About
Once upon a time our ancestors held many strange beliefs and superstitions. Huddled around their fires or in ale houses, they would swap stories of Witches and Alchemists, and recall characters from the past whose escapades on retelling over time turned them into larger than life legends.
This book offers you a taster of some of the customs, events and characters that have become part of Cornish folklore. Read about the Heroes and Villains who roamed the hills and moors, with a few witches and strange beasts thrown in for good measure. You will find out about superstitions and omens, a host of things that will bring you good luck and as many that will bring you bad luck; so, watch how you go! Travel through the journey of life and discover lots of fascinating facts about events and customs that occur during the year. And what book of Cornish Legends would be complete without smugglers and their arch enemies ‘The men from the Revenue’?
Introduction
The folk tales and folklore of the British Isles make for an endlessly fascinating study. The cultural melting pot of ancient Britain has bequeathed us an eclectic mix of heroes, villains, myths and legends, and over the centuries a glorious confusion of beliefs has evolved to account for phenomena both natural and supernatural, and to explain, inhabit and name landscape features such as hills, rivers, woods, chasms, moors and marshes.
Our ancestors lived very different lives to those we enjoy today. Most were tied to the land and had intimate relationships with the changing seasons and the natural world. Few travelled further than their local environs and perhaps the nearest market town, but this seemingly limited existence was nevertheless richly coloured with an awareness of another world, where supernatural beings existed just outside mortal awareness, where illness and death could be caused not by germs or viruses but by witchcraft, and where mythical heroes could be brought to life in dramatic stories and legends retold down the generations.
In this book you will be introduced to some of the legends and folklore which enriched the days and nights of the folk of Cornwall in days gone by. You will meet fairies, witches, saints and the Devil, and encounter heroic legendary figures such as King Arthur, Jan Tregeagle, the giant Cormoran and St Michael the Archangel. You will read about smugglers and wreckers, curses, superstitions and omens for both good and bad luck, and the ceremonies and rituals associated with the rural year and critical stages in life, as well as a few particularly Cornish customs and traditions.
Welcome to Cornwall, a truly magical county!
Contents
01. Heroes and Villains
02. Witches and the Devil
03. Beasts and Birds
04. Saints, Stones and Curses
05. Piskeys, Giants and Fairies
06. Pools, Rivers and Other Water Sources
07. Mining, Fishing and Other Occupations
08. Superstitions and Omens
09. The Journey Through Life
10. The Wheel of the Year
11. A Cornish Miscellany
Details
Released: June 2018
Format: PB
Pages: 80
Size: 180 x 110mm
Author: Louise Maskill
ISBN: 9781912060696
Code: 09000
Price: £4.99
