A Treasury of British Folklore: Maypoles, Mandrakes and Mistletoe
3.5/5
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About this ebook
An entertaining and engrossing collection of British customs, superstitions and legends from past and present.
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.
Dee Dee Chainey
Dee Dee Chainey is an archaeologist by training, and author of A Treasury of British Folklore: Maypoles, Mandrakes and Mistletoe from National Trust Books. She is co-founder of #FolkloreThursday, a popular website and Twitter account that brings fascinating tales and traditions from all corners of the globe to its followers every Thursday.
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Reviews for A Treasury of British Folklore
9 ratings2 reviews
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Even in these days of 24/7 news, a world of knowledge at your fingertips and the ability to talk to almost anyone else on the planet, there are still things that we do and say that can trace their origins back hundreds of years. Some of the stranger ones have sadly vanished from the common vernacular, but thankfully we have people like Dee Dee Chainey who has scoured the legends, crept past the giants and kelpies and learnt about the customs and included them in this charming little book.
So if you want to know who the green man was, which tree it is rumoured to be safe to stand under in a thunderstorm and when in the farming year they would shout 'Hurrah! Hurrah for the neck. As you'd expect, there are hounds, white harts and fairies. You can discover which fairies like to help and which use blood to dye their caps. The supernatural gets a section to itself as well as the hatched, matched and despatched themes that still dominate life today.
It is a good overview of the weft and weave of folklore that permeates our lives even today. If it does lack a little depth, but it is a concise summation of all things folklore. That said, there is an extensive bibliography and references and more importantly a comprehensive list of places to find folklore for those that want to uncover much more about this fascinating subject. I loved the bold woodcut illustrations by Joe McLaren too, they are a certain gravitas to the book - Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A very good little book which serves as an introduction and brief overview of folklore in the uk, with various chapters alluding to different facets. It's not comprehensive and would not work well as a reference book in particular, but to give a flavour, or a steer in a certain direction for a researcher then it has merit. Some interesting woodcut illustrations as well. Certainly good for the casual interested reader.