This book, a selection of folk tales, true tales, tall tales, myths, gossip, legends and memories, celebrates and honours unique Welsh stories. Some are well known, others from forgotten manuscripts or out-of-print volumes, and some are contemporary oral tales. They reflect the diverse tradition of storytelling, and the many meanings of 'chwedlau'. If someone says, 'Chwedl Cymraeg?' they are asking, 'Do you speak Welsh?' and 'Do you tell a tale in Welsh?' Here is the root of storytelling, or 'chwedleua', in Wales. It is part of conversation. This book, one to linger over and to treasure, keeps these ancient tales alive by retelling them for a new audience.

Wales is a Celtic country and the Celts have always treasured oral learning and recitation. Indeed they have a passion for committing facts to memory rather than relying on the written word. So it is no surprise, as we can see from Anne Ross's study, that Welsh folklore and story-telling is so rich and varied. In addition to examining the part played by the medieval church in this oral tradition, individual chapters cover legends associated with place-names; calendar customs; giants and monsters; omens and second sight; witches, ghosts and faries; supernatural birds and animals; folk healing and herbal remedies. The landscape is studded with the remains of ancient monuments, which are seen as the creation of gods and heroes. Every lake had its legend, whether it be inhabited by a grim, monstrous afanc, or by a beautiful, enchanted maiden, or maybe harbours a drowned settlement where the bell still tolls to warm of approaching storms. Giants stalk the land, while faries can be dangerous, hostile and demanding propitiation. Omens of potential marriage partners were avidly sought by girls, while ghostly death-lights - corpse candles - could be seen moving relentlessly towards the person who was doomed to death. A whole world of the past is to be found in this rich treasure house of inherited lore.

Most vols. for 1890- contain list of members of the Folk-lore Society.

To many observers, folklore and book culture may appear to be opposites. Folklore, after all, involves orally circulated stories and traditions while book culture is concerned with the transmission of written texts. However, as Kevin J. Hayes points out, there are many instances where the two intersect, and exploring those intersections is the purpose of this fascinating and provocative study. Hayes shows that the acquisition of knowledge and the ownership of books have not displaced folklore but instead have given rise to new beliefs and superstitions. Some books have generated new proverbs; others have fostered their own legends. Occasionally the book has served as an important motif in folklore, and in one folk genre--the flyleaf rhyme--the book itself has become the place where folklore occurs, thus indicating a lively interaction between folk, print, and manuscript culture. The author begins by examining the tradition of the Volksbucher--cheaply printed books, often concerned with the occult, whose powers are said to transcend the written text. Hayes looks in depth at one particular Volksbuch--The Sixth and Seventh Books of Moses--and proceeds, in subsequent chapters, to discuss a variety of folktales and legends, placing them within the context of book culture and the history of education. He closes with an examination of flyleaf rhymes, the little verses that book owners have inscribed in their books, and considers what they reveal about the identity of the inscribers as well as about attitudes toward book lending, book borrowing, and the circulation of knowledge. Solidly researched and venturing into areas long neglected by scholars. Folklore and Book Culture is a work that will engage not only folklorists but historians and literary scholars as well.

A fully updated new edition of Ronald Hutton's classic history of modern pagan witchcraft, published to mark the twentieth anniversary of this landmark text. Triumph of the Moon presents an authoritative insight into an aspect of modern cultural history which has attracted sensational publicity but has hitherto been little understood.

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.