As well as conducting a wide range of fascinating London walks Richard Jones is also an accomplished magician who is a Member of the prestigious Magic Circle, the world’s leading society for Magicians. He holds the rank of Associate of the Inner Magic Circle with Silver Star, the penultimate honour the Society can bestow upon its members.
Ever the innovator on the London walks scene, Richard was the first person to incorporate magic into his tours and began performing amazing feats of mind reading and psychic recreations on his haunted London walks in 1992.
Over the next few days we will be taking you on a breathtaking journey through the history of magic, telling its story from its ancient origins to its modern popularity on television and in theatres. It is a fascinating story and the in depth account you will read of it is typical of the amount of detail we include in and the amount of knowledge we bring to all our London walks.
A Magical History Tour.
For us, living in the 21st century, awe and wonderment have been largely eroded by the advances of science. But our distant ancestors inhabited a fearsome and hostile world.
As they struggled to understand the swings of nature, these primitive peoples were only too willing to respect and reward anyone they believed capable of understanding and controlling this dangerous environment.
Thus were born the earliest practitioners of magic.
As the millennia rolled by, these wonder-workers evolved into the fakirs, witch doctors and shamans of early civilizations. They laid the foundations for the priests and soothsayers of Egypt, Greece and Rome, with their magnificent temples in which awe-struck mortals could witness spectacular illusions: altar fires that would explode into jets of searing, bright flame; doors that would be opened by invisible hands, and horns and trumpets that played of their own accord.
These elaborate illusions helped create the atmosphere in which the gods could utter their commandments, and oracles could reveal what the fates had in store.
Meanwhile, on the streets of these great empires, the forebears of our modern magicians were busily astounding their audiences. These entertainers wandered from town to town exhibiting their skills wherever they could find an audience, and gravitating towards the great public games and religious festivals.
The more accomplished would find themselves appearing in established theatres, or would be booked to amuse guests at great banquets.
Many, no doubt, followed the Roman legions as they swept across Western Europe and found their way into Britain.
As the Roman Empire collapsed, historical records became sparse, and it would be another four hundred years before Europe emerged from the so-called ‘Dark Ages’.
From the 8th century onwards, itinerant entertainers swarmed across Europe. Several achieved considerable respectability; they were called upon to entertain royalty and nobility, and were suitably rewarded.
Others found their talents in demand for more inspirational services. Just before the Battle of Hastings in 1066, for example, we learn how Taillifer appeared before the Norman soldiers and performed ‘many marvelous feats of dexterity, throwing up and catching his lance and sword, so that they all considered him an enchanter or conjuror.’ The Anglo Saxons on the other hand weren’t particularly impressed by his show of dexterity and he was promptly slain by an avalanche of spears.
By the 1100s, sleight-of-hand performers had become known as jugglers, who found themselves being constantly censured by officialdom. In 1106 they were bidden to reside in certain French cities. In 1150, St Bernard of Clairvaux preached that ‘the tricks of jugglers never please God; and a hundred years later, Louis IX vowed drive them out of France.
Despite this persecution they persevered, and several contemporary accounts of their activities have survived. We learn of a Dutch juggler who in 1272 cut off a boy’s head, then restored his victim to life. A performer was even said to have thrown his pony’s bridle into the air, whereupon he, his wife, their maid and the pony all climbed up it and vanished from mortal view. It is somewhat anti-climatic to learn that they were subsequently discovered drunk in a nearby tavern!
Meanwhile, the Crusades had opened up the vast and mystical knowledge of the Arab world, in particular Moorish scientists’ investigations into the secret art of the ancient Egyptian goldsmiths.
The Arabs called Egypt Khem and the art of working with gold they called al-kimiya, ‘the art of the land of khem.’
Whether this was the origin of the word alchemy is debatable but, with the Moorish occupation of Spain, their knowledge found its way into Europe and inspired the legendary search for the Philosopher’s stone.
Magicians and alchemists strove, among other things, to turn base metal into gold and their researches laid the foundations of modern chemistry, mathematics and science. But they also created numerous ingenious illusions, many of which would later be rediscovered and adapted by stage illusionists.
Whereas the Christian church was Willing, to an extent, to countenance the studies and illusions of its own clerics, it was equally willing to attribute similar feats to demonic assistance when the same things were done by the laity.
Fueled by the paranoia of fanatical clerics, who came to see the devil’s hand in any number of innocent pastimes, the infamous witch hunts began. Over a period of 200 years close on 40,000 unfortunate souls, some of whom were, doubtless, nothing more than sleight-of-hand performers, were executed as witches.
We will continue with our History of Magic in tomorrow’s blog. Meanwhile why not take a look at the London walks we have on offer.
Don’t forget that you can also order our Free Harry Potter London Tour PDF through the quick request box at the top right corner of this page.
