Animal Folklore: Chasing Hares Through Stories, Myth, and Legend
Hares are widespread geographically, so hare stories are widespread culturally. But hares take on a surprising variety of roles in folklore, myth & legend.
Hares are widespread geographically, so hare stories are widespread culturally. But hares take on a surprising variety of roles in folklore, myth & legend.
The story of Mother Shipton, as well being a window on the past, is a mirror in which modern capitalism is reflected. It looks like one of the more solid of English legends: she has approximate dates; she is claimed by a definite place, Knaresborough; and she even has her own tourist attraction, in Mother Shipton’s Cave.
Hy-Brasil, Buyan, Saint Brendan’s Isle, the Island of Antillia, and the Isle of Avalon are five fabled islands that were once believed to have existed by many people through the ages.
By their very nature saints are exceptional beings and none more so than the select few female saints. These were women who stood up against accepted norms, with many rejecting marriage in favour of service to God. It is little wonder that many female saints are today held up as feminist icons, their strength of character and resolve to follow their beliefs in a patriarchal society marking them out as unconscious trail-blazers of later feminist movements.
Brittany has a strong storytelling tradition, and the wealth of varied Breton folklore surviving today reflects a society which highly values its past.
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