The Penguin Guide to the Superstitions of Britain and Ireland
The Penguin Guide to the Superstitions of Britain and Ireland

Author: Steve Roud

Publisher: Penguin UK

Published: 2006-04-06

Total Pages: 1004

ISBN-13: 0141941626

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Are black cats lucky or unlucky? What should you do when you hear the first cuckoo? Since when have people believed that it's unlucky to shoot an albatross? Why does breaking a mirror lead to misfortune? This fascinating collection answers these and many other questions about the world of superstitions and forms an endlessly browsable guide to a subject that continues to obsess and intrigue.

Scottish Fairy Belief
Scottish Fairy Belief

Author: Lizanne Henderson

Publisher: Dundurn

Published: 2001

Total Pages: 266

ISBN-13: 9781862321908

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The authorities told folk what they ought to believe, but what did they really believe? Throughout Scottish history, people have believed in fairies. They were a part of everyday life, as real as the sunrise, and as incontrovertible as the existence of God. While fairy belief was only a fragment of a much larger complex, the implications of studying this belief tradition are potentially vast, revealing some understanding of the worldview of the people of past centuries. This book, the first modern study of the subject, examines the history and nature of fairy belief, the major themes and motifs, the demonising attack upon the tradition, and the attempted reinstatement of the reality of fairies at the end of the seventeenth century, as well as their place in ballads and in Scottish literature.

Soil and Soul
Soil and Soul

Author: Alastair McIntosh

Publisher: Aurum Press Limited

Published: 2004-08-26

Total Pages: 492

ISBN-13: 1845137957

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It is easy to feel helpless in the face of the torrent of information about environmental catastrophes taking place all over the world. In this powerful and provocative book, Scottish writer and campaigner Alastair McIntosh shows how it is still possible for individuals and communities to take on the might of corporate power and emerge victorious. As a founder of the Isle of Eigg Trust, McIntosh helped the beleaguered residents of Eigg to become the first Scottish community ever to clear their laird from his own estate. And plans to turn a majestic Hebridean mountain into a superquarry were overturned after McIntosh persuaded a Native American warrior chief to visit the Isle of Harris and testify at the government inquiry. This extraordinary book weaves together theology, mythology, economics, ecology, history, poetics and politics as the author journeys towards a radical new philosophy of community, spirit and place. His daring and imaginative responses to the destruction of the natural world make Soil and Soul an uplifting, inspirational and often richly humorous read.

History of British Folklore
History of British Folklore

Author: Richard Mercer Dorson

Publisher: Taylor & Francis

Published: 1999

Total Pages: 558

ISBN-13: 9780415204767

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First published in 1999. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

Stations of the Sun
Stations of the Sun

Author: Ronald Hutton

Publisher: OUP Oxford

Published: 2001-02-15

Total Pages: 566

ISBN-13: 0191578428

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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.

The Little Book of Hogmanay
The Little Book of Hogmanay

Author: Bob Pegg

Publisher: The History Press

Published: 2013-09-01

Total Pages: 154

ISBN-13: 0750951532

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The Little Book of Hogmanay is a feast of information exploring the history, folklore, tales, customs, food, drink and celebrations of Hogmanay, from its pagan roots to its pagan present. Whether you need a user’s guide or an anthology of entertainment, The Little Book of Hogmanay will tell you all you ever wanted to know about Scotland’s most widely, and wildly, celebrated festival.

Scottish Gothic
Scottish Gothic

Author: Carol Margaret Davison

Publisher: Edinburgh University Press

Published: 2017-03-08

Total Pages: 256

ISBN-13: 1474408214

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Written from various critical standpoints by internationally renowned scholars, Scottish Gothic: An Edinburgh Companion interrogates the ways in which the concepts of the Gothic and Scotland have intersected and been manipulated from the mid-eighteenth century to the present day. This interdisciplinary collection is the first ever published study to investigate the multifarious strands of Gothic in Scottish fiction, poetry, theatre and film. Its contributors - all specialists in their fields - combine an attention to socio-historical and cultural contexts with a rigorous close reading of works, both classic and lesser known, produced between the eighteenth and twenty-first centuries.