Folklore, Myths and Legends of Britain

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The result was an alternative version of both received history and expected futures; an outlook that insisted on questioning the national story and offered an alternate identity to the coming generation. (The folk horror of the ‘70s, in which traditions became threats and hedge-row spirits became devils, was largely a regressive, religious response to this movement.) It offered a different idea of Britain. Different to the modern world of hovercraft and computers, or the stifling establishment of gentlemen’s clubs and the W.I. British ley lines instead of British Leyland. A place of shadowed, high-hedged and twisting lanes, of half-remembered gods and drowned and forgotten lands. It gave us a sense of place, and a sense of enchantment in that place. It made our country magic. Around 1000 votive offerings of bronze and stone were found at her temple, and they most commonly represent the body part in need of healing. Other, more general effigies show the devotee holding an offering, such as fruit, a dog, or a purse of money (Deyts 1971: 69). These show a sense of general devotion to Sequana, alongside the requests for healing. Dark Water Spirits Observations on popular antiquities, chiefly illustrating the origin of our vulgar customs, ceremonies & super Clarke, David (2017), ‘Dead Flows the Don’, Dr David Clarke, https://drdavidclarke.co.uk/2017/03/30/dead-flows-the-don/.

Victorian folklorists set out to rediscover the pre-industrial traditions of Britain and ended up reinventing a lot of them. The flower children reinvented a bit more. Historians, occultists, anthropologists and drop-outs all weaved a vision of a country that was weirder and more entertaining than the motorways and service stations that strung it together.Deyts, Simone-Antoinette (1971), ‘The Sacred Source of the Seine’, Scientific American, 225:1, pp. 65-73. Observations on popular antiquities, [v1] chiefly illustrating the origin of our vulgar customs, ceremonies & Chap-books and Folk-lore Tracts, 1st ser., v 2: The history of the seven wise masters of Rome [Villon Society] Revell, Louise (2007), ‘Religion and Ritual in the Western Provinces’, Greece & Rome, second series, 54: 2, pp. 210-228.

Rivers enable industry and trade – the growth of Newcastle upon Tyne depended on the export of coal along the Tyne. Our shipbuilding made us an industrial powerhouse. Many other rivers boast similar tales of might or glory.And rivers act like highways across the land. If that doesn’t work, send a drummer out onto the river in a rowboat. The drum would apparently stop making a sound when it was above the body (Reader’s Digest 1973: 31). The traditional games of England, Scotland & Ireland, w/tunes, singing rhymes & methods of playing ... v 2: Oa We were haunted children of a haunted isle. The more esoteric wing of hippiedom, intent on finding an alternative to the wipe-clean modernism of the sixties, discovered that their great-grandparents had tried exactly the same thing.Of course, it’s not just spirits that live in rivers. Other lore surrounds the waters that could sustain a community or steal away life. The name was immortalised in ballad form in 1801 by Clemens Brentano. In it, a beautiful woman named Lore Lay lived in the area. Her lover betrays her by accusing her of bewitching men with her beautiful singing voice. Sandles, Tim (2016), ‘River Dart Claim’st a Heart’, Legendary Dartmoor, https://www.legendarydartmoor.co.uk/river-dart-claimst-a-heart.htm. Clarke, David (2012), ‘Dark River and Sheffield Spooks’, Dr David Clarke, https://drdavidclarke.co.uk/2012/10/11/dark-river-and-sheffield-spooks/.

British popular customs, present & past, illustrating the social & domestic manners of the people, arranged ac The grindylow appears in British folklore as a cautionary tale. Sometimes known as Jenny Greenteeth, the grindylow lurks in English rivers, ponds and marshes. According to the legends, these nasty critters dragged children into the deepest parts of the rivers if they ventured into the shallows. The Denham Tracts: [v1] A collection of folklore, repr from the original tracts & pamphlets printed by Denham

Folk and Hero Tales [bibliog. refs.; Waifs & Strays of Celtic Tradition, Argyllshire Ser. 111; intro Alfred N Romanbaths.co.uk (2014), ‘UNESCO Memory of the World’, Romanbaths.co.uk, https://www.romanbaths.co.uk/news/unesco-memory-world. Gilt bronze head from the cult statue of Sulis Minerva from the Temple at Bath, found in Stall Street in 1727 and now displayed at the Roman Baths (Bath). By Hchc2009 [ CC BY-SA 4.0] Woodcut published in The Legendary Lore of the Holy Wells Of England, including Rivers, Lakes, Fountains and Springs. Copiously Illustrated By Curious Original Woodcuts. by Robert Charles Hope, F.S.A., F.R.S.L., in 1893 [Public Domain] It’s also while fishing in the river Wear one Sunday that the heir of Lambton caught a strange worm. Freaked out by its weird appearance, the young man tossed it down a nearby well. Eventually, the worm grew to mammoth proportions and became the Lambton Worm. Lorelei and the Rhine

Edwards, Eric W (2014), ‘The Goddess Coventina of Northumbria’, Eric Edwards Collected Works, https://ericwedwards.wordpress.com/2014/04/11/the-goddess-coventina-of-northumbria/. Chap-books and Folk-lore Tracts, 1st ser., v 3: Mother Bunch's closet newly broke open, & the History of Mother Bunch of the west. [Villon

He further notes that the 19th-century historian Joseph Hunter thought the rhyme may have referred to sacrifices made to the water gods (2012). Clarke explains that the ancients considered rivers to be female, and he notes the belief that the Don was named for Danu, a Celtic mother goddess (2017). Dartmoor Petridis, Alexis (2012), ‘Danger! The world’s scariest films!’, The Guardian, https://www.theguardian.com/film/2012/mar/30/danger-world-scariest-films. Tim Sandles makes the point that the River Dart can end up swollen, and if it coincides with a north westerly wind, the river seems to cry. People think the river spirit cries when it claims its annual life (2016). Given the fact that the river is at its most dangerous when it’s in full force, you can see why people might attribute that to a vengeful spirit. Scotland also has the shellycoat, a creature that wears a coat of shells. They haunt rivers and streams, and most think they’re mischievous rather than malicious. They might throw their voice as the cry of a drowning person. And we’ve talked before about both kelpies and the Bean Nighe, both supernatural creatures you might encounter along Scottish waterways. But they’re also dangerous places with their fast currents and murky depths. They might look inviting on a warm day, but it’s easy to get into trouble. Telling tales of long-limbed hags or creatures with a taste for human flesh is one way to keep people out of harm’s way.