[MR] Wikipedia: Mother Shipton and Prophesies

[Garth Groff and Sally Sanford]

Noble Friends,

Recently I ran across a reference in a book to a 16th century soothsayer
and prophetess, Mother Shipton. I forgot to follow up on this, but Lady
Sarah Sinclair kindly dug out the Wikipedia article upon which this post is
based.

Mother Shipton was likely born Ursula Southell in 1488, possibly in a cave
near Knaresborough, Yorkshire (they proudly claim her today, and recently
erected a statue in her honor). She is said to have later married a local
carpenter named Toby Shipton, thus becoming Mother Shipton when she
became old. She apparently made a marginal living telling fortunes and
making prophetic predictions, and somehow escaped being burned as a witch
or a heretic. Her alleged prophecies were first published in 1641, some 80
years after her death, making Mother Shipton something of a posthumus
celebrity, and a sort of patron saint for fortune tellers and astrologers
of the time. Her fame, and her immortality, never matched Nostradomus, who
despite being dead since 1566 continues to make amazing predictions through
supermarket tabloid newspapers and so-called "reality" TV shows on the
cable channels (now thought to continue in business as Nostradamus, Inc.
 😁 ).

So here is the Wikipedia article:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mother_Shipton . Be sure to take a look at
the moth.

There is a bit more about Mother Shipton's Cave and a nearby "petrifying
well", said to be England's oldest tourist attractions, at
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mother_Shipton's_Cave . They are run today by
Mother Shipton's Cave, Ltd., which suggests she might still be giving
Nostradamus a run for his money (or somebody else's) after all. If we ever
go to North Yorkshire, I've got to see this.

Internet Archive has a bit more on Mother Shipton at
https://web.archive.org/web/20090212184058/http://www.mysteriousbritain.co.uk/occult/mother-shipton.html
. This took a while to load, and you have to scroll to the bottom past a
whole bunch of other tantalizing links. Then, there she is, in all her
warty glory.

Yours Aye,


Mungo Napier, Laird of Mallard Lodge  🦆