The county of Lincolnshire is a beautiful mixture of low-lying marshy fen land, modest hills and the steep valleys of the rolling Wolds; it is also home to a wealth of folklore, legend and intrigue. With one of the most interesting dialects in the country, this vast region is also rich in superstitions, songs, and traditional games. A study of the daily life, lore, and customs of Lincolnshire are here interspersed with stories of monstrous black hounds, dragon lairs, witches, Tiddy Mun, mischievous imps and tales of the people known as the Yellowbellies. This fully illustrated book explores the origins and meanings of Lincolnshire’s traditions and shows how the customs of the past have influenced the ways of the present.

Part of a series on the county folklore and festivals of the United Kingdom, this remarkable and well researched book on the festival customs and feast day practices all drawn from the voices of the people who took part in them. Many of the earliest books, particularly those dating back to the 1900's and before, are now extremely scarce and increasingly expensive. We are republishing these classic works in affordable, high quality, modern editions, using the original text and artwork.

Lincolnshire, a county with many variations in the dialect, once nurtured many folk tales, and though these stories may no longer be told as often as they once were, they still resonate within the rural landscape. From the dark tales of the Black Dog that would cross the marshes at night, and the Lincolnshire Imp that haunted Lincoln Cathedral, to the humorous tales of the Lad that went to look for Fools and the Farmer and the Boggart, so many of these tales are rooted in the county and take us back to a time when the people would huddle around the fire in the mud and stud cottages to while away the long winter evenings. Such nights would also inspire the telling of tales of witches, fairies, ghosts, giants and dragons. These tales will be of interest to modern readers (and storytellers), both within Lincolnshire and elsewhere.

Comprehensive and engaging, this colourful study covers the whole sweep of ritual history from the earliest written records to the present day. From May Day revels and Midsummer fires, to Harvest Home and Hallowe'en, to the twelve days of Christmas, Ronald Hutton takes us on a fascinating journey through the ritual year in Britain. He challenges many common assumptions about the customs of the past, and debunks many myths surrounding festivals of the present, to illuminate the history of the calendar year we live by today.

For millennia, the passing seasons and their rhythms have marked our progress through the year. But what do they mean to us now that we lead increasingly atomized and urban lives and our weather becomes ever more unpredictable or extreme? Will it matter if we no longer hear, even notice, the first cuckoo call of spring or rejoice in the mellow fruits of harvest festival? How much will we lose if we can no longer find either refuge or reassurance in the greater natural—and meteorological—scheme of things? Nick Groom's splendidly rich and encyclopedic book is an unabashed celebration of the English seasons and the trove of strange folklore and often stranger fact they have accumulated over the centuries. Each season and its particular history are given their full due, and these chapters are interwoven with others on the calendar and how the year and months have come to be measured, on important dates and festivals such as Easter, May Day and, of course, Christmas, on that defining first cuckoo call, on national attitudes to weather, our seasonal relationship with the land and horticulture and much more. The author expresses the hope that his book will not prove an elegy: only time will tell.