromwell be fat). That said, if you're pressed for time or can't get into Hilary Mantel's writing style, the show is perfectly good.

She does a great job of capturing England in a state of change and the push pull of the early reformation. Cromwell is obviously of the Protestant persuasion but the dynamic, complicated quality of the average person's engagement with their faith and the Church is more or less captured. It's also just gorgeously written--very lush, you sink into her writing style, quite gorgeous. She also gets her historical details right, so that's a win.

(Unlike the movie Luther which is just like: Luther is always right, the Catholics are always wrong. The end.)

If you're a fan of Thomas More, he doesn't come the best in this, but you know - we are deep in an interior third person of Cromwell's brain so that informs the view of the world we are presented.

(There is a hilarious scene where Cromwell is trying to rally the troops to save More from himself and you get Cromwell, the Duke of Norfolk and a few others kneeling before Henry basically begging for mercy to be shown and it's so fucking funny. Bleak, heart breaking, but also funny.)

A Man for All Seasons (play and film) - and the famous play that Hilary Mantel is in direct conversation with! There's a good movie version of it that I was enamoured with for a time. It's very much a pro-Thomas More piece of writing, so take that for what it's worth. It does suffer a little from the Luther effect of Thomas More always being right and Cromwell and Cranmer and the others always being wrong (or, rather, Luther suffers from the A Man for All Seasons effect). But you know, it's still worth watching I think.

An Instance of the Finger Post (book) - a little later than the other pieces, this is set in the 17th century and is a great who-dunnit from three different perspectives, exploring the classic issue of an unreliable narrator. I remember feeling that it captured life in Oxford just post the Restoration quite well. Also we get some fun cameos from Locke, Boyle and others who were bopping around at that time. Two of the narrators are also known figures from Oxford in the 1660s.

Lent (book) - So, my main man Marsilio Ficino wrote that famous letter to the college of cardinals after Savonarola was executed describing Savonarola as a demon who didn't know he was a demon. Jo Walsh took that concept and ran.

Basically, we follow Savonarola (who is a demon that, at first, didn't realize he was a demon) as he gets stuck in this time loop where he has to keep reliving the last five(ish) years of his life until he manages to free himself from hell. It's like Ground Hog Day but in 15th century Florence.

I have questions around the mechanisms and theological implications of like...his birth, his childhood etc. but you know, don't let that ruin a fun read.

I will say, Lent is a sloooooow start. Like. very slow. I almost set it down and didn't pick it back up at first. It really hits its stride about halfway through. But, it's a fun look at 1480s and 90s Florence with Ficino, Mirandola, Poliziano, Lorenzo de' Medici for a hot minute before he dies etc.

My beef is 1: Piero Soderini, my boy, she did you dirty (tbf to Walsh, the book is from Savonarola's perspective and he and Soderini were not close, shall we say. I may, or may not be, biased); 2: Marsilio is present and we love that but there is no word on Cavalcanti. Not even mentioned in passing!; 3: some of the exposition is heavy handed and could have used some tightening up etc.; 4: Jo Walsh's use of the English for words like Prior etc. which she explains her motive for at the back of the book. I've still got quibbles with that choice, though I know that's a me-thing.

But if you want a novel that is a decent look at every day Catholicism in the early modern period, this is a good one.

Le Moine et la Sorcière (The Sorceress) (film) - a medieval French film from the 1980s that takes place in the 13th century and follows the arrival of a Dominican friar in a small southern French town investigating rumours of a sorceress. It's a delightfully weird piece that plays with the story of St. Guinefort (the dog saint!) as well as medieval faith healing and other local synchronistic practices that carried over from pre-Christianized France.

The whole exploration of local sainthood, where a figure is not formally determined to be a saint by the Church but local people venerate them and eventually they sort of are absorbed into the canon, is fantastic.

The friar, Etienne, is wonderfully drawn as a character. I do wish they had given the same treatment to Elda, the titular "sorceress". But it's still worth a watch if you can get your hands on it.

Name of the Rose (book and film) - an Umberto Eco classic! Another who-dunnit, but in a Medieval monastery in the 14th century. Absolutely worth reading - beautifully and intelligently written. Lots of back and forth on the different religious thoughts and movements of the time (some deemed heretical, others more just fringe things people were into).

William of Baskerville is the main detective figure but the story is told from the point of view of his acolyte Adso. It's got lots of gothic feeling to it with an isolated monastery, a labyrnthian library, murder, madness, sexual tensions and so on.

This is one of my favourite books (up there with Wolf Hall and Kate Zambreno's Heriones).

There is a movie version with Sean Connery and it's fun to watch but really, the book is worth it. 110% worth it.

Other good films/plays that I can think of off the top of my head (they're all more medieval but w/e):

Seventh Seal (film)

Becket (film and play)

Lion in Winter (film and play)

I hope this answers your question? (I mostly hope I got the time period roughly right! I know I veered heavily in medieval in some of the rec's but they're all gold and worth the time.)

Thank you so much for the ask! <3 <3