 | |
| Author | Wirt Sikes |
|---|---|
| Illustrator | T. H. Thomas |
| Publisher |
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| Pages | 412 |
| OCLC | 4721171 |
| Text | British Goblins at Internet Archive |
British Goblins: Welsh Folk-Lore, Fairy Mythology, Legends and Traditions is an 1880 book on Welsh folklore and mythology by American journalist Wirt Sikes.
William Wirt Sikes was an American journalist and author who served as the United States Consul in Cardiff from 1876 until his death in 1883. In his early career, Sikes wrote various short-stories and poems for American magazines and newspapers, some of which were compiled into the Book for the Winter-Evening Fireside in 1858. He published two novels in the late 1860s, partially drawn from his experiences as a reporter for the Chicago Evening Journal . [1]
Before taking his post as Consul, Sikes unsuccessfully searched for coverage of southern Wales in various bookstores, noting that he was only able to find an obsolete 18th century account of the region in the Library of Congress. Seeing American knowledge of Wales as insufficient, he published a number of articles on the country in American periodicals such as Harper's Magazine , Appletons' Journal , and Scribner's Monthly . These articles were later compiled into Rambles and Studies in Old South Wales, released in 1881. [2] Frustrated by poor pay from Scribner's, Sikes began to compile folklore studies for British Goblins. It was illustrated by T. H. Thomas and published by London bookseller Sampson Low in 1880. The following year, an American edition was published by James R. Osgood in Boston; this edition featured no alterations beyond publication details, and included British spellings and punctuation. [3]
British Goblins is divided into four sections; "The Realm of the Faerie", "The Spirit-World", "Quaint Old Customs", and "Bells, Wells, Stones and Dragons". [4] Each section has a varying number of chapters, with a total of 32 chapters in the book.
Sikes based British Goblins heavily on earlier collections of Welsh folklore. Edmund Jones's 1780 Apparitions of Spirits in the Principality of Wales was the most utilized source. Jones's writing is used throughout the book, and Sikes provides a brief biography of him; however, he notes that Jones's accounts differ markedly from other sources, and Sikes frequently makes footnotes and alterations to correct or reconcile Jones's accounts. [5] British Goblins also borrows from Peter Roberts's 1815 Cambrian Popular Antiquities of Wales, the 1831 Cambrian Superstitions by W. Howell, and Charles Redwood's 1839 The Vale Of Glamorgan. Sikes also used medieval sources, such as the works of Gerald of Wales and Lady Charlotte Guest's translation of the Mabinogion. [1]
Unlike many contemporary publications on Welsh folklore, portions of British Goblins were drawn from oral accounts and traditions collected in the field. Sikes noted one instance of gathering folk stories on fairies from men at an inn outside Cardiff. [4]
American folklorist Richard Dorson described British Goblins as the "most substantial book of Welsh legendry in English" in comparison to contemporaries such as John Rhŷs's 1901 Celtic Folk-Lore, Welsh and Manx; however, he criticized the book for its over-reliance on previous compilations of Welsh folklore in favor of Sikes's novel collection of oral folklore. [6] Dorson wrote that British Goblins was disliked by folklorists such as Rhŷs and Edwin Sidney Hartland due to insufficient or unclear citations, leading Rhŷs to cite it "necessarily but with a certain reluctance". [4]
Folklore is the body of expressive culture shared by a particular group of people, culture or subculture. This includes oral traditions such as tales, myths, legends, proverbs, poems, jokes, and other oral traditions. This also includes material culture, such as traditional building styles common to the group. Folklore also encompasses customary lore, taking actions for folk beliefs, and the forms and rituals of celebrations such as Christmas, weddings, folk dances, and initiation rites.
A hobgoblin is a household spirit, appearing in English folklore, once considered helpful, but which since the spread of Christianity has often been considered mischievous. Shakespeare identifies the character of Puck in his A Midsummer Night's Dream as a hobgoblin.
Fairies, particularly those of Irish, English, Scottish and Welsh folklore, have been classified in a variety of ways. Classifications – which most often come from scholarly analysis, and may not always accurately reflect local traditions – typically focus on behavior or physical characteristics.
A fairy ring, also known as fairy circle, elf circle, elf ring or pixie ring, is a naturally occurring ring or arc of mushrooms. They are found mainly in forested areas, but also appear in grasslands or rangelands. Fairy rings are detectable by sporocarps in rings or arcs, as well as by a necrotic zone, or a ring of dark green grass. Fungus mycelium is present in the ring or arc underneath. The rings may grow to over 10 metres (33 ft) in diameter, and they become stable over time as the fungus grows and seeks food underground.
Folklore studies is the branch of anthropology devoted to the study of folklore. This term, along with its synonyms, gained currency in the 1950s to distinguish the academic study of traditional culture from the folklore artifacts themselves. It became established as a field across both Europe and North America, coordinating with Volkskunde (German), folkeminner (Norwegian), and folkminnen (Swedish), among others.
Welsh mythology consists of both folk traditions developed in Wales, and traditions developed by the Celtic Britons elsewhere before the end of the first millennium. As in most of the predominantly oral societies Celtic mythology and history were recorded orally by specialists such as druids. This oral record has been lost or altered as a result of outside contact and invasion over the years. Much of this altered mythology and history is preserved in medieval Welsh manuscripts, which include the Red Book of Hergest, the White Book of Rhydderch, the Book of Aneirin and the Book of Taliesin. Other works connected to Welsh mythology include the ninth-century Latin historical compilation Historia Brittonum and Geoffrey of Monmouth's twelfth-century Latin chronicle Historia Regum Britanniae, as well as later folklore, such as the materials collected in The Welsh Fairy Book by William Jenkyn Thomas (1908).
Gwyllion or gwyllon is a Welsh word with a wide range of possible meanings including "ghosts, spirits" and "night-wanderers up to no good, outlaws of the wild." Gwyllion is only one of a number of words with these or similar meanings in Welsh. It is a comparatively recent word coined inadvertently in the seventeenth century by the Welsh lexicographer Dr John Davies of Mallwyd.
Richard Mercer Dorson was an American folklorist, professor, and director of the Folklore Institute at Indiana University. Dorson has been called the "father of American folklore" and "the dominant force in the study of folklore".
Glashtyn is a legendary creature from Manx folklore.
Moelfre is a hill in Wales on the far western edge of the Snowdonia National Park, 3 miles (4.8 km) from the village of Dyffryn Ardudwy, 5 miles (8.0 km) from the village of Llanbedr and about 10 miles (16 km) from the town of Harlech. It forms part of the Rhinogydd range. Moelfre reaches a height of 589 metres (1,932 ft).
The cyhyraeth is a ghostly spirit in Welsh mythology, a disembodied moaning voice that sounds before a person's death.
The Folklore Society (FLS) is a registered charity under English law based in London, England for the study of folklore. Its office is at 50 Fitzroy Street, London home of the Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland.
Tylwyth Teg is the most usual term in Wales for the mythological creatures corresponding to the fairy folk of Welsh and Irish folklore Aos Sí. Other names for them include Bendith y Mamau, Gwyllion and Ellyllon.
A brownie or broonie (Scots), also known as a brùnaidh or gruagach, is a household spirit or hobgoblin from Scottish folklore that is said to come out at night while the owners of the house are asleep and perform various chores and farming tasks. The human owners of the house must leave a bowl of milk or cream or some other offering for the brownie, usually by the hearth. Brownies are described as easily offended and will leave their homes forever if they feel they have been insulted or in any way taken advantage of. Brownies are characteristically mischievous and are often said to punish or pull pranks on lazy servants. If angered, they are sometimes said to turn malicious, like boggarts.
Invented traditions are cultural practices that are presented or perceived as traditional, arising from people starting in the distant past, but which are relatively recent and often consciously invented by historical actors. The concept was highlighted in the 1983 book The Invention of Tradition, edited by Eric Hobsbawm and Terence Ranger. Hobsbawm's introduction argues that many "traditions" which "appear or claim to be old are often quite recent in origin and sometimes invented." This "invention" is distinguished from "starting" or "initiating" a tradition that does not then claim to be old. The phenomenon is particularly clear in the modern development of the nation and of nationalism, creating a national identity promoting national unity, and legitimising certain institutions or cultural practices.
"Levy-Dew", also known as "A New Year Carol" and "Residue", is a British folk song of Welsh origin traditionally sung in New Year celebrations. It is associated with a New Year's Day custom involving sprinkling people with water newly drawn from a well. The song was set to music by Benjamin Britten in 1934.
William Wirt Sikes was an American journalist and writer, perhaps best known today for his writings on Welsh folklore and customs.
St Crallo's Church, often referred to historically as The Cathedral of the Vale of Glamorgan, is a Grade I listed church in Coychurch Lower, Bridgend County Borough, southern Wales.
Gwragedd Annwn, alternatively known as Dames of the Lower Region, Dames of Elfin Land, or Wives of the Lower World, are beautiful female fairies who live beneath lakes and rivers found in Welsh folklore. They are counted among the Tylwyth Teg or Welsh fairy folk.The mythological narrative of Gwragedd Annwn is intertwined with the origin of the Welsh black cattle. Some legends hold that the existence of the Gwragedd Annwn was owed to the famed Saint Patrick. Occasionally, the fairies were said to ascend into the upper world, and be visible to ordinary people.
The Aderyn y Corff is a bird from Welsh folklore who portends death. It is said to chirp outside a soon-to-be deceased person's door with a cry that sounds similar to dewch. The bird has no feathers or wings. When not calling outside of a person's door, it is said to live on another plane of existence.