
A Dictionary of English Folklore
Jacqueline Simpson(Author)
Oxford University Press
Published on 9. October 2003
Book
Paperback/Softback
432 pages
978-0-19-860766-3 (ISBN)
Description
Are there any legends about cats? Is Cinderella an English story? What is a Mumming Play? The subject of folklore covers an extremely wide field, with connections to virtually every aspect of life. It ranges from the bizarre to the seemingly mundane. Similarly, folklore is as much a feature of the modern technological age as the ancient world, of every part of the country, both urban and rural, and of every age group and occupation. Containing 1,250 entries, from dragons to Mother Goose, May Day to Michaelmas, this reference work is an absorbing and entertaining guide to English folklore. Aimed at a broad general readership, the dictionary provides an authoritative reference source on such legendary characters as The Sandman, Jack the Giant Killer, and Robin Hood, and gives entertaining and informative explanations of a wide range of subjects in folklore, from nosebleeds and wishbones to cats and hot cross buns.'
From an exemplary, clear, and concise introduction to an admirably comprehensive, yet selective, bibliography, but above all from more than 1,250 A-Z entries in between, it is good to know that Oxford University Press can still commission and publish new standard reference titles...A welcome degree of scholarly rigour...coverage is excellent...the quallity of the entries is also outstanding...It is all very readable, concise, and clear throughout - another one of those reference works one can wish to read from cover to cover...a huge amount of fascinating material in this clearly and attractively designed, deceptively concise and reasonably priced volume. It becomes at once a new standard reference book in its field...As such it belongs in any reference collection in or about England, and any collection dealing with folklore.' Library Review
From an exemplary, clear, and concise introduction to an admirably comprehensive, yet selective, bibliography, but above all from more than 1,250 A-Z entries in between, it is good to know that Oxford University Press can still commission and publish new standard reference titles...A welcome degree of scholarly rigour...coverage is excellent...the quallity of the entries is also outstanding...It is all very readable, concise, and clear throughout - another one of those reference works one can wish to read from cover to cover...a huge amount of fascinating material in this clearly and attractively designed, deceptively concise and reasonably priced volume. It becomes at once a new standard reference book in its field...As such it belongs in any reference collection in or about England, and any collection dealing with folklore.' Library Review
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
Oxford
United Kingdom
Target group
General readership, anyone interested in folklore, myth, and superstition. Academics studying social history, local historians, etc.
Dimensions
Height: 196 mm
Width: 129 mm
Thickness: 27 mm
Weight
348 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-19-860766-3 (9780198607663)
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Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Previous edition
Jacqueline Simpson | Steve Roud
A Dictionary of English Folklore
Book
10/2001
Oxford University Press
€14.50
Article exhausted; check for reprint
Persons
Content
ENTRIES INCLUDE: ADDERS, ASTROLOGY; BROWNIES; CHANGELINGS; DEVIL'S HOOFPRINTS; FOOTBALL; GRIMM BROTHERS; HAG-RIDING; JENNY GREENTEETH; LADYBIRDS; MR FOX; NOSEBLEEDS; PHANTOM COACH/SHIP; ROLLRIGHT STONES; SEVEN WHISTLERS; TOOTH FAIRY; V-SIGN; WISHBONE