London Folklore: The Legendary Frost Fairs of the River Thames

By Rita Greer - The original is an oil painting on board by Rita Greer, history painter, 2009. This was digitized by Rita and sent via email to the Department of Engineering Science, Oxford University, where it was subsequently uploaded to Wikimedia., FAL, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=7667271

he legendary frost fairs on the River Thames are depicted in a number of works of art that show just how cold, icy and severe the weather became during winter, in comparison to the weather experienced in London in modern times.

Mixing Animals, Birds, Humans and Gods in Celtic Mythology

Bulls locking horns. By George Stubbs - qgF1R5N_4f0wlQ at Google Cultural Institute maximum zoom level, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=22007953

Animals played an important part in the everyday life of the ancients Celts. In Celtic mythology the lives of animals, birds, humans and gods are interwoven to provide rich stories alluding to important matters in their society such as life and death, love and hate, jealousy and lust. Provide here is a brief review of some of those myths and legends.

Madagascar Superstitions & Taboos: Fighting the Aye-Aye Fady

Ako is the name of an aye-aye in the children’s book written to combat harmful folklore in Madagascar. Illustration by Deborah Ross on book cover of “Ako the Aye-Aye”.

In some regions of Madagascar, it is considered fady to eat certain lemurs, meaning local taboos can actually act as a shield to protect specific species. However, aye-ayes appear to be the only lemur associated with fady leading to their persecution. How did the aye-aye end up drawing the short straw when it comes to local folklore?

Folk-Ore: The Magical Power of Blacksmiths and Their Enduring Stories

Saint Dunstan using his blacksmith’s tongs to grasp the Devil’s nose. As depicted in two Mediaeval manuscripts. Left, from the Harley Manuscripts and right, from the Luttrell Psalter - both courtesy British Library Digitised Manuscripts Archive. http://www.bl.uk/catalogues/illuminatedmanuscripts/welcome.htm

The folklore of iron and smithing has been common since prehistory, and one of the oldest folktales tells of a blacksmith forging a deal with the devil.

By continuing to use the site, you agree to the use of cookies. more information

The cookie settings on this website are set to "allow cookies" to give you the best browsing experience possible. If you continue to use this website without changing your cookie settings or you click "Accept" below then you are consenting to this.

Close