We’d like to introduce and welcome Dr Ceri Houlbrook to the Moot for the first time.
Although new to our event, Ceri is a well‑established and highly respected figure in the wider folklore and pagan community, and we’re excited to have her join our Anniversary Event.
Dr Ceri Houlbrook, Senior Lecturer in Folklore and History, is the Programme Leader for the MA Folklore Studies at the University of Hertfordshire.
Her primary interests are ritual practices, popular beliefs, and how they adapt to contemporary society.
She has written three monographs (The Roots of a Ritual, Unlocking the Love-Lock, and Ritual ‘Litter’ Redressed), co-written two with Owen Davies (Folklore: A journey through the past and present and Building Magic), and co-edited several books and journal special issues.
In addition to her scholarly work, she writes folklore-inspired fiction. Her debut novel is entitled Winter’s Wishfall.
Ceri will be talking about British coin-trees, which was the topic of her PhD and the focus of her book The Roots of a Ritual.
Coin-trees are exactly what their name suggests: trees which have been embedded with coins.
In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, the custom of coin insertion was observed for folk-remedial purposes; people inserted coins in the hope of cures.
However, as Ceri will demonstrate, the custom has experienced a recent resurgence, with many coin-trees dating to the 21st century.
Why do people insert coins into trees today? Ceri aims to answer this question.