14
votes
Accepted
Was there any figure considered to be evil in iron age Celtic paganism religion of England?
Keep in mind that we're reaching deep behind the shrouds of history. Little is known for certain of religious practices this far back; thus, a great deal of speculation and reconstruction is necessary ...
- 7,867
10
votes
Accepted
Why is it lucky to touch or knock on wood?
To make sure your vessel is seaworthy.
Sailors in the 17th century would sometimes knock with their hands or tools on the wooden hull of their ship to listen for woodworm or rot, hearing a solid ...
- 4,067
9
votes
Accepted
Revenants in mythology of the British Isles?
I'm not aware of a story that could possibly be a basis for the white walkers, but it could be argued that a zombie story exists in the second branch of the Mabinogi, the tale of Branwen ferch Llŷr. A ...
- 17.1k
9
votes
Accepted
Arthurian legend English and French sources
Well, yes and no.
Arthurian texts are divided into two groups: pre-Galfridian and Galfridian. The first category is older, dating at least to the Historia Brittonum, written in Wales in the early 9th ...
- 7,867
6
votes
Revenants in mythology of the British Isles?
Abhartach (Ireland)
Irish folklore speaks of Abhartach, a dwarf who rose from the dead multiple times after being slain. In The Origin and History of Irish Names of Places (c. 1871), Patrick Weston ...
- 7,115
5
votes
Was there any figure considered to be evil in iron age Celtic paganism religion of England?
Your question is difficult to answer definitely because of several factors: what we know about the concepts and beliefs of iron age Europe is a patchwork of evidence, archaeology, contemporary ...
4
votes
Are there any accounts of English folklore concerning walking willow trees?
To expand slightly on the answer by @Semaphore.
In her An Encyclopedia of Fairies Hobgoblins, Brownies, Bogies, and Other Supernatural Creatures (page 159), after the Somerset rhyme, Katharine Mary ...
- 2,033
4
votes
Accepted
Are there any accounts of English folklore concerning walking willow trees?
This is not an account per se, but it is a source that proves such a belief existed in English folklore. Katharine Mary Briggs documents a Somerset rhyme that goes:
Ellum do grieve,
Oak he do hate,
...
- 7,867
2
votes
Why is it lucky to touch or knock on wood?
My anthropology professor linked it back to the belief that there were spirits, of whatever kind, living in trees and wood, and in order to keep them from hearing what you were saying and spoiling ...
- 486
2
votes
Is there any mention of human sacrifice in the mythologies of Britain of the period before advent of Christianity?
Yes, we have two main sources from the Early Roman Occupation era:
Strabo, Geographies (64-21 BCE):
The Romans put a stop both to these customs and to the ones connected
with sacrifice and ...
- 5,378
2
votes
Was there any figure considered to be evil in iron age Celtic paganism religion of England?
There's maybe one source from all of the surviving literature that may express a pre-Christian British myth with an 'evil' deity, from Plutarch's De Defectu Oraculorum, Vol V:
18 1 Demetrius said ...
1
vote
Accepted
What are the "nine fearful curses that plague mankind" of Orcadian folklore, besides the 'Stoor Worm'?
Indeed, the source of the expression "one of the nine curses that plague mankind" appears to be Trall Dennison, in this article which appeared in The Scottish Antiquary, or, Northern Notes ...
- 2,033
1
vote
Sheep that speaks the day of your death
It is very likely that you didn't imagine it: in the folklore of the British Isles beings of different shapes (often shape-shifting) who foretell one's death are extremely common. What you describe ...
- 2,033
1
vote
Accepted
Do Welsh fairies marry human women?
I can't find any specifically Welsh stories about a fairy husband with a human wife. Below I've listed the closest relevant motifs that I can think of. (Note I'm only including stories where the ...
- 464
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