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Books > Social sciences > Sociology, social studies > Social institutions > Customs & folklore > Folklore
Few classical stories are as exciting as that of Jason and the
Golden Fleece. The legend of the boy, who discovers a new identity
as son of a usurped king and leads a crew of demi-gods and famous
heroes, has resonated through the ages, rumbling like the clashing
rocks, which almost pulverised the Argo. The myth and its reception
inspires endless engagements: while it tells of a quest to the ends
of the earth, of the tyrants Pelias and Aetes, of dragons' teeth,
of the loss of Hylas (beloved of Hercules) stolen away by nymphs,
and of Jason's seduction of the powerful witch Medea (later
betrayed for a more useful princess), it speaks to us of more: of
gender and sexuality; of heroism and lost integrity; of powerful
gods and terrifying monsters; of identity and otherness; of
exploration and exploitation. The Argonauts are emblems of
collective heroism, yet also of the emptiness of glory. From Pindar
to J. W. Waterhouse, Apollonius of Rhodes to Ray Harryhausen, and
Robert Graves to Mary Zimmerman, the Argonaut myth has produced
later interpretations as rich, salty and complex as the ancient
versions. Helen Lovatt here unravels, like untangled sea-kelp, the
diverse strands of the narrative and its numerous and fascinating
afterlives. Her book will prove both informative and endlessly
entertaining to those who love classical literature and myth.
![The Tain (Paperback): Ciaran Carson](//media.loot.co.za/images/x80/138333651984179215.jpg) |
The Tain
(Paperback)
Ciaran Carson
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R309
R251
Discovery Miles 2 510
Save R58 (19%)
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Ships in 9 - 15 working days
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" A] brilliant and altogether engaging new translation" ("Los
Angeles Times") of the greatest epic in Irish literature
Dating from the eighth century, "The Tain" is the oldest Irish
epic, a mythic tale on par with "Beowulf" and "The Aeneid."
Following legendary warrior Cu Chulainn into his battle against the
invading army of Connacht, "The Tain" is the story of the emergence
of a hero, a paean to the Irish landscape, and a bawdy and
contentious marital farce. In its first translation in forty years,
Ciaran Carson brings this seminal work of Irish literature fully to
life, capturing all of its visceral power in what acclaimed poets
Seamus Heaney and Paul Muldoon individually called one of the best
books of the year.
This book is not about religion, and David Young is not a
christian. This story is the result of three years of perpetual
synchronicities and esoteric messages that came to Young through
his artwork and evidential channeling, which ultimately guided him
toward the hidden truth behind history's most monumental deception.
Jesus and Mary Magdalena's incredible journey of love, family and
survival is masterfully illustrated with breathtaking images of
Young's art and clearly explained in the narrative, shaking the
foundation of a blindly accepted tale created many years ago. Every
page of this 13" x 10" book is in full color with paintings that
were created with divine guidance to depict the truth of what
really happened to history's most misrepresented people, Jesus and
Mary Magdalena. This unconventional book will soothe you with 90
minutes of heavenly music, activated through 12 QR codes, while
inspiring you with a new mind-expanding concept of true historical
events.
'he sat down and wept, to think that even the rams knew more about
the deeds of love than he did' Daphnis is fifteen years old, Chloe
thirteen. They are drawn to each other and long to make love. But
no one has told them what love is, nor do they know how to
accomplish the physical act. Round their predicament Longus weaves
a fantasy which entertains and instructs, but never errs in taste.
The hard toil and precariousness of peasant life are here, but so
are its compensations - revelry, music, dance, and storytelling.
Above the action brood divine presences - Eros, Dionysus, Pan, the
Nymphs - who collaborate to guide the adolescents into the mystery
of Love, at once a sensual and a religious initiation. Daphnis and
Chloe is the best known, and the best, of the early Greek romances,
precursors to the modern novel. Admired by Goethe, it has been
reinterpreted in music and art by Ravel and Chagall. This new
translation is immensely readable, and does full justice to the
humour and humanity of the story. ABOUT THE SERIES: For over 100
years Oxford World's Classics has made available the widest range
of literature from around the globe. Each affordable volume
reflects Oxford's commitment to scholarship, providing the most
accurate text plus a wealth of other valuable features, including
expert introductions by leading authorities, helpful notes to
clarify the text, up-to-date bibliographies for further study, and
much more.
Worcestershire is a county of contrasts, with one face turned to
the modern buzz of Birmingham and the other turned towards the
quiet rural landscape of the West Country. Its folk tales reflect
this dichotomy, with some stories based in the fears and
superstitions of village life, and others evolving from the strains
and pressures of a new industrial reality. From battles of the
Civil War to witchcraft trials, Worcestershire is steeped in
history - and almost every village has some dark tale of magical
events to tell. Ordinary folk from all walks of life mix with
devils, ogres and ghosts. Even the holy community is not safe -
vengeance, infidelity and murder loom large in the county's
religious history. Complemented by beautiful illustrations,
Worcestershire Folk Tales is crammed with these myths, legends and
mysterious yarns. David Phelps has worked as an oral storyteller
since 2005, being much inspired by his grandmother's tales of
Worcestershire's folklore. He is a member of both the Folklore
Society and the Society for Storytelling, and is the author of
Herefordshire Folk Tales and Haunted Hereford.
Pembrokeshire, often referred to as 'Gwlad yr Hud' (the Enchanted
Land), is home to a rich and diverse collection of tales - from the
ancient saga of the Mabinogion, and stories of Owain Glyndwr, to
accounts of smugglers, haunted vessels and pirates. The village of
Brynberian has been tormented by the gigantic and frightful Afanc;
fishermen from St Dogmaels have been forewarned of storms by
mermaids; and captivating princesses have been kidnapped from
Cilgerran Castle. These stories, beautifully illustrated by the
author, bring to life the landscape of the county's spectacular
coastline and rolling hills. Christine Willison has told stories
all over the world since 1982, when she created and ran 'Bookbug',
bringing books and stories to schoolchildren across East Anglia.
She tells yarns from many traditions in schools, arts centres,
stately homes and parks.
An overview of the cultural transmission of the Arabian Nights
within nineteenth-century Britain An overview of the cultural
transmission of the Arabian Nights within nineteenth-century
Britain Fresh readings of canonical texts such as Charlotte
Bronte's Jane Eyre, Charles Dickens's Hard Times, and Lewis
Carroll's Alice in Wonderland Diverse primary sources analysing the
presence of the Arabian Nights in distinct areas of cultural
production: constructions of childhood, archaeological and
geological science, theatrical display, and exhibitions Aladdin,
Sinbad, Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves, Scheherazade winding out
her intricate tales to win her nightly stay of execution: the
stories of the Arabian Nights are a familiar and much-loved part of
the English literary inheritance. But how did these tales become so
much a part of the British cultural landscape? Dickson identifies
the nineteenth century as the beginning of the large-scale
absorption of the Arabian Nights into British literature and
culture. She explores how this period used the stories as a means
of articulating its own experiences of a rapidly changing
environment. She also argues for a view of these tales not as a
depiction of otherness, but as a site of recognition and
imaginative exchange between East and West, in a period when such
common ground was rarely found
By establishing a dialogue in which the meditative practices of
Buddhism and Christianity speak to the theories of modern
philosophy and science, B. Alan Wallace reveals the theoretical
similarities underlying these disparate disciplines and their
unified approach to making sense of the objective world.
Wallace begins by exploring the relationship between Christian
and Buddhist meditative practices. He outlines a sequence of
meditations the reader can undertake, showing that, though Buddhism
and Christianity differ in their belief systems, their methods of
cognitive inquiry provide similar insight into the nature and
origins of consciousness.
From this convergence Wallace then connects the approaches of
contemporary cognitive science, quantum mechanics, and the
philosophy of the mind. He links Buddhist and Christian views to
the provocative philosophical theories of Hilary Putnam, Charles
Taylor, and Bas van Fraassen, and he seamlessly incorporates the
work of such physicists as Anton Zeilinger, John Wheeler, and
Stephen Hawking. Combining a concrete analysis of conceptions of
consciousness with a guide to cultivating mindfulness and profound
contemplative practice, Wallace takes the scientific and
intellectual mapping of the mind in exciting new directions.
![Summon (Paperback): Elizabeth Ridout](//media.loot.co.za/images/x80/147237118353179215.jpg) |
Summon
(Paperback)
Elizabeth Ridout
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R155
R59
Discovery Miles 590
Save R96 (62%)
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Ships in 9 - 15 working days
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Ridout uses the language of the fairy story and visceral images of
the female form and femininity to explore how personal trauma and
instability makes their mark on the wider world. Different voices
and twisted accounts of the body and mind are combined with the
mythological and the esoteric to create striking, beautifully
unsettling and unusual poems-each a celebration of the extremes of
being human. Spotlight is a collaboration between Creative Future,
New Writing South and Myriad Editions to discover, guide and
support writers who are under-represented due to mental or physical
health issues, disability, race, class, gender identity or social
circumstance. In the same series: Stroking Cerberus by Jacqueline
Haskell; Memories of a Swedish Grandmother by Sarah Windebank; The
Haunting of Strawberry Water by Tara Gould; Crumbs by Ana
Tewson-Bozic and Cora Vincent by Georgina Aboud.
'The Voice of the People' presents a series of essays on literary
aspects of the pan-European folk revival from the late 18th century
to the beginning of the 20th.
By Rosemary Holsinger with illustrator, P.I. Piemme. These tales,
charming for all ages, come from the storytelling heritage of the
Shasta, an Indian tribe that lived in the presence of the highest
mountain in Northern California. A variety of myths recount the
story of creation, of the animals, especially Coyote, Eagle, Bear,
and phenomena such as Why Crickets are Black, Why the Sun Rolls, or
Racing with Thunder.
Butterfly Mother is a collection of epic songs from the rich oral
tradition of the Miao (Hmong) people of southwest China. These
poetic narratives, traditionally performed by two groups of
singers, relate the creation of a world in which everything is
alive, and listeners find that besides mountains, rivers, trees,
and creatures, inanimate objects are also 'born' and have spirits.
In his engaging introduction, Mark Bender places these mythic
narratives in their social and historical context, describing the
workings and traditions of Miao society. Brimming with cultural
lore, Butterfly Mother is a virtual encyclopedia of time-honored
myths, legends, and folk customs of the Miao people.
Bronze Winner - Independent Publisher Book Awards Winner - 2013 USA
Best Book Award If Death takes a man it is called fate, when Death
leaves a man it is called destiny. Wounded in battle (900 A. D.), a
near dead Celtic warrior is taken by Viken raiders and sold into a
Baghdad slave market. He is dragged further East, through the
desert, into the 'Middle Kingdom' where he is bought by a Taoist
Priest and his beautiful daughter. Hazy images of silk, herbs,
needles, potions and steel, can only lead to one thing, he has been
purchased by a wizard and his witch. Arkthar fears for his soul.
Death finds Arkthar's predicament interesting. I have heard the
delirious ramblings of countless dying minds. I am amused by
yours." Don't be afraid, I won't take you now. Your life sentence
has just begun." Arkthar's 'owners' become his teachers and then
his companions. The priest wizard and his witch daughter heal and
teach Arkthar their Eastern ways of medicine, science, war and
philosophy. Under the watchful eye of death, this journey unfolds,
as a slave becomes a king, and new root of Arthurian legend takes
hold.
In the late 18th and early 19th centuries, attitudes toward history
and national identity fostered a romantic rediscovery of folk and
fairy tales. This is the period of the Golden Age of folk and fairy
tales, when European folklorists sought to understand and redefine
the present through the common tales of the past, and long
neglected stories became recognized as cultural treasures. In this
rich collection, distinguished expert of fairy tales Jack Zipes
continues his lifelong exploration of the story-telling tradition
with a focus on the Golden Age. Included are one hundred eighty-two
tales--many available in English for the first time--grouped into
eighteen tale types. Zipes provides an engaging general
Introduction that discusses the folk and fairy tale tradition, the
impact of the Brothers Grimm, and the significance of categorizing
tales into various types. Short introductions to each tale type
that discuss its history, characteristics, and variants provide
readers with important background information. Also included are
annotations, short biographies of folklorists of the period, and a
substantial bibliography. Eighteen original art works by students
of the art department of Anglia Ruskin University not only
illustrate the eighteen tale types, but also provide delightful-and
sometimes astonishing-21st-century artistic interpretations of
them.
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