What is Folklore?
Introduction
This seminar is an overture to the module. In it, we will begin to discuss issues which we will return to across the module. We will consider the nature of folklore and the opportunities and the challenges which it poses for historians. We will start to consider sources and methods and the need to engage with other disciplines.
Seminar Questions
What is folklore?
What can historians learn from the study of folklore?
What are the key issues which historians using folklore need to address?
Required Reading
You should each read all of these items:
- Bendix, Regina F., and Galit Hasan-Rokem, 'Introduction' and 'Introduction to Part I', in Regina F. Bendix and Galit Hasan-Rokem, eds, (Malden, MA, 2012)
- Bendix, Regina, '' Radical History Review 84 (2002), 110-114
- Davies, Owen, and Ceri Houlbrook, (Manchester, 2025), Introduction.
- Pooley, William G., '', Past & Present 239: 1 (2018), e1–e15
Further Reading
Bascom, William R., '', The Journal of American Folklore 67/266 (1954), 333–349
Bell, Karl, The Legend of Spring-Heeled Jack: Victorian Urban Folklore and Popular Cultures (London, 2012)
Bendix, Regina F., and Galit Hasan-Rokem, eds, A Companion to Folklore (Malden, MA, 2012)
Bennett, Margaret, ed., (Edinburgh, 1992)
Blank, Trevor J., ed., Folk Culture in the Digital Age: The Emergent Dynamics of Human Interaction (Logan, UT, 2012)
Bronner, Simon J., (London, 2017)
Burke, Peter, 'History and Folklore: A Historiographical SurveyLink opens in a new windowLink opens in a new window', Folklore 115/2 (2004), 133–139
Cheeseman, Matthew, 'Introduction', in , ed. Matthew Cheeseman and Carina Hart (London, 2022), 1-21
Hobsbawm, Eric, 'Introduction: Inventing Traditions' in Eric Hobsbawm and Terence Ranger, eds, (Cambridge, 1983)
Hopkin, David, '', Folklore 112/2 (2001), 218-222
Kingshill, Sophia, and Jennifer Westwood, The Fabled Coast: Legends and Traditions from Around the Shores of Britain and Ireland (London, 2014)
Kodish, Debora, '', Journal of American Folklore 124 (2011), 31-60.
Lindahl, Carl, John McNamara and John Lindow, eds, Medieval Folklore: An Encyclopedia of Myths, Legends, Tales, Beliefs, and Customs, 2 vols (Oxford, 2000)
Lombardi-Satriani, Luigi, 'Folklore as Culture of ContestationLink opens in a new windowLink opens in a new window', Journal of the Folklore Institute 11:1/2 (1974), 99–121.
Meder, Theo, 鈥業n Search of the Dutch Lore of the Land: Old and New Legends throughout the Netherlands鈥�, Folklore 122/2 (2011), 117–34.
Norman, Mark, Telling the Bees and Other Customs: The Folklore of Rural Crafts (Cheltenham, 2020)
脫 Gioll谩in, Diarmuid, Locating Irish Folklore: Tradition, Modernity, Identity (Cork, 2000)
O虂 hO虂ga虂in, Da虂ithi虂, The Lore of Ireland: An Encyclopaedia of Myth, Legend and Romance (Woodbridge, 2006)
脫 S煤illeabh谩in, Se谩n, A Handbook of Irish Folklore (Dublin, 1942)
Owen, Trefor M., Welsh Folk Customs (Cardiff, 1959)
Rees, Gareth E., Unofficial Britain: Journeys through Unexpected Places (London, 2020)
Roud, Steve, The English Year: A Month-by-Month Guide to the Nation's Customs and Festivals, from May Day to Mischief Night (Harmondsworth, 2008)
Roud, Steve, The Lore of the Playground: One Hundred Years of Children's Games, Rhymes and Traditions (London, 2010)
Roud, Steve, The Penguin Guide to the Superstitions of Britain and Ireland (Harmondsworth, 2003)
Simpson, Jacqueline, and Steve Roud, A Dictionary of English Folklore (Oxford, 2003)
Simpson, Jacqueline, Green Men & White Swans: The Folklore of British Pub Names (London, 2010)
Vickery, Roy, Vickery's Folk Flora: An A-Z of the Folklore and Uses of British and Irish Plants (London, 2019)
Walsham, Alexandra, 'Recording Superstition in Early Modern Britain: The Origins of Folklore', Past & Present 199, supplement 3 (2008), 178–206
Westwood, Jennifer, and Jacqueline Simpson, The Lore of the Land: A Guide to England's Legends, from Spring-Heeled Jack to the Witches of Warboys (Harmondsworth, 2005)
Westwood, Jennifer, and Sophia Kingshill, The Lore of Scotland: A Guide to Scottish Legends (London, 2009)
Wood, Juliette, '', Folklore 108:1-2, (1997), 93-102