Folkways in Thomas Hardy / Ruth A. Firor.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Firor, Ruth A., Author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Folklore--England--Dorset.

Folklore.

Physical Description:

1 online resource

Place of Publication:

Philadelphia : University of Pennsylvania Press, [1931]

Language Note:

In English.

Summary:

A veritable source book of superstition, this volume seeks out the abundant examples of belief in the forces of magic and the survival of old customs among the Wessex peasantry as revealed in the works of Thomas Hardy. the fear of falling mirrors and single magpies; the belief that horses found in a sweat in the morning have been "hag-ridden" all night; the notion that cattle kneel in their stalls on Christmas Eve; the credulous use of "corpse cures" and love potions--all are but individual expressions of the complete acceptance of the supernatural by a people who still think in a way we consider unsophisticated. A delightful portion of the book is devoted to descriptions of the great trade hiring-and-firing fairs, May festivals, country dances, caroling and wassailing, and to the legends of "Druidical Stones" on Egdon Heath and Roman roads through Wessex. In addition the study covers a wealth of related subjects, including English sheep-shearing songs; the ancient tradition of the magic powers of the mandrake, originally identified with the Black Aphrodite; the ritual significance of the Mummer's play; the medieval absurdity of the "Vegetable Lamb," which lived suspended from a tree by a flexible stalk; the survival of the moon cult of Astarte in the Isle of Slingers, and many other equally absorbing topics.

Contents:

Frontmatter

PREFACE

CONTENTS

I. OMENS, PREMONITIONS, AND FATALITY

II. DIVINATION

III. GHOST AND FAIRY LORE

IV. MAGIC AND WITCHCRAFT

V. FOLK-MEDICINE

VI. WEATHER LORE AND THE LANGUAGE OF COUNTRY THINGS

VII. SEASONAL FESTIVALS AND CUSTOMS

VIII. SPORTS AND PASTIMES

IX. FOLK-SONGS, COUNTRY-DANCES, AND FOLK-DRAMA

X. FOLK WIT AND WISDOM

XI. FOLK-LAW

XII. PREHISTORY AND SURVIVALS OF ANCIENT RELIGIONS

XIII. MEDIEVAL LEGENDS AND NAPOLEONANA

XIV. HARDY’S USE OF FOLKLORE AND FOLK-CUSTOM

BIBLIOGRAPHY

INDEX

Notes:

Description based on online resource; title from PDF title page (publisher's Web site, viewed 26. Aug 2020)

ISBN:

1-5128-1587-X

OCLC:

1013967032