This books explores varying conceptions of the Nightmare hag, mara, in Scandinavian folk belief. What began as observations of some startling narratives preserved in folklore archives where sex, violence and curses are recurring themes gradually led to questions as to how rural people envisaged good and evil, illness and health, and cause and effect. At closer reading, narratives about the mara character involve existential themes, as well as comments on gender and social hierarchy. This monograph analyses how this female creature was conceived of in oral literature and everyday ritual practice in pre-industrial Scandinavia, and what role she played in a larger pattern of belief in witchcraft and magic.

This volume of folktales from the Far North of European Russia features seventeen works by five narrators of the Russian tale, all recorded in the twentieth century. The tales, distinguished by their extraordinary length and by the manner in which they were commonly told, appear to have flourished only in the twentieth century and only in Russian Karelia. Although the tales are easily recognized as wondertales, or fairy tales, their treatment of the traditional matter is anything but usual. In these tales one encounters such topics as regicide, matricide, patricide, fratricide, premarital relations between the sexes and more, all related in the typical manner of the Russian folktale. The narrators were not educated beyond a rudimentary level. All were middle-aged or older, and all were men. Crew members of a fishing or hunting vessel plying the White Sea or lumberjacks or trappers in the vast northern forests, they frequently began the narration of a tale in an evening, then broke off at an appropriate moment and continued at a subsequent gathering. Such tales were thus told serially. Given their length, their thematic and narrative complexity, and their stylistic proficiency, one might even refer to them as orally delivered Russian short stories or novellas

First comprehensive study of the representations of St Michael in the liturgy, literature, and iconography of the period. The cult and legends of St Michael the archangel were widespread in medieval England, and this book - the first full-length study of the subject - offers a comprehensive examination of their genesis and diffusion. Part I identifies and analyses the concerns, conflicts, and roles with which St Michael is associated, from scriptural and apocryphal literature through to the homiletic literature of the medieval period. Part II begins with a discussion of thevernacular recensions of the popular account of the archangel's earthly interventions, and goes on to survey the legendary accounts in Old English, Anglo-Norman, and Middle English of the archangel and his roles as guardian, intercessor, psychopomp, and warrior-angel follows. The Appendices contain the first English translation of the archangel's hagiographic foundation-myth; an annotated bibliographical list and motif index of textual materials relating to the archangel; and an essay on the iconographic representations of the archangel in medieval England. RICHARD F. JOHNSON is Assistant Professor of English at William Rainey Harper College.

Chinese proverbs offer invaluable insights into both the language and rich culture of China. Assembled here are proverbs that form the basic cultural tokens with which Chinese speakers communicate about issues of love, friendship, morality, life, and human nature. In this new edition, the authors have updated and reformatted their popular reference to 1,000 of the most illuminating and frequently used Chinese proverbs. Organized alphabetically by pinyin Romanization, the proverbs in this volume are not only translated into clear, idiomatic English, but also rendered into both traditional and simplified Chinese. The book is an indispensable tool for students interested in mastering the subtleties and nuances of the Chinese language. New features in this edition include: simplified and traditional character renderings of each proverb, a new introduction by the authors, an English index of key terms, and a concordance of key Chinese characters, for easy reference.

The Unpopular Realism of Vincenzo Padula provides a microhistory of life in a Southern Italian province in the decade following Unification and of Vincenzo Padula, who wrote single-handedly from March 1864 to July 1865 - a period when pro-Bourbon loyalists were attempting to exploit the discontent of the Region's poor masses by fomenting brigantry and reverse the Unification - Il Bruzio, a pro-Government periodical published in Cosenza. The pro-government reformist Padula pointed out not only the successes but also the shortcomings and failures of the Savoy regime, so as to consolidate their rule. He gave particular attention to the problems of daily life through the correspondence of a literary creation, Mariuzza Sbriffiti. The difficult integration of the South, in Padula's view, was often exacerbated by the unwillingness of the "piemontesi" to learn the social, political, and economic realities of the South. Padula enables us to view from multiple angles both macroscopic issues, such as the relationship between the Church and the New Italy, and the dire state of the infrastructure and economy, and microscopic ones, such as the peasantry's misplaced hopes in Garibaldi, clerical obscurantism, popular beliefs and culture, contradictions in the structure of the new liberal regime, and the status and role of women in such a society. He views his subjects from a unique perspective, one is defined by its empathy for and identification with the marginalized "persons of Calabria."

This is a mixture of folk-tale, magic, myth, love story and hymn of praise to the natural world of Scotland's high and low lands, their landscapes and creatures, and the poet-guardians who timelessly maintain their care for them. It is the legend-story of the mysterious Wanderer, who comes from the North to Striveling (Stirling) and its great Castle Rock, and the tales he tells to the five men and a woman who befriend him there. Who is this Wanderer, who seems ageless, who has profound affinities with animals and birds, who can take on the shape of swans and what is his mission to the South? Who are these friends, whose friendship becomes more, as they begin to realize that they are part of the strange, timeless and mythic destiny of a country older than civilization? What is the meaning of the unearthly love of the Wanderer and the mysterious Bella?

New York and its folklore scholars hold an important place in the history of the discipline. In New York dialogue between folklore researchers in the academy and those working in the public arena has been highly productive. In this volume, the works of New York's academic and public folklorists are presented together.

Unlike some folklore anthologies, "New York State Folklife Reader" does not follow an organizational plan based on regions or genres. Because the New York Folklore Society has always tried to "give folklore back to the people," the editors decided to divide the edited volume into sections about life processes that all New York state residents share. The book begins with five essays on various aspects of folk cultural memory: personal, family, community, and historical processes of remembrance expressed through narrative, ritual, and other forms of folklore. Following these essays, subsequent sections explore aspects of life in New York through the lens of Play, Work, Resistance, and Food.

Both the New York Folklore Society and its journal were, as society cofounder Louis Jones explained, "intended to reach not just the professional folklorists but those of the general public who were interested in the oral traditions of the State." Written in an accessible and readable style, this volume offers a glimpse into New York State's rich cultural diversity.

Since the beginning of the nineteenth century folklorists, and the general public in their wake, have assumed the orality of fairy tales. Only lately have more and more specialists been arguing in favour of at least an interdependence between oral and printed distribution of stories. This book takes an extreme position in that debate: as far as Tales of magic is concerned, the initial transmission proceded exclusively through prints. From a historical perspective, this is the only viable approach; the opposite assumption of a vast unrecorded and thus inaccessible reservoir of oral stories, presents a horror vacui. Only in the course of the nineteenth century, when folklorists started collecting in the field and asked their informants for fairy tales, was this particular genre incorporated into a then feeble oral tradition. Even then story tellers regularly reverted to printed texts. Every recorded fairy tale can be shown to be dependent on previous publications, or to be a new composition, constructed on the basis of fragments of stories already in existence. Tales of magic, tales in print traces the textual history of a number of fairy tale clusters, linking the findings of literary historians on the sixteenth to eighteenth centuries to the material collected by nineteenth- and twentieth-century field workers. While it places fairy tales as a genre firmly in a European context, it also follows particular stories in their dispersion over the rest of the world. -- .

This book helps us resolve some of the mysteries and contradictions that evolved during the Bible's pre-written legacy and that persist in the Great Book today. Most biblical scholars acknowledge that both the Old and New Testaments were orally transmitted for decades before appearing in written form. With great reverence for the Bible, Dundes offers a new and exciting way to understand its variant texts. He uses the analytical framework of folklore to unearth and contrast the multiple versions of nearly every major biblical event, including the creation of woman, the flood, the ten commandments (there were once as many as eleven or twelve), the names of the twelve tribes, the naming of the disciples, the Sermon on the Mount, the Lord's Prayer, and the words inscribed on the Cross, among many others.

A deeply humanistic ethnography of prison workers and their dark humor America is fascinated by prisons and prison culture, but few Americans understand what it is like to work in corrections. Claire Schmidt, whose extended family includes three generations of Wisconsin prison workers, introduces readers to penitentiary officers and staff as they share stories, debate the role of corrections in American racial politics and social justice, and talk about the important function of humor in their jobs. In a state that locks up a disproportionate number of men and women of color, white prison workers occupy a complicated social position as representatives of institutional authority and bearers of social stigma. The job, by turns dangerous, dull, or dehumanizing, is aided by a quick wit, comedic timing, and verbal agility. The men and women who do this work rely on storytelling, practical jokes, and sarcasm to bond with each other, build flexible relationships with inmates, and create personal identities that work in and out of prison. Schmidt shows how this humorous occupational culture both upholds and undermines prisons as social institutions. Issues of power and race, as well as sex and gender, infuse Schmidt's groundbreaking analysis, and she also engages with current scholarship about identity, occupational folklore, and family narrative. This eye-opening, provocative book reveals the invisible culture, beliefs, and aesthetics embedded in workplace humor.

'The Voice of the People' presents a series of essays on literary aspects of the pan-European folk revival from the late eighteenth century to the beginning of the twentieth. The essays discuss the purposes of the folk revival, as well as its various forms and genres. Several prominent European literary figures are studied, but most of the focus is placed on the anonymous authors of the European folk tradition.

Heavy metal is a mythical genre of heroes, outlaws, ominous gods, grotesques, and monsters. It is a proud world of intense battles with chaos and confrontation with modern alienation. Myth pervades heavy metal. Its visual elements draw upon the horror story or film, suggesting chaos and disruption. It calls forth images of Promethean rebellion and mythic heroism, adopting a proud and determined oppositional stance to the conventional. It often intends to appear ominous, threatening, and disturbing. Heavy metal is in dialogue with our contemporary world. When its discourse of power and imagination appeals to ancient mythology, heavy metal offers us fresh perspectives on our current situation. Myths seek to take us beyond ordinary perception. Mythic stories, however fantastic, connect with human experience. They are revised and retold across generations and these revisions bring the myths alive within each new cultural context. Myths, legends, and folk tales may be recited or sung for the delight of audiences. They are entertaining and also can be told for a serious purpose. Rock song lyrics are a form of popular literature that suggest attitudes or tell stories and continue myth's involvement in creating meaning. Previous book-length studies have tended to investigate heavy metal from the perspectives of sociology, musicology, or cultural studies. There has also been much work in psychology on the impact of heavy metal on youth. This study of myth and metal is an attempt to approach heavy metal primarily from a mythological and literary perspective.

This cutting-edge volume demonstrates both the literary quality and the socio-economic importance of works on "the matter of the greenwood" over a long chronological period. These include drama texts, prose literature and novels (among them, children's literature), and poetry. Whilst some of these are anonymous, others are by acknowledged canonical writers such as William Shakespeare, Ben Jonson, and John Keats. The editors and the contributors argue that it is vitally important to include Robin Hood texts in the canon of English literary works, because of the high quality of many of these texts, and because of their significance in the development of English literature.

Joseph Campbell was the world's greatest authority on myth, his monumental four-volume The Masks of God is a definitive work on the subject, and in Myths to Live By he explores how these enduring myths still influence our daily lives and can provide personal meaning in our lives. Myths are a way of explaining the cosmos, the origin of life and Man's relationship with their environment; they play a cohesive role in society. Joseph Campbell analyses myth in psychoanalytic terms to reveal their essential qualities and to demonstrate how they continue to reflect human needs, providing reassurance even in today's world. Ranging from Zen koans and Indian aesthetics to walking on the moon, Joseph Campbell explores how myth and religion follow the same archetypes, which are not exclusive to any single race, religion or region. Campbell believed that all religion is a search for the same transcendent and fundamental spiritual truths. He shows how we must recognise the common denominators between differing myths and faiths and allow this knowledge to fulfil human potential everywhere.

This book is an overview and analysis of the global tradition of the outlaw hero. The mythology and history of the outlaw hero is traced from the Roman Empire to the present, showing how both real and mythic figures have influenced social, political, economic and cultural outcomes in many times and places. The book also looks at the contemporary continuations of the outlaw hero mythology, not only in popular culture and everyday life, but also in the current outbreak of global terrorism.

A sophisticated look into the eight Greek myths that remain the most relevant to us today, exploring their powerful cultural impact from their ancient origins to the present. The Greek myths have been retold countless times, first by the conquering Romans, then through the medieval and Renaissance eras of Europe, and finally finding new expression in masterworks of art, literature and cinema on the global stage. Classical scholar Richard Buxton explores the stories at the heart of this ancient mythology and how they have come to influence our society today. The Greek legends seem to speak to us universally, their deities tantalizingly human - often indulging in behaviours morally ambiguous at best and obscene at worst - and their heroes dealing with dilemmas and destinies that echo, if exaggeratedly, conflicts in our own lives. The dramatic choices that such figures as Prometheus, Medea and Oedipus face have resonated with audiences over thousands of years. Each chapter focuses on a mythical character and the powerful stories and interpretations that surround them. Yet the myths' relevance has not been uniform; they shift with the cultural tide. They have endured moments of censure, criticism, and even ridicule, but now their influence can be recognized almost everywhere, from opera to psychology, from fashion to contemporary art. How is it that these tales have retained their power to connect with our own fascinations, fears and desires, though they came from a world very different from our own? Here Buxton charts their cultural impact through a rich variety of re-imaginings, examining the many guises they have taken through the ages and the profound truths that they continue to illuminate.

Folktales are at the heart of Native American culture. Prepared especially for students and general readers, this book conveniently collects 31 of the most important Native American folktales. These are drawn from the major Native American cultural and geographical areas and are organized in sections on origins; heroes, heroines, villains, and fools; society and conflict; and the supernatural. The tales reflect the environment, cultural adaptations, and prevailing concerns of the areas from which they are taken. Each tale begins with a brief introductory headnote, and the book closes with a selected bibliography. Students in social studies classes will welcome this book as a window on Native American culture, while students in literature courses will value its exploration of Native American oral traditions.

Prepared especially for students and general readers, this book conveniently collects and comments on 31 of the most important Native American folktales. These are drawn from the major Native American cultural and geographical areas and reflect the environment, cultural adaptations, and prevailing concerns of the regions from which they are taken.

Filled with insight, provocative in its conclusions, "A'aisa's Gifts" is a groundbreaking ethnography of the Mekeo of Papua New Guinea and a valuable contribution to anthropological theory. Based on twenty years' fieldwork, this richly detailed study of Mekeo esoteric knowledge, cosmology, and self-conceptualizations recasts accepted notions about magic and selfhood. Drawing on accounts by Mekeo ritual experts and laypersons, this is the first book to demonstrate magic's profound role in creating the self. It also argues convincingly that dream reporting provides a natural context for self-reflection. In presenting its data, the book develops the concept of "autonomous imagination" into a new theoretical framework for exploring subjective imagery processes across cultures.

One of the quickest ways to understand a people or a culture is to learn their proverbs. This anthology, first published in 1984, compiles in dictionary form proverbs from the Islamic world, particularly the Middle East and North Africa. The Arabs were the first to gather and annotate their own proverbs - the earliest collections date from the n

For centuries Iran hosted numerous travellers and visitors of diverse nationalities and backgrounds. Many of these travellers left behind documents in which they recorded their observations during their residence in Iran, and these embody a vast range of firsthand information about the land and its people at different periods of time. This book, first published in 1990, takes as its subjects the nature and history of Iranian folk narrative scholarship. The contributions of travellers are given their due recognition as important source documents.