FROM THE THIRTEENTH CENTURY, even in official documents, people did not use numbers for dates. Instead they referred to the nearest Saint’s Day or festival to date documents or events.

Throughout the Middle Ages the old Julian calendar was in use in Britain and Europe. In 1582 Europe adopted the Gregorian calendar, but Britain, hostile to Rome, refused to follow suit until 1752. As had happened in Europe two centuries before, when Britain switched to the Gregorian calendar there were riots in the streets because the calendar suddenly jumped eleven days forward and people thought their lives had been shortened by eleven days. We now run approximately thirteen days ahead of the old Medieval Calendar, which means that fixed events such as the equinoxes and the longest and shortest days fall on different dates to those they would have done in the Middle Ages.

Although in Roman times Julius Caesar had officially moved the New Year to the first of January, many places on the fringes of the Roman Empire still kept to the old practise of celebrating the New Year from the twenty-fifth of March to the first of April. In England during the Middle Ages, the years continued to be numbered from March 25 (the Incarnation of Jesus) and not from January 1.

ULEWIC-WHICH IN OLD ENGLISH MEANS the place of the owl-is a fictional village, but is based on villages found on the coast of west Norfolk. Many of these villages became depopulated and eventually abandoned over the centuries from the time of the Black Death onwards.

Churches and chapels dedicated to the Archangel Saint Michael were often erected on former sacred Celtic sites where the gods of air and earth met. Such sites were also said to be the entrance to the underworld, which is perhaps why old churches with the name of St. Michael have frequently been associated with both black magic and the disappearance of bodies from graves.

The old woman with the gaping vulva carved above the church door is typical of what in recent years have come to be known as a Sheela Na Gig. These are found on medieval churches all over Britain, although most villages have their own local names for the carving. In style, the Sheelas are unlike any of the other medieval grotesques carved on these churches.

Some people argue the origin of these carvings is pagan and that the figure represents a much older Celtic goddess which was later incorporated into the Christian building. Others claim they date from between the eleventh and twelfth centuries and are purely Christian in origin, put there as a warning against lust. The problem with this theory is that many of the figures are hidden on church roofs or places where the ordinary populace would be unable to see the warning. And although some of these carvings may have been moved in later centuries, when the church was altered or repaired, it doesn’t account for all of these hidden carvings.

Black Anu or Black Annis stories are to be found all over England and Ireland. Anu was originally the “mother” form of the triple Celtic goddess, but like Lilith, as Christianity spread, she was transformed into a monster who was said to snatch and eat children. Black Annis is still remembered in the Dane Hills near Leicester where she was said to inhabit a cave called Black Anna’s Bower, which is supposed to be connected by a series of tunnels to Leicester Castle. Black Annis would scuttle back to her lair through these tunnels after prowling the town at night. Black Anna’s Bower has since been destroyed in building work, but the tale lives on. Her name also survives in many landmarks across Britain such as Black Anne Pool in the River Erne in Devon.

Right across Europe the owl was in ancient times sacred to the goddesses symbolising wisdom, and many of the Celtic and tribal goddesses had the power to change themselves into owls; for this reason the owl was never harmed. But when the goddesses themselves were demonised by Christianity, so was their symbol the owl, which became hunted and persecuted as an evil omen, a harbinger of death.

The Owlman was a familiar monster of the Middle Ages, part of the pantheon of strange and dangerous beasts such as the griffin, which had the wings of an eagle and the body of a lion. Like the Basilisk, the Owlman was believed to inhabit old church towers.

But unlike the other medieval monsters which have been consigned to ancient myth, the Owlman lives on in the human psyche. In 1995, an American student of marine biology wrote to a newspaper saying that she had witnessed a “vision from hell” near the church in Mawnan, Cornwall, England. “It was the size of a man, with a ghastly face, a wide mouth, glowing eyes, and pointed ears. It had huge clawed wings and was covered in feathers of silver-grey. The thing had long bird legs which terminated in black claws.”

This was not the first sighting in Cornwall, for in April 1976, two young girls staying on holiday with their family ran screaming to their father claiming they had seen a gigantic feathered bird-man hovering over the church tower. The Owlman was also seen in July of that year by two girls camping in the woods near Mawnan church and in a separate incident by three young French girls who reported their terrifying ordeal to their seaside landlady. The Owlman put in another appearance two years later when he was seen by a young woman, and was eventually seen by a man. However such sightings are explained-hoax, adolescent fantasy, too much cider, or a trick of the light-such reports demonstrate that we today are not so very different from our medieval ancestors, for we share with them the same lusts, ambitions, and hopes. And like them, we are still afraid of the dark.

I would like to express my deep gratitude to my wonderful editor, Kate Miciak, for her amazing editorial insight and for the suggestions she offered to improve the text of this novel, as well as her unfailing patience throughout the many revisions. I would also like to say a huge thank-you both to my British agent, Victoria Hobbs, and to Kathy Anderson in the States, for their brilliant support and constant encouragement during the entire writing process.

BID-The old name for a “familiar”-that is, an animal or bird with magical powers kept to do the bidding of its owner. Women who owned a cat or even a chicken were often accused of having a bid, a sign of witchcraft, an association which has given rise to the derogatory term for elderly women, biddy.

BLACK BANE-The deadly disease anthrax. It was named black bane because the sores on the animal or human skin develop a black necrotic centre.

BOUGH CAKE-A long stick was threaded with a mixture of dried fruits such as apricots, apples, and plums. The fruit was coated in batter and spit-roasted over an open fire. More batter was spooned over the fruits as they cooked until they were covered in a thick layer. Once cooked, the bough cake was rolled in honey and spices before being served.

BULL OAK-An ancient hollow oak tree. There were several names for different shapes of hollow oaks. A bull oak was one with a hollow reaching to the ground which was large enough for sheep or pigs or even bulls to take shelter in it.

COMMISSARIUS-Within the Church, he was a man who was personally commissioned by a Bishop to exercise spiritual authority within the Bishop’s diocese or See. The Commissarius could preside as a judge in court on behalf of the Bishop.

CUNNING WOMAN-The term cunning comes from Old English cunnende and Old Norse kunna, which both mean to know or to have the knowledge. A cunning woman, later called a wise woman, was highly skilled in herbal medicine, folk magic, and divination. For many centuries after the coming of Christianity, they were the keepers of the old pagan practises. Although they mostly used their knowledge to help and heal, the Church and medical profession frequently denounced them as witches.