Is Mother Shipton a Myth?

"A Legendary Myth or a Legendary Woman?" 

~ Susan Larison Danz, creator of MotherShipton.com 

 

 

Mother Shipton is quite regularly described as “legendary”, and while that designation is accurate, using it without further analysis skirts around the most pivotal question:  Did Mother Shipton ever exist at all?  

 A legendary figure can be real or imaginary.  

In an attempt to once again reawaken this blog, which is taking its time in reawakening, this post is the first in a series that will step through the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) on the MotherShipton.com website, the partner site of this blog (as MotherShipton.com was previously ShiptonProphecy.com before the namesake site miraculously fell into my hands).  The MotherShipton.com History page, more detailed than the FAQs or what can be conveyed in this post*,  begins with this question: “A Legendary Myth or a Legendary Woman?”.  

An award-winning professor and researcher who is unfortunately rarely mentioned in most explorations of Mother Shipton is Dr. Arnold Kellett (1926-2009).  Dr. Kellett often wrote about the area where Mother Shipton was said to have lived, as this was his home.  He invested many years and significant effort in locating evidence of her existence.  His explorations were successful, as he did indeed surface evidence persuasively pointing in the direction that she was real.  This evidence had very little to do with the mythological stories repeatedly told about her.
 

I had hoped to communicate with Dr. Kellett while he was still living, but he passed away before I had a chance.  It is a privilege to recognize him on MotherShipton.com, the site bearing her name.



* Even with the detailed information it already provides, the MotherShipton.com History page has much more expanding to do.  

 

 

Mother Shipton: A Glimpse of the Truth

"On page after page after page regarding Mother Shipton, you will find repeated 'facts' from a very early account of her life created at a time when all sorts of fantastic stories were being concocted about 'witches'. Unfortunately, these things have been repeated for so very long that their dubious origins have been obscured." 

~ Susan Larison Danz, creator of MotherShipton.com

 

 

What do we really know about legendary 16th century prophetess Mother Shipton? Why are so many inaccurate stories propagated about her?  

In a recent episode of The Frontier Beyond Fear broadcast, host Susan Larison Danz shared some of her research from her 15+ year The Prophetess Legacy project and viewable on her website MotherShipton.com.  

Listen to the episode Mother Shipton: A Glimpse of the Truth on your favorite podcasting platform: 

Blog Talk Radio

iHeartRadio

Spotify

Apple Podcasts

Audacy 

 

Historical Mother Shipton drawing in the Public Domain.

 

Repetition is Not Verification

“A lie can travel half way around the world 

 while the truth is putting on its shoes.”

 ~ Mark Twain

 

 

As this blog reawakens, perhaps there is no more important topic than addressing the repetition of information about Mother Shipton, information which is not verifiable - and even patently false.  Often this is unintentional, as so much unverifiable information about Mother Shipton has been propagating for centuries, it is very difficult to discern with accuracy.  This started well before the internet era, though the time in which we live exacerbates the problem.

The website MotherShipton.com (originally ShiptonProphecy.com) exists to approach the questions we must face in as balanced a fashion as possible, using the most reliable sources available.  It has also become its own research endeavor in the nearly 15 years it has existed, exploring new ideas based on the clues that can be observed.

Many stories about Mother Shipton are highly entertaining to share, and that is why they have been repeated, the repetition gifting them with the appearance of authenticity.  Many of these stories originated in the days when people enjoyed reading fantastic stories about "witches".  Is that where you would like to place your trust?  The only authentic aspect of these stories (which have many variations) is people have chosen to share and (sometimes) believe them.  Some of these stories are fun, and it's OK to share fun stories, but if we really want to know what might be true, that is a different focus.

The FAQs page on MotherShipton.com is a helpful place to start.

This post contains a historic drawing associated with stories about Mother Shipton.