British Folklore

This dictionary is part of the Oxford Reference Collection: using sustainable print-on-demand technology to make the acclaimed backlist of the Oxford Reference programme perennially available in hardback format. An engrossing guide to English folklore and traditions, with over 1,250 entries. Folklore is connected to virtually every aspect of life, part of the country, age group, and occupation. From the bizarre to the seemingly mundane, it is as much a feature of the modern technological age as of the ancient world. BL Oral and Performance genres-Cheese rolling, Morris dancing, Well-dressingEL BL Superstitions-Charms, Rainbows, WishbonesEL BL Characters-Cinderella, Father Christmas, Robin Hood, Dick WhittingtonEL BL Supernatural Beliefs-Devil's hoofprints, Fairy rings, Frog showersEL BL Calendar Customs-April Fool's Day, Helston Furry Day, Valentine's DayEL

New legends for modern times; sprung from our ancient lands, stories and stones. 'Marvellous and menacing.' Daily Mail 'The shadow from which I thought I had unshackled myself has returned. Whether this Horror is real or merely the handiwork of my imagination I cannot say. Nor can I say which of these possibilities disturbs me more.' from 'The Dark Thread' by Graeme Macrae Burnet From the legends of King Arthur embedded in the rocky splendour of Tintagel to the folklore and mysticism of Stonehenge, English Heritage sites are often closely linked to native English myths. Following on from the bestselling ghost story anthology Eight Ghosts, this is a new collection of stories inspired by the legends and tales that swirl through the history of eight ancient historical sites. Including an essay by James Kidd on the importance of myth to our landscape and our fiction, and an English Heritage survey of sites and associated legends, These Our Monsters is an evocative collection that brings new voices and fresh creative alchemy to our story-telling heritage. 'Nobody believes you when you talk about the whispering. Oh, Monny, you are funny, they say, you've such an imagination. There's a lot they don't believe.' from 'The Hand Under the Stone' by Sarah Hall The atmospheric locations: Edward Carey - Bury St Edmunds Abbey Sarah Hall - Castlerigg and other stone circles Paul Kingsnorth - Stonehenge Alison MacLeod - Down House Graeme Macrae Burnet - Whitby Abbey Sarah Moss - Berwick Castle Fiona Mozley - Carlisle Castle Adam Thorpe - Tintagel Castle

British Goblins - Welsh Folk-lore, Fairy Mythology, Legends and Traditions. British Goblins does a good job at its stated purpose - collecting and loosely categorizing Welsh Folklore of every category, ranging from the reasons behind certain customs and superstitions of daily life, to descriptions and associated stories of various faeries, goblins, and giants, to descriptions of apparitions and the view of the afterlife, to more fantastic things, like dragons, standing stones, and magic wells and stones. Although a somewhat anecdotal approach is taken, the author has in fact preserved a good deal of information that might have otherwise been lost.

First published in 1999. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

The islands of Britain and Ireland hold a rich heritage of plant folklore and wisdom, from the magical yew tree to the bad-tempered dandelion. Here are traditional tales about the trees and plants that shape our landscapes and our lives through the seasons. They explore the complex relationship between people and plants, in lowlands and uplands, fields, bogs, moors, woodlands and towns. Suitable for all ages, this is an essential collection of stories for anyone interested in botany, the environment and our living heritage.

This collection explores folklore and folkloristics within the diverse and contested national discourses of Britain and Ireland, examining their role in shaping the islands’ constituent nations from the eighteenth century to our contemporary moment of uncertainty and change. This book is concerned with understanding folklore, particularly through its intersections with the narratives of nation entwined within art, literature, disciplinary practice and lived experience. By following these ideas throughout history into the twenty-first century, the authors show how notions of the folk have inspired and informed varied points from the Brothers Grimm to Brexit. They also examine how folklore has been adapting to the real and imagined changes of recent political events, acquiring newfound global and local rhetorical power. This collection asks why, when and how folklore has been deployed, enacted and considered in the context of national ideologies and ideas of nationhood in Britain and Ireland. Editors Cheeseman and Hart have crafted a thoughtful and timely collection, ideal for students and scholars of folklore, history, literature, anthropology, sociology and media studies.

Jason Marc Harris's ambitious book argues that the tensions between folk metaphysics and Enlightenment values produce the literary fantastic. Demonstrating that a negotiation with folklore was central to the canon of British literature, he explicates the complicated rhetoric associated with folkloric fiction. His analysis includes a wide range of writers, including James Barrie, William Carleton, Charles Dickens, George Eliot, Sheridan Le Fanu, Neil Gunn, George MacDonald, William Sharp, Robert Louis Stevenson, and James Hogg. These authors, Harris suggests, used folklore to articulate profound cultural ambivalence towards issues of class, domesticity, education, gender, imperialism, nationalism, race, politics, religion, and metaphysics. Harris's analysis of the function of folk metaphysics in nineteenth- and early twentieth-century narratives reveals the ideological agendas of the appropriation of folklore and the artistic potential of superstition in both folkloric and literary contexts of the supernatural.

An entertaining and engrossing collection of British customs, superstitions and legends from past and present. Did you know, in Cumbria it was believed a person lying on a pillow stuffed with pigeon’s feathers could not die? Or that green is an unlucky colour for wedding dresses? In Scotland it was thought you could ward off fairies by hanging your trousers from the foot of the bed, and in Gloucestershire you could cure warts by cutting notches in the bark of an ash tree. You’ve heard about King Arthur and St George, but how about the Green Man, a vegetative deity who is seen to symbolise death and rebirth? Or Black Shuck, the giant ghostly dog who was reputed to roam East Anglia? In this beautifully illustrated book, Dee Dee Chainey tells tales of mountains and rivers, pixies and fairy folk, and witches and alchemy. She explores how British culture has been shaped by the tales passed between generations, and by the land that we live on. As well as looking at the history of this subject, this book lists the places you can go to see folklore alive and well today. The Whittlesea Straw Bear Festival in Cambridgeshire or the Abbots Bromley Horn Dance in Staffordshire for example, or wassailing cider orchards in Somerset.

Recounting stories and legends from the dark centuries of British prehistory to the 9th century AD, Ashe shows how they interrelate and take on fresh significance from historical and archaeological research.