Part of a series that offers mainly linguistic and anthropological research and teaching/learning material on a region of great cultural and strategic interest and importance in the post-Soviet era.

Part of a series that offers mainly linguistic and anthropological research and teaching/learning material on a region of great cultural and strategic interest and importance in the post-Soviet era.

Part of a series that offers mainly linguistic and anthropological research and teaching/learning material on a region of great cultural and strategic interest and importance in the post-Soviet era.

Focusing on representations of Celtic motifs and traditions in post-1980s adult fantasy literature, this book illuminates how the historical, the mythological and the folkloric have served as inspiration for the fantastic in modern and popular culture of the western world. Bringing together both highly-acclaimed works with those that have received less critical attention, including French and Gaelic fantasy literature, Imagining the Celtic Past in Modern Fantasy explores such texts as Susanna Clarke's Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell, Alan Garner's Weirdstone trilogy, the Irish fantasies of Jodi McIsaac, David Gemmell's Rigante novels, Patricia Kennealy-Morrison Keltiad books, as well as An Sgoil Dhubh by Iain F. MacLeoid and the Vertigen and Frontier series by Lea Silhol. Lively and covering new ground, the collection examines topics such as fairy magic, Celtic-inspired worldbuilding, heroic patterns, classical ethnography and genre tropes alongside analyses of the Celtic Tarot in speculative fiction and Celtic appropriation in fan culture. Introducing a nuanced understanding of the Celtic past, as it has been informed by recent debates in Celtic studies, this wide-ranging and provocative book shows how modern fantasy is indebted to medieval Celtic-language texts, folkloric traditions, as well as classical sources.

Finally sort out who's who in Greek mythology-from gods, goddesses, heroes, monsters, and everyone in between! Greek mythology continues to appear in popular movies and books today but have you ever wondered about where these characters started out? Discover the origins of your favorite characters from Greek mythology with this collection of profiles to tell you who's who in classical lore! In Greek Mythology, you will discover the backstories of the heroes, villains, gods, and goddesses that enjoy popularity in today's shows and films. With comprehensive entries that outline each character's name, roles, related symbols, and foundational myths, you can get to know the roots of these personas and better understand the stories they inspire today. With this character-focused, handy reference, you will never be confused about Ancient Greece!

A wide-ranging and detailed investigation of folk heroes, both fictional and historical, from the earliest times to the present, taken from societies throughout the world as they exist in folktales, folksongs, customs, speech, and other folklore genres. From Paul Bunyan to Stagolee, from Queen Mab to the Tooth Fairy, every culture has created folk heroes. But as often as not, these "heroes of the people" accomplish their goals with methods that are anything but heroic-like the American liar hero Davy Crockett, or Galloping Jones, the Australian drinker and bank robber. Then there's the Irishman Finn Mac Cumhal, whose heroism, like that of Rip Van Winkle, was based on oversleeping. In this new collection, readers will enjoy a wildly colorful parade of nearly 400 thieves, tricksters, simpletons, and dragon slayers from around the world. Despite appearances, these "heroes" perform a crucial social function: they allow us to question what is right and what is wrong, to challenge what is legal and what is illegal, to deal with who has power and who does not, and to manage the contradictions and conflicts inherent in all cultures. Spotlights 366 folk heroes, from old acquaintances like Bluebeard and Casey Jones to new friends like Bunuwas and Chokanamma Includes 51 illustrations-paintings, drawings, and photographs A timeline documents the earliest known appearance of each hero A general index combined with indexes by heroic type and by country/culture make research easy

Eclectic British scholar SABINE BARING-GOULD (1834-1924) inspired My Fair Lady, wrote the hymn "Onward Christian Soldiers," and published more than five hundred literary works. Among his foremost folkloric studies is 1865's The Book of Werewolves, the first serious academic study of the shape-shifters of mythological lore. "This work is the most frequently cited early study of lycanthropy and is regarded by most scholars as the foundation work in the field," says cryptozoologist Loren Coleman in his new introduction. "The Book of Werewolves was so visionary that it foresaw that future discussions within werewolf studies would necessarily travel down many side paths. Indeed, midway through The Book of Werewolves, Baring-Gould treks into the shadowy world of crimes vaguely connected to werewolves, including serial murders, grave desecration, and cannibalism." This new edition, complete with the original illustrations, is part of Cosimo's Loren Coleman Presents series. LOREN COLEMAN is author of numerous books of cryptozoology, including Bigfoot : The True Story of Apes in America and Mothman and Other Curious Encounters.

In Melusine's Footprint: Tracing the Legacy of a Medieval Myth, editors Misty Urban, Deva Kemmis, and Melissa Ridley Elmes offer an invigorating international and interdisciplinary examination of the legendary fairy Melusine. Along with fresh insights into the popular French and German traditions, these essays investigate Melusine's English, Dutch, Spanish, and Chinese counterparts and explore her roots in philosophy, folklore, and classical myth. Combining approaches from art history, history, alchemy, literature, cultural studies, and medievalism, applying rigorous critical lenses ranging from feminism and comparative literature to film and monster theory, this volume brings Melusine scholarship into the twenty-first century with twenty lively and evocative essays that reassess this powerful figure's multiple meanings and illuminate her dynamic resonances across cultures and time. Contributors are Anna Casas Aguilar, Jennifer Alberghini, Frederika Bain, Anna-Lisa Baumeister, Albrecht Classen, Chera A. Cole, Tania M. Colwell, Zoe Enstone, Stacey L. Hahn, Deva F. Kemmis, Ana Pairet, Pit Peporte, Simone Pfleger, Caroline Prud'Homme, Melissa Ridley Elmes, Renata Schellenberg, Misty Urban, Angela Jane Weisl, Lydia Zeldenrust, and Zifeng Zhao.

The Jewish Labor Movement was a radical subculture that flourished within the trade union and political movements in the United States in the early part of the twentieth century. Jewish immigrant activists--socialists, communists, anarchists, and labor Zionists--adapted aspects of the traditions with which they were raised in order to express the politics of social transformation. In doing so, they created a folk ideology which reflected their dual ethnic/class identity. This book explores that folk ideology, through an analysis of interviews with participants in the Jewish Labor Movement as well as through a survey of the voluminous literature written about that movement.

A synthesis of political ideology and ethnic tradition was carefully crafted by secular working-class Jewish immigrant radicals who rediscovered and reformulated elements of Jewish traditions as vehicles for political organizing. Commonly held symbols of their cultural identity--the Yiddish language, rituals such as the Passover seder, remembered narratives of the Eastern European "shtetl," and biblical imagery--served as powerful tools in forging political solidarity among fellow Jewish workers and activists within the Jewish Labor Movement.

Provides an examination of the social and psychological dimensions of the literary mythology of Shaka, the Zulu founder King, in a genealogy of white writers.

Women and Folklore concerns itself with the growing body of English-language literature on women's folklore and culture. . . . There are 1,664 bibliographic citations, with a combined subject and name index containing some intriguing topics and names. A significant interdisciplinary bibliographic addition for high school, college, university and public libraries." Choice

The Gods and Symbols of Ancient Mexico and the Maya is the first-ever English-language dictionary of Mesoamerican mythology and religion. Nearly 300 entries, from accession to yoke, describe the main gods and symbols of the Olmecs, Zapotecs, Maya, Teotihuacanos, Mixtecs, Toltecs, and Aztecs. Topics range from jaguar and jester gods to reptile eye and rubber, from creation accounts and sacred places to ritual practices such as bloodletting, confession, dance, and pilgrimage. In addition, two introductory essays provide succinct accounts of Mesoamerican history and religion, while a substantial bibliographical survey directs the reader to original sources and recent discussions. Dictionary entries are illustrated with photographs and specially commissioned line drawings. Mary Miller and Karl Taube draw on their research in the fast-changing field of Maya studies, and on the latest Mexican discoveries, to produce an authoritative work that will serve as a standard reference for students, scholars, and travelers.

The wellerism--so called in English because it is a form of expression typical or reminiscent of Sam Weller or his father, two celebrated characters in Dickens's Pickwick Papers--is a major subtype of the proverb. Known since Sumerian times, it has been popular in most European languages and some African languages. As defined by folklorists and proverb scholars, a wellerism consists of three parts: a speech or statement (often a proverb), identification of the speaker, and identification of the situation, which gives the expression an ironic or humorous twist, often in the form of a pun.

. "Prevention is better than cure," said the pig when it ran away from the butcher.
. "We'll have to rehearse that," said the undertaker as the coffin fell out of the car.
A Dictionary of Wellerisms is the first work to collect all of the wellerisms recorded in the English language. Drawing on periodical literature and other scholarly sources, Mieder and Kingsbury have assembled, edited, and annotated a collection of wellerisms including over 1500 texts found in British, American, Canadian, and other English-language literatures and oral collections. Mieder's preface, bibliography, and extensive introduction explaining the history, meaning, and function of wellerisms, are supplemented by an index of speakers and an index of situations.
Containing a wealth of wit and humor, A Dictionary of Wellerisms is both entertaining and informative, appealing to the casual browser as well as to students and scholars of literature, psychology, folklore, linguistics, anthropology, and cultural history."

Mysterious vanishing hitchhikers, travelers beset by headless dogs, and long-dead moonshiners come alive in this collection of ninety-six Appalachian folktales. Set in coal mines and remote farm cabins, in hidden hollows and on mountain tops, some of these stories look back to the days when West Virginia was first settled; others reflect the rancor and brutality of the Civil War. But most of these tales guide us through the recent past of the uncommonly rich folk heritage of West Virginia. This ghostly collection, with source information and bold illustrations, will thrill longtime lovers of supernatural lore.