In The Lore of the Land: A Guide to England's Legends, from Spring-Heeled Jack to the Witches or Warboys, Jennifer Westwood and Jacqueline Simpson suggest that as ghosts returning to claim a sweetheart, and young girls drowning after being jilted by a lover are commonplace, the Fair Maid of Clifton may be an interpretation of an "otherwise unrecorded local tragedy."
"The Fair Maid of Clifton" is an English folk ballad based in Clifton, Nottinghamshire. There are various versions, one noted by John Throsby in 1797 (in his additions to a book by Robert Thornton called History of Nottinghamshire) is of a young woman "debauched and murdered" by her sweetheart and thrown into the river. The poet Henry Kirke White wrote a version based on an earlier telling (recorded 1624) in whch the young woman is destroyed by demons for being unfaithful to her absent suitor. Later versions record her death is due to divine retribution or the ghost of her jilted suitor.
In The Lore of the Land: A Guide to England's Legends, from Spring-Heeled Jack to the Witches or Warboys, Jennifer Westwood and Jacqueline Simpson suggest that as ghosts returning to claim a sweetheart, and young girls drowning after being jilted by a lover are commonplace, the Fair Maid of Clifton may be an interpretation of an "otherwise unrecorded local tragedy." Edric (or Eadric) the Wild was a Saxon land-owner during the time of the Norman conquest, associated with the rebellions against William the Conqueror.
He is also associated with one of the most common types of tale in British folklore: the fairy bride. One night, lost in the Forest of Clun after hunting, he came across a circle of beautiful ladies dancing. After a struggle he managed to carry one of them away, who eventually agreed to be his wife on the condition that he never mention her origins. As the protagonists of these stories often do, he broke this promise in a fit of anger, and she instantly vanished. The stories changed over time to resemble something like that of the "sleeping hero" tradition of King Arthur. According to an account from the 1860s, Edric and his wife and followers are still alive and imprisoned in the lead mines of Shropshire. Because of Edric's mistake of once trusting William the Conqueror they cannot die until England is as it was before the Norman invasion. There is also a tradition in Shropshire of sightings of Edric above ground, an omen of war. He was apparently seen before the Crimean and Napoleonic Wars, and there are also sightings claimed in 1914 and 1939. I thought I would add a brief note, since I haven't visited anyone else's A-Z blogs yet. I do intend to, but I'm up to my eyeballs in job hunting and interviews this week. I hope people understand.
Donkeys were generally despised as being stupid, but paradoxically also seen as holy animals due to the cross shape of the markings on their backs. They figured significantly in British superstition. Passing a child a set number of times over and under a donkey was said to cure ailments including whooping cough and fever. Wearing a pouch of donkey hair around the neck was also supposed to confer protection from illness.
There are also tales of phantom donkeys, one of a donkey called Pharoah in Cottesmorre and recorded by Rutland History Society, and another in Geldeston in Norfolk. According to a 1914 account by Morley Adams, this one "rattle[d] chains and breathe[d] forth fire". Specifically, divination by means of. Most known references are Scottish and Irish, although there are scattered mentions of it across England. Usually the participants were girls. The method is to go out on Halloween and pull a cabbage as the clock strikes twelve. Depending on the custom the result is either an image of a future spouse (as referenced by Ella Leather), or the shape and size of the cabbage root will indicate the nature of the partner - soil clinging to the roots indicates a rich man, for example.
The most famous reference to divination by cabbage is in Robert Burns' poem "Halloween": Then, first and foremost, through the kail, Their stocks maun a' be sought ance; They steek their een, and graip and wale, For muckle anes and straught anes. Poor hav'rel Will fell aff the drift, And wander'd through the bow-kail, And pou't, for want o' better shift, A runt was like a sow-tail, Sae bow't that night. Robert Baddeley was a chef, who became a comic actor in 1760 at the ripe old age of 27. He died in 1794, and left in his will the sum of £100 to be invested, the interest of which would provide a Twelfth Night cake to the cast and crew of whatever show happened to be playing Drury Lane at the time. The custom continues to this day in the theatre's green room, although the cake probably doesn't contain the pea and baked bean of the original recipe.
I couldn't find a traditional recipe for Twelfth Night cake, but there's a modern one here: http://www.catholicculture.org/culture/liturgicalyear/recipes/view.cfm?id=1534 The Antrobus Soul-Cakers are one of the oldest remaining traditional mummers' groups in the British Isles. Mummers' plays are a British folk custom, thought to date from the early eighteenth century, in which groups of local people (usually men) would tour the houses and pubs of an area and perform a short stylised play.
Mumming usually took place around Christmas or Easter, but the Antrobus Soulcakers perform in the two weeks after Halloween. Theirs is a traditional single combat play, in which "King George" fights the "Black Prince", who is defeated and has to be revived by a doctor. It also features Dick the Wild Horse of Antrobus, a mast- or hobby-horse, who creates mayhem as his driver tries to control him. Mast hoses were traditionally made from painted horse skulls on a pole, and a canvas cover for the actor to hide beneath. Records show the Antrobus Soulcakers performed right up until the First World War, before taking a hiatus until the 1920s. http://calendarcustoms.com/articles/antrobus-soulcakers/ Only a week of March left and I still haven't Written 1 and Subbed 1. Well, I've written a flash which count as half, and had a rewrite request which I could work on for my sub. That feels a bit like cheating though. It's going to be a busy week!
It's been a while since I've done one of these, so this is my collection from the beginning of the year:
"Where Characters Come From" by Cory Doctorow. Douglas Smith's Foreign Market List - a useful site for those who want to widen their audience, or just make those reprints earn their keep. Hilary Mantel's Rules for Writers. Interview with Susan Cooper. The #1 Rule of Everything - a great blog post by Steven R. Stewart on writing and depression. Interview with Philip Kenney about writers and depression. The Disturbing Origins of 10 Fairy Tales by Emily Temple. A fascinating article on fairy tales at Rookie Mag. And for a bit of fun - Pulp-o-mizer, the pulp magazine cover generator. And an awesome Les Mis flashmob. I've just signed up to do the A-Z blogging challenge in April, which means a post each day apart from Sundays, in alphabetical order. My topic is myths, folklore and customs of the British Isles, because it's odd and fascinating and sometimes hilarious (cheese-rolling, anyone?).
I have to admit to researching my topics in advance though, because I doubt I'll have access to my reference books in April and want to play anyway. |
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