Posts Tagged With 'English'

Hill figure

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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

A hill figure is a large visual representation created by cutting into a steep hillside and revealing the underlying geology. It is a type of geoglyph usually designed to be seen from afar rather than above. In some cases trenches are dug and rubble made from material brighter than the natural bedrock is placed into them. The new material is often chalk, a soft and white form of limestone, leading to the alternative name of chalk figure for this form of art.

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Puck (mythology)

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Puck is a mythological fairy or mischievous nature sprite. Puck is also a generalised personification of land spirits. Whilst being an aspect of Robin Goodfellow, he is also hob and Will-o’-the-wisp.

Etymology
The Old English puca is a kind of half-tamed woodland sprite, leading folk astray with echoes and lights in nighttime woodlands (like the German and Dutch Weisse Frauen and Witte Wieven and the French Dames Blanches, all “White Ladies”), or coming into the farmstead and souring milk in the churn.

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Petrifying well

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A petrifying well is a well which seemingly turns objects into stone. If an object is placed into the well and left there for a period of months or years the object acquires a stony exterior. At one time this property was believed to be a result of magic or witchcraft, but it is an entirely natural phenomenon and due to a process of evaporation and deposition in waters with an unusually high mineral content.

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Pedlar of Swaffham

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The Pedlar of Swaffham is an English folktale from Swaffham. The following text is taken from English fairy and other folk tales, 1906, which in turn refers to the Diary of Abraham dela Pryme, 1699:

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May Queen

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The May Queen or Queen of May is a term which has two distinct but related meanings, as a mythical figure and as a holiday personification.

Festivals
The May Queen is a girl (usually a teenage girl from a specific school year) who is selected to ride or walk at the front of a parade for May Day celebrations. She wears a white gown to symbolise purity and usually a tiara or crown. Her duty is to begin the May Day celebrations. She is generally crowned by flowers and makes a speech before the dancing begins. Certain age groups dance round a Maypole celebrating youth and the spring time.

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Lubber fiend

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The lubber fiend, Lob, lubberkin, lurdane or Lob Lie-By-The-Fire was a legendary creature of English folklore that was similar in attributes to the “brownie” (or “Urisk”) of Scotland and northern England, the “hob” of northern England and the Scotish Borders, the Slavic “domovoi” and Scandinavian “tomte”. It has been related also to Robin Goodfellow, and Hobgoblins. It is best known for being mentioned by John Milton. It is generally connected with the north of England.

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Havelok the Dane

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Havelok the Dane, also known as Havelok or Lay of Havelok the Dane, is a Middle English romance story. The story, however, is also known in two earlier Anglo-Norman versions. Most scholars place Havelok the Dane at the end of the thirteenth century, between 1280 and 1290. The name “Havelok” also has many variations in spelling, and can found as “Haveloc” or “Havelock.” Early versions also use the Welsh form of “Abloec.”

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Flibbertigibbet

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Flibbertigibbet is a Middle English word referring to a flighty or whimsical person, usually a young female. In modern use, it is used as a slang term, especially in Yorkshire, for a gossipy or overly talkative person. Its origin is in a meaningless representation of chattering.

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Elf

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An elf is a creature of Germanic mythology. The elves were originally thought of as a race of minor nature and fertility gods, who are often pictured as youthful-seeming men and women of great beauty living in forests and underground places and caves, or in wells and springs. They have been portrayed to be long-lived or immortal and as beings of magical powers.

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Drake’s Drum

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Drake’s Drum is a snare drum that Sir Francis Drake took with him when he circumnavigated the world. Shortly before he died he ordered the drum to be taken to Buckland Abbey, where it still is today, and vowed that if England was ever in danger someone was to beat the drum and he would return to defend the country. According to legend it can be heard to beat at times when England is at war or significant national event takes place.

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Cunning folk

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The term “cunning man” or “cunning woman” was most widely used in southern England and the Midlands, as well as in Wales. Such people were also frequently known across England as “wizards”, “wise men” or “wise women”, or, in southern England and Wales, as “conjurers”. In Cornwall they were sometimes referred to as “pellars”, which some etymologists suggest originated from the term “expellers”, referring to the practice of expelling evil spirits. Folklorists often used the term “white witch”, though this was infrequently used amongst the ordinary folk as the term “witch” had general connotations of evil.

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