English folklore is the folk tradition which has developed in England over a number of centuries. Some stories can be traced back to their roots, while the origin of others is uncertain or disputed. England abounds with folklore, in all forms, from such obvious manifestations as the traditional Arthurian legends (which were originally strictly Britonic) and Robin Hood tales, to contemporary urban legends and facets of cryptozoology such as the Beast of Bodmin Moor.

English folklore could be considered a brief look at the not well known mythology of the Anglo-Saxons, though it also has Welsh influences, perhaps evidence of a predominantly non-hostile Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain or it could be because of the Norman's replacement of a great deal of English legends with Britonic ones.

Morris dance and related practices such as the Abbots Bromley Horn Dance preserve old English folk traditions, as do Mummers Plays. Pub names may preserve folk traditions.

Most folklore traditions are no longer widely believed. Whereas some traditions were once believed across the whole of England, most belong to specific regions:

Contents

Folklore of England

Folklore of East Anglia

Folklore of London and the South East

Folklore of the Midlands

Folklore of Yorkshire and the North East

Folklore of the North West

Folklore of the South West

Folklore in song

English folklore in other media

English folklore crops up in books, films and comic books and these appearances include:

See also

Reference Books

  • Hutton, Ronald, The Stations of the Sun: A History of the Ritual Year in England, 1999
  • Opie, Iona, and Peter Opie, The Lore and Language of Schoolchildren, 1959
  • Opie, Iona, and Peter Opie, The Oxford Dictionary of Nursery Rhymes, (2nd edn) 1997
  • Opie, Iona, and Moira Tatem, A Dictionary of Superstitions, 1989
  • Roud, Steve, The Penguin Guide to the Superstitions of Great Britain and Ireland, 2004
  • Simpson, Jacqueline, and Steve Roud, A Dictionary of English Folklore, 2000
  • Vickery, Roy, A Dictionary of Plant Lore, 1995
  • Westwood, Jennifer, and Jacqueline Simpson, The Lore of the Land: A Guide to England's legends, 2005

External links

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_folklore"


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