Kirjahaku

First mentioned by William Langland in the late fourteenth century, Robin Hood comes down to us through ballads and folksongs, old chronicles and plays, medieval allusions, folklore and place names. Today Robin Hood folk songs are found in the USA as well as in England and Scotland, and place names and traditions are widely located in England. The earliest stories are centred on Barnsdale in Yorkshire, but later the emphasis shifts to Nottingham and Sherwood Forest. Originally a yeoman, Robin was upgraded to aristocrat in the sixteenth century, but he remains essentially a champion of the poor and oppressed and a social nonconformer. How far Robin Hood was based on a historical character and how far he is an archetypal outlaw or a Greenwood myth (who must withdraw from society and commune with nature) is the subject of the Doels' wide-ranging study.This new edition is complete with an updated gazetteer of Robin Hood sites and an annotated filmography. It includes almost 50 illustrations (including performances by present-day mummers).

Outlaw or Greenwood myth.

The Green Man has many facets, many dimensions. He peers through his leaf mask in hundreds of church misericords and stone carvings. His innate link with the changing seasons and fertility is revealed in the medieval poem Sir Gawain and the Green Knight and in summer folk customs such as Jack in the Green, the Castleton Garland and the Burry Man. Perhaps he even lurks in the legendary hero of the Greenwood, Robin Hood. The Authors have been running summer schools and courses on the Green Man for many years, and in this fascinating study they discuss his significance in medival times and explore the modern development of the concept of the Green Man. The book also contains a detailed gazetteer of over 200 sites, featuring almost 1000 carvings (many photographed by Felicity Howlett).

An examination of the evidence for the historical Arthur and of the creation of the hero of medieval romances, through the early Welsh sources and the French Romances to Thomas Malory and the Tudor myth. The contribution of Tennyson and the pre-Raphaelites and the connection with Tintagel and Glastonbury are also explored.

Explore the rich heritage of Christmas past in Dorset through this varied collection of carols and customs, seasonal recipes and stories, plays, pastimes and pantomimes, and extracts from the seasonal writings of the great Dorset authors Thomas Hardy and William Barnes. Stories range from the Middle Ages to the Second World War, encompassing urban and rural Dorset, and featuring secular and religious celebrations of rich and poor, which is sure to enthrall both long-time residents and newcomers alike.From Christmas in the workhouse to the ritualistic Symondsbury Mummers Play and recipes for how to make a rich plum cake A Dorset Christmas will be a welcome addition to any anthology of the county and a seasonal treat for all.

Providing readers with a seasonal anthology of the county, this collection of Sussex carols and customs, seasonal recipes and literary tales, re-examines the rich heritage of Christmas past from around the county. It features Christmas disasters, such as the Lewes avalanche, to well-known seasonal songs - such as Good King Wenceslas.

Folklore of Dorset explores the rich heritage of the county’s traditions, seasonal customs and songs. Included are saints’ lore and smugglers, wife sales, wrecking, witchcraft, wise men and West Gallery Music, hill figures, hempseed divination and holy wells, mummers’ plays, May garlands and maypoles, Oosers and Oak Apple Day, bonfires and Beating the Bounds. The sources used include the poems and non-fiction of William Barnes, Thomas Hardy, the historian of Dorset John Hutchins, the Victorian and early twentieth-century folklorist John Udal and the Hammmond Brothers’ collection of Dorset folksongs. The authors critically engage with the extent to which Hardy and Barnes can be regarded as primary sources for Dorset folklore. There is also considerable original research and use of oral material. Nearly 100 fascinating photographs illustrate the text and there is an appendix of a full mummers’ play.

For 400 years Kent and East Sussex were vividly and visibly associated with the cultivation of hops. Fran and Geoff Doel have evoked this bygone world of hopping by gathering together a wide range of social and literary accounts, poems and songs from the Tudor period to the present day, each with a contextual introduction. The selection illustrates both the ‘rose-tinted’ image and the harsher reality of a distinctive aspect of rural life in the south east.

Kentish folklore reflects the curious geography and administrative history of Kent, with its extensive coastline and strong regional differences, which are reflected in distinctive cultural traditions. Bounded by sea on three sides, Kent has the longest coastline of any English county and was the base for much maritime activity, giving rise to communities rich in sea-lore.Fran and Geoff Doel explore the folklore, legends, customs and songs of Kent and the causative factors behind them. From saints to smugglers, hop-pickers to hoodeners, mummers to May garlands and wife sales to witchcraft, this book charts the traditional culture of a populous and culturally significant southern county.

Providing readers with a seasonal anthology of the county, this collection of Sussex carols and customs, seasonal recipes and literary tales, re-examines the rich heritage of Christmas past from around the county. It features Christmas disasters, such as the Lewes avalanche, to well-known seasonal songs - such as Good King Wenceslas.

Kentish folklore reflects the curious geography and administrative history of Kent, with its extensive coastline and strong regional differences, which are reflected in distinctive cultural traditions. Bounded by sea on three sides, Kent has the longest coastline of any English county and was the base for much maritime activity, giving rise to communities rich in sea-lore. Fran and Geoff Doel explore the folklore, legends, customs and songs of Kent and the causative factors behind them. From saints to smugglers, hop-pickers to hoodeners, mummers to May garlands and wife sales to witchcraft, this book charts the traditional culture of a populous and culturally significant southern county.

Who exactly was King Arthur? What is the evi dence for him as a historical figure, and how does this rela te to the hero of the medieval romances and other legends? T his book seeks to answer these and other questions relating to the story of King Arthur. '

Folklore of Northumbria is a comprehensive survey, drawing on a wide range of printed, manuscript and oral material and it places the folklore of Northumbria in its historical, cultural, religious and social context. It is richly illustrated and covers a wide range of subjects including; witchcraft, dragon lore, seasonal customs, ghosts, legends and mythology.

Explore the rich heritage of Christmas past in Kent with this varied collection of carols and customs, stories, folklore and reminiscences. With extracts from a diverse range of sources, including novels, journals and diaries, this delightful anthology features seasonal extracts from writers with local connections such as Charles Dickens, Russell Thorndike and H.E. Bates. Stories of wrecks on the notorious Goodwin Sands, Nelson's last journey and Christmas at Leeds Castle are illustrated with a fine selection of seasonal etchings and photographs. Along with evocative reminiscences of wonderful Christmases past, these stories are a festive treat for both long-time residents and newcomers to enjoy.