All articles in Folklore
10th February, 2016 in Folklore
Capturing native animal folk tales of the British Isles
What animal stories are uniquely British? What mythological beasts call Britain home? And what counts as ‘the British Isles?’ Questions such as these arose when I began compiling traditional stories about animals from all over Britain. Before I could start writing I had to answer…
4th January, 2016 in Folklore, History
Teenagers in Tudor times
The Tudor period was a time of turmoil with religious, political and social upheaval on a scale hardly witnessed before. Death and disease were never that far away and life was a struggle, especially for the poorer sort. The ruling classes also felt an uncertainty about the futur…
4th January, 2016 in Folklore, Society & Culture, Women in History
Attitudes towards women in the Tudor period
If you ever take yourself on a tour of the dungeons below Norwich Castle Museum you will be introduced to any number of instruments of torture from long ago. But the ones that really capture the public imagination are the ducking stool and scold’s bridle, said to have been used i…
18th December, 2015 in Folklore, Local & Family History
Poorhouse peculiarities in Bedford
My view of the poorhouse and workhouse was, until recently, comprehensively bleak. Tales of children taken from a mother’s arms, each of those children then failing to thrive then passing away, were part of the currency for me in writing about Bedfordshire’s folk and historical p…
18th December, 2015 in Folklore
The folklore of the Isle of Man
Fiona Angwin, author of Manx Folk Tales, explains how she discovered Manx folklore and became a storyteller. I fell in love with the Isle of Man years ago, while I was still a student. A Manx friend insisted we went over to the Island with him on a day trip – it was to be the fir…
18th December, 2015 in Folklore
Storypower: The gift of storytelling
Night after night Scheherazade kept herself alive by telling stories to the murderous king. After a thousand and one nights he had become so entranced by her skills that, instead of having her executed, he married her. Storytelling saved her bacon. It’s often claimed that storyte…