In this comprehensive introduction to the work of contemporary French critic Rene Girard, Richard Golsan focuses on Girard's theory of myth and its connections to his broader exploration of the origins of suffering and violence in Western culture. Golsan highlights two of Girard's primary concepts, mimetic desire and the scapegoat. He employs these concepts to illustrate the ways Girardian analysis of violence in biblical, classical, and folk myths has influenced recent work in theology, psychology, literary studies, and anthropology.
The book concludes with an interview between Golsan and Girard, who offers his own analysis of the appropriation (and criticism) of his work by a politically and intellectually diverse company of scholars.

Do motorists pick up a phantom hitchhiker on Blue Bell Hill during stormy nights? Does Satan appear if you dance round the Devil's Bush in the village of Pluckley? Do big cats roam the local woods? And what happens if you manage to count the 'Countless Stones' near Aylesford? For centuries strange urban legends have materialised in the Garden of England. Now, for the first time, folklorist and monster-hunter Neil Arnold looks at these intriguing tales, strips back the layers, and reveals if there is more to these Chinese whispers than meets the eye. Folklore embeds itself into a local community, often to the extent that some people believe all manner of mysteries and take them as fact. Whether they're stories passed around the school playground, through the internet, or round a flickering campfire, urban legends are everywhere. Kent Urban Legends is a quirky and downright spooky ride into the heart of Kent folklore.

Have you ever wondered what a snap dragon, a mammoth and mustard all have in common? The answer is Norfolk! Inspired by seven unique objects at Norfolk Collections Centre, this book tells seven stories, all from different periods in time, which combine local history with imagination and fun. Discover the magic of the Norwich Snap Dragon, adventure through pre-historic Norfolk with a mammoth, find out why the region's famous mustard doesn't mix with smelly feet, and get swept back in time to experience Norwich as it was seen through the eyes of two mysterious statues.

Today when we think of domestic cats, we recall the familiar hearthside companion and the mischievous playmate. It is difficult to comprehend that in the past the animal has played a fundamental role in the development of European and Western civilization. The human relationship to the cat has been important for most of the last four millennia.
In this beautifully illustrated book, Donald Engels charts the history and significance of the cat from ancient Egypt to the middle ages, exploring such phenomena as the worship of the Egyptian cat goddess Bastet, the infamous cat massacres and witch hunts of the thirteenth century, and the role of the cat in combating disease and starvation. Classical Cats presents a unique and entertaining view of the vicissitudes of the cat in history.

Examines the relationship between orality and performance in the southern African context. This work draws together contributions from literary studies, anthropology, enthnomusicology and African language studies in an analysis of the complex functioning of oral texts and models in differing contexts. The work examinesthe continuing role of orality in modern society, the adaptation of oral models to printed forms, and the ability of oral forms to talk back to the technology of print. North America: Ohio U Press; South Africa: David Philip(NAB)

These stories of magic and heroism, and of terrifying encounters with Baba Yaga, Zmei the serpent, and Koshchei the Immortal, are surely the best-known and best-loved folktales of Russia. A wondertale tells of a young person's first venture into a perilous world, where he or she must solve a riddle, pass a test of character, or perform a heroic feat. In the course of the tale, villainy is foiled, disaster is averted, and the young person is transformed by this successful struggle into an adult.

The two hundred and fifty wondertales collected and translated here represent at least one example of every tale type known in Russia. Each tale is accompanied by commentary and the volume includes a substantial introduction by the editor.

These stories of heroism and magic, and of terrifying encounters with Baba Yaga, Zmei the serpent and Koschchei the Immortal, represent at least one example of every wondertale type known in Russia.

For more than a thousand years, the adventures of King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table have been retold across Europe. They have inspired some of the most important works of European literature, particularly in the medieval period: the romances of Chretien de Troyes, Wolfram von Eschenbach's Parzival, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight and Malory's Le Morte d'Arthur. In the nineteenth century, interest in the Arthurian legend revived with Tennyson, Wagner and Twain. This Companion outlines the evolution of the legend from the earliest documentary sources to Spamalot, and analyses how some of the major motifs of the legend have been passed down in both medieval and modern texts. With a map of Arthur's Britain, a chronology of key texts and a guide to further reading, this volume itself will contribute to the continuing fascination with the King and his many legends.

Contents:
Preface: what is a myth? Introduction: traditional myths for the survival of civilization 1.The Id of culture: Cassirer's philosophy of myth 2.The primordial power of culture 3.The making of language and other materials of culture 4.The new manufacturing of myths and the need for guardians of civilization 5.From an animal's environment to a human world: Langer's philosophy of myth 6.Generative ideas of an epoch 7.The spirit world 8.Myth in civilization Conclusion: today's cry for myth: Cassirer's and Langer's influence. References. Name Index. Subject Index.

First published in 1999. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

First published in 1999. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

Stories come from around the world, and this collection of the finest Earth tales has been drawn from more than 40 countries. Organized by themes, the stories range from "Origin of the Ocean", a tale from Colombia and Venezuela, to "The Wrath of March", a tale from Italy, to "The Garden of Wisdom", a tale from Israel.

In the chaos that followed the death of Alexander the Great his distinguished marshal Seleucus was reduced to a fugitive, with only a horse to his name. But by the time of his own death, Seceucus had reconstructed the bulk of Alexander's empire, built Antioch, and become a king in his turn, one respected for justness in an age of cruelty. The dynasty he founded was to endure for three centuries. Such achievements richly deserved to be projected into legend, and so they were. This legend told of Seleucus' divine siring by Apollo, his escape from Babylon with an enchanted talisman, his foundations of cities along a dragon-river with the help of Zeus' eagles, his surrender of his new wife to his besotted son, and his revenge, as a ghost, upon his assassin. This is the first book in any language devoted to the reconstruction of this fascinating tradition.

This set reissues two classic works on folklore by Richard M. Dorson which were originally published in 1968. The word "Folklore" was coined in 1846 by an English antiquary, William John Thoms, although Professor Dorson's study shows that the history of the folklore movement had its origins in an earlier period. Men and women in many fields, especially in Victorian times, succumbed to the fascination of folklore. The idea of folklore was then carried to the four corners of the British Empire by colonial administrators, missionaries, military officers, and throughout Europe by English travellers. The text shows how the influence of folklore also extended into literature, history, classics, archaeology, philology, physical research, legal and medical antiquities, Scandinavian, Germanic and Celtic studies, and the history of religions. The work traces the historical development of the idea of folklore, beginning in the emergence of English and national history with Camden in the 16th century and reaching its climax with the "Great Term" of Andrew Lang and his co-workers from the 1870s to the World War I.

Why have people from different cultures and eras formulated myths and stories with similar structures? What does this similarity tell us about the mind, morality, and the structure of the world itself? "Maps of Meaning" offers a provocative new hypothesis that explores the connection between what modern neuropsychology tells us about the brain and what rituals, myths and religious stories have long narrated. Drawing insights from the worlds of neuropsychology, cognitive science, and Freudian and Jungian approaches to mythology and narrative, Jordan B. Peterson argues that myths and religious stories have a structure determined by the nature of the mind, and play a key role in the regulation of human emotions.
Ambitious in scope and daring in its exploration of ideas, "Maps of Meaning" presents a rich theory that makes the wisdom and meaning of myth accessible to the critical modern mind.

Second only to Aesop, Jean de la Fontaine was the author of comic and delightful fables that are as alive today as when they first appeared in the 18th century. Based on tales both famous and obscure by an array of classical writers, La Fontaine’s fables offer vivid perspectives on such elemental subjects as greed and flattery, envy and avarice, love and friendship, old age and death. The 60 collected here–from “The Crow and the Fox” and “The Cock and the Pearl” to “The Grasshopper and the Ant” and “The Town Mouse and the Country Mouse”–are illustrated with more than 100 charming drawings that capture La Fontaine’s unforgettable cast of animal personalities.

Dr. Raymond Bernard was a pseudonym, and his bizarre book was a 60s classic of weird UFO literature. Said the original back cover copy for the book: Revealed! The Underground World of Supermen Discovered Under the North Pole! Can you explain the following? Why does one find tropical seeds, plants and trees floating in the fresh water of icebergs? Why do millions of tropical birds and animals go farther north in the wintertime? If it is not hollow and warm inside the Earth at the Poles, then why does colored pollen color the Earth for thousands of miles? Why is it warmer at the Poles than 600 to 1000 miles away from them? Why does the north wind in the Arctic get warmer as one sails north beyond 70 latitude? On top of all of, Admiral Byrd supposed made several journeys inside the earth by traveling through the holes in the poles. Could there be anything to Bernards bizarre claims? Chapters include: UFOs and Governmental Secrecy; Admiral Byrds Epoch-Making Discovery; The Hollow Earth; William Reeds Book, Phantom of the Poles; Marshall B. Gardners Book, A Journey to the Earths Interior; Was the North Pole Really Discovered?; The Origin of the Eskimos; The Subterranean Origin of the Flying Saucers; Description of a Theoretical Aerial Expedition into the Polar Opening Leading to the Hollow Interior of the Earth; Agharta, The subterranean World; Flying Saucers, Propulsion and Relativity; more. Heavily illustrated.

The Arthurian legend closes with a promise: On a distant day, when his country calls, the king will return. His lost realm will be regained, and his shattered dream of an ideal world will, at last, be realized. This collection of original essays explores the issue of return in the modern Arthurian legend. With an Introduction by noted scholar Raymond H. Thompson and 13 essays by authors from the fields of literature, art history, film history, and folklore, this collection reveals the flexibility of the legend. Just as the modern legend takes the form current to its generation, the myth of return generates a new legend with each telling. As these authors show, return can come in the form of a noble king or a Caribbean immigrant, with the mystery of an art theft or a dying boy's dream.

This set re-issues classic works on folklore by Richard M. Dorson which trace the historical development of the idea of folklore from the Sixteenth Century to the First World War. The set also brings together the theoretical writings from folklorists.

This anthology presents translations of thirty songs about Ilya Muromets, Dobrynya, Sadko, and other legendary characters of Russian folklore.

An extensive introduction provides basic background about Russian epics, their poetics, the history of their collection, their performance context, and their main interpretations. In addition, there is a short introduction to each song, explaining its plot, allusions, and interpretations. A glossary of common terms and a selected bibliography of studies about the Russian epic in English and Russian are also included in the volume.

Answers to how various mythological, Biblical, and literary themes have been treated in literature, art, music, and the performing arts can be found in this work. It provides an analysis of over 100 selected themes that reflect the increasingly interdisciplinary nature of scholarly and academic work through the use of various iconographical sources. The alphabetical arrangement facilitates browsing, while the six indexes provide multiple access by considering, among others, references to the Bible; Judeo-Christian personages, places and concepts; and artists and works of art".--"Outstanding Reference Sources : the 1999 Selection of New Titles", American Libraries, May 1999. Comp. by the Reference Sources Committee, RUSA, ALA.