Folklore, Myths and Legends of Britain

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days leave, soldier Alexander Tewnion reached the summit of the mountain and immediately noticed, in the swirling mist, that “the atmosphere became dark and oppressive, a fierce, bitter wind whisked among the boulders, and an odd sound echoed through the mist – a loud footstep, it seemed. Then another, and another. A strange shape loomed up, receded, came charging at me! Without hesitation I whipped out the revolver and fired three times at the figure. When it still came on I turned and hared down the path…” Warner, M. (1998). "Why do Ogres Eat Babies? Monstrous Paternity in Myth and Fairytales". Paternity and Fatherhood. pp.195–203. doi: 10.1007/978-1-349-13816-6_18. ISBN 978-1-349-13818-0– via Springer Link.

a b Bailey, Michael D. (2 May 2013). Fearful Spirits, Reasoned Follies: The Boundaries of Superstition in Late Medieval Europe. Cornell University Press. pp.7–10. ISBN 978-0-8014-5144-7. Before England was founded in the year 927, Wessex and its surrounding areas' cultures were transformed by the invasion of the Danish King Guthrum between 865 and 878. [5] The king of Wessex, King Alfred, prevailed against King Guthrum's troops in 878 and King Guthrum was baptised and became the ruler of East Anglia. This continued the process of the assimilation of Norse words into the English language. Eventually English folklore melded with Norse traditions such as in their iconography, which became more Greek, and in their clothing and folktales which adopted more Nordic elements. [6] The folklore of the people of England continued to be passed down through oral tradition. [1] On May Day, the first day of May, a tall, decorated pole is put up as a symbol of fertility called a maypole. The maypole represents a phallic object impregnating the earth at the end of spring to ensure a bountiful summer. The maypoles were decorated originally with flowers and carved from the branches of trees about to bloom to symbolise the birth of new life. Eventually the flowers were replaced with ribbons and May day became a day for celebration and dancing in which a May queen and sometimes a May king would be crowned to also symbolise fertility. [48]Opie, Iona; Tatem, Moira (1992). A Dictionary of Superstitions. New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-172687-3. For the last fifteen years, John Freeman has had his finger firmly on the literary pulse. Until recently, he was the Editor-in-Chief of Granta, and part of the panel that put together their most recent, much discussed, once a decade list, Best of Young British Novelists. He's reviewed thousands of books and profiled some of the world's most influential writers from Doris Lessing to John Updike. These encounters have now been collected in his latest book How To Read A Novelist. A hagstone, also called a holed stone or adder stone, is a type of stone, usually glassy, with a naturally occurring hole through it. Such stones have been discovered by archaeologists in both Britain and Egypt. In England it was used as a counter-charm for sleep paralysis, called hag-riding by tradition. [54] Atherton, Mark (2017). The making of England: a new history of the Anglo-Saxon world. London: Bloomsbury Academic. pp.53–58. ISBN 978-1-78672-154-9. OCLC 975999502. Finally, we end by moving on to a more modern British legend. The character of James Bond has proved to have enduring appeal sufficient to give him legendary status. Originating from a set of novels by Ian Fleming, James Bond – also known by his code name 007 – is a secret agent whose work sees him travelling the world on the trail of various interesting and unique villains, some of whom appear in more than one story. Meeting a host of beautiful women along the way, Bond’s adventures generally involve thrilling fight scenes, fast cars and clever gadgets. Bond has been taking on international intrigue of one sort or another on the big screen since 1962, when Sean Connery was the first to play the character in what many have seen as the definitive James Bond performance. Since then, several other actors have had the privilege of filling Bond’s shoes, and with movies continuing to be made, the legend of James Bond looks set to continue.

A parish ale is a type of party in the parish usually held to fundraise money for a particular purpose. [49] A Wyvern is a smaller relative of dragons with two legs rather than four. It also has smaller wings and cannot breathe fire. [22] Folklorists have developed frameworks such as the Aarne–Thompson-Uther index which categorise folktales first by types of folktales and then by consistent motifs. [20] While these stories and characters have differences according to the region of their origin, these motifs are such that there is a national identity of folktales through which these regions have interacted. [2] King Arthur is the legendary king of the Britons, the Once and Future King and True Born King of England. The origins of King Arthur and his exploits are vague due to the many reproductions of his character. The Historia Brittonum and the Annales Cambriae reference many battles of an Arthur, Annales Cambriae also referencing Mordred, a rival, and Merlin, a wise mentor. Although these sources have been used as proof for Arthur's origins, their credibility has been disputed as mythology rather than history. [32] As English folklore has progressed, King Arthur's retellings have been classified into romances such as Malory's Morte Darthur, chronicles such as Geoffrey's Historia Regum Britanniae, and fantasies such as Culhwch ac Olwen (whose author is unknown). [33] On the island guarded by Piel Castle, a 'King of Piel' is still crowned to this day, in a tradition said to originate from the time of Lambert Simnel, a pretender to the throne.Guiley, Rosemary Ellen (2007). The Encyclopedia of Ghosts and Spirits. New York: Facts On File, Inc. Beowulf is an anonymous Old English historical epic of 3182 lines which describes the adventures of its titular character, prince Beowulf of Geats. The story goes that Beowulf slays Grendel, a monster who has tormented the hall of Hrothgar King of the Danes for twelve years. Grendel's mother seeks to gain revenge and Beowulf slays her also, after which Beowulf becomes king of the Danes himself. After 50 years, Beowulf's people are tormented by a dragon and Beowulf dies while slaying her. [38] Original speculation was that Beowulf was a Scandinavian epic translated to English, theorised due to the story's Scandinavian settings. However, Beowulf was cemented as an Old English epic through the study that heroes of folklore are not ordinarily natives of the country they save. [39] I shall not, of course, name my friend, but he should know that his indulgence was not in vain. I still love this book and it has been my constant companion through the last 40 years. Popular Rhymes and Nursery Tales" (1849), by James Halliwell, a discussion on the origin of English folk tales and rhymes. The scholarly, monocle wearing second son of a Duke, who solves bizarre murders ably assisted by his manservant Bunter might seem an anomaly among the Wallenders and Rebus's of today's detective fiction but against unlikely odds Lord Peter Wimsey, created by Dorothy L Sayers, continues to delight readers. Despite her death in 1957 her character lives on not least thanks to Jill Paton Walsh who has taken on the task of continuing Wimsey's adventures, beginning with Sayer's unfinished manuscript Thrones, Dominations. She's just published her fourth Peter Wimsey book The Late Scholar and joins Mariella Frostrup and lifelong Sayers' fan, Sarah Crown, to discuss his, and the books', enduring appeal.

Keegan-Phipps, Simon (29 Mar 2017). "Identifying the English: essentialism and multiculturalism in contemporary English folk music". Ethnomusicology Forum. 26: 3–25 – via Taylor & Francis Online. Blust, Robert (2000). "The Origin of Dragons". Anthropos. 95 (2): 519–536. JSTOR 40465957– via JSTOR. Jonas, M. C.; Partridge, J. B.; Leather, Ella M.; Potter, F. S. (1913). "Scraps of English Folklore, VII". Folklore. 24 (2): 234–241. doi: 10.1080/0015587X.1913.9719566– via Taylor & Francis Online.a b c Cheeseman, Matthew; Hart, Carina, eds. (2022). Folklore and nation in Britain and Ireland. New York. ISBN 978-1-003-00753-1. OCLC 1250431455. {{ cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher ( link) a b c d McDowall, Robert (26 September 2019). "English Folklore: What Cultural Values Does It Represent?". #FolkloreThursday. Archived from the original on 24 July 2021 . Retrieved 30 December 2021. a b Simpson, Jacqueline (2008). "Seeking the Lore of the Land". Folklore. 119 (2): 131–141. doi: 10.1080/00155870802056936. S2CID 162117834. Grose, Francis (1787). A provincial glossary, with a collection of local proverbs, and popular superstitions. London: S Hooper. p.62.

On the flyleaf of my copy of this book an official from the school library has written ‘Un-Wanted.’ This is a lie. It was wanted. By me. That official was a friend. We were both habitués of the library and, as you might expect, pettifogging little goody-two-shoes. It is a measure of how badly I wanted this book that I persuaded my friend to flout the rules and give it to me. Ditmas, E. M. R. (1974). "The Way Legends Grow". Folklore. 85 (4): 244–253. doi: 10.1080/0015587X.1974.9716563. JSTOR 1259622– via JSTOR. The Grimm brothers' publications such as German Legends and Grimms' Fairy Tales were translated from their original German and distributed across Europe in 1816. Their stories inspired publishers such as William Thoms to compile legends from within English folklore and without to compose an English identity. The stories that the Grimm brothers collected were integrated into the English school curriculum throughout the 19th century as educators of morality. [2] Characteristics [ edit ] By his own account, that was what happened to renowned climber, scientist and Fellow of the Royal Society, J Norman Collie, at the end of the 19th century. Years later, he recalled hearing slow, deliberate footsteps – one vast step for every three or four of his own – following him on the mountain. If this introductory look at Britain’s wealth of fascinating legends has inspired you, you can learn more about British folklore over at Mysterious Britain. If you come on an Oxford Royale Summer Schools course, you can also look forward to visiting some of Britain’s famous landmarks, such as mysterious Stonehenge on Salisbury Plain – said, in one tale, to have been constructed by none other than the magician Merlin of Arthurian legend…After a person died, a poor person was hired to take on their sins by eating before or after the funeral over their body- a sin-eater. The sin-eater would hence ensure that the recently deceased would be taken to heaven. [52] Items [ edit ] Snippets of British history are highlighted in the closing section and detailed in a way that is interesting and easy to understand. a b Mingazova, Liailia; Sulteev, Rustem (2014). "Tatar and English Children's Folklore: Education in Folk Traditions". Western Folklore. 73: 410–431 – via ProQuest. Bane, Theresa (2013). Encyclopedia of Fairies in World Folklore and Mythology. McFarland & Company, Incorporated Publishers. p.219. ISBN 978-0-394-40918-4.