Fairy Tale Origins

terriwindling: Once upon a time there was a girl, there was a...

Fri, 01 Feb 2013 10:26:38 -0600

Once upon a time there was a girl, there was a boy, there was a poor woman who wanted, there was a queen who couldn’t have, there was a witch who lived under, there was a green frog at the bottom of, there was a troll, a tree, a bear, a bright-eyed bird who knew the secret of, there was a fairy who had lost, there was a child who had found, there was a wizard who had made, there was a princess who had broken, there was a story trying to be told. Listen. The wind is speaking.

odditiesoflife: Curious History: The Origins and History of...

Wed, 17 Oct 2012 06:57:43 -0500

odditiesoflife:

Curious History: The Origins and History of All Hallow’s Eve (Halloween)

Halloween’s origins date back more than 2,000 years. On what we consider November 1, Europe’s Celtic peoples celebrated their New Year’s Day, called Samhain (SAH-win). According to Irish mythology, Samhain was a time when the ‘door’ to the Otherworld opened enough for fairies and the dead to communicate with us; Samhain was essentially a festival for the dead.

On Samhain eve—what we know as Halloween—spirits were thought to walk the Earth as they traveled to the afterlife. Fairies, demons, and other creatures were also said to be abroad. It is still the custom in some areas to set a place at the Samhain feast for the souls of dead kinfolk and to tell tales of one’s forebears. However, the souls of thankful kin could return to bestow blessings just as easily as that of a murdered person could return to wreak revenge. Fairies were also thought to steal humans on Samhain and fairy mounds were to be avoided.

People stayed near to home or, if forced to walk in the darkness, turned their clothing inside-out or carried iron or salt to keep the fairies at bay. The Gaelic custom of wearing costumes and masks was a bid to befuddle the harmful spirits or ward them off. In Scotland, young men would dress in white with masked, veiled or blackened faces. They were known as ‘guisers’ and the practice was common in the 16th century in the Scottish countryside. Candle lanterns, carved from turnips, were part of the traditional festival. Large turnips were hollowed out, carved with faces and set on windowsills to ward off evil spirits.

Samhain was later transformed as Christian leaders co-opted pagan holidays. In the seventh century Pope Boniface IV decreed November 1 All Saints’ Day, or All Hallows’ Day. The night before Samhain continued to be observed with bonfires, costumes, and parades, though under a new name: All Hallows’ Eve—later “Halloween.”

Children going door to door ‘guising’ or ‘galoshin’ in costumes and masks, carrying turnip lanterns, offering entertainment of in return for food or coins, was traditional in the 19th century and continued well into the 20th century. At the time of mass transatlantic Irish and Scottish immigration, the custom of Halloween in North America began.

The Fiddler of Bayou Teche

Fri, 12 Oct 2012 20:30:00 -0500

The Fiddler of Bayou Teche

by Delia Sherman

The great thing about new original fairy tales is the way they take old motifs, old themes and older tales and remix them in a new way to create a new story. “The Fiddler of Bayou Teche” by Delia Sherman combines several motifs of trickster tales along with myths and legends featuring musical instruments. The story that unfolds is a wonderful down to earth tale surrounding a trickster fiddler set in a deep south bayou.

The main character is a young albino girl named Cadence who lives in the swamp with the woman that adopted her, Tante Eulalie. Her mother serves the local loup-garou community as a medicine woman and plays the fiddle. Her mother cautions her against tricksters by sharing with her tales of warning. When her mother passes one winter Cadence ends up getting into trouble and being confronted by the very trickster her mother warned her against. Are the warnings and tales her mother armed her with enough to help protect her and allow her to survive?

There is a podcast of this fairy tale on the website Podcastle that features a fantastic reader, Elizabeth Green Musselman, and I really recommend hearing this fairy tale orally in this way almost more than reading it. It definitely adds to the experience.

panasonicyouth: brashblacknonbeliever: menshevixen: karnythia:...

Thu, 11 Oct 2012 13:25:56 -0500

panasonicyouth:

brashblacknonbeliever:

menshevixen:

karnythia:

djjarak:

I spoke to a Tumblr Support rep this morning and she agreed that my recent Once Upon A Time related subject was not malicious in nature, just a sensitive one people completely took the wrong way and pushed too far. That been said, the reblog tree will be cut down within 2 days. Sorry, haters and sheep. You were wrong. Once you truly understand that all people are equal… even you (not higher or lower), you too will rise above the “I won’t touch that” crap. My only issue was with politics getting involved in our entertainment. Changing classic stories suit support political correctness should be considered unethical. Also know that I have reported each and every single one of you for harassment. I warned you but you just had to keep pushing. I run 2 very public businesses so I can’t let things like this stand.
__________________________________________________________________
Enable your Tumblr Disquis in order to comment.

Just so we’re clear this is the guy that wrote this post. I really want Tumblr to explain to me how reblogging his bullshit & debunking it thoroughly = harassment.

Once again Tumblr’s official position is that debunking racist bullshit is harassment, but actual racist bullshit is not.

Reblogging so everyone gets the context and can see how fucked up tumblr support truly is.

sweet fucking christ, tumblr, just hire me so i can teach your support how to do basic ass shit

what the hell is this

One of the main points I emphasize over and over again on this blog is the fluidity of fairy tales. Harping on the sanctity of “classic” fairy tales is a farce in the first degree. There is no such thing. The “classic” are merely the literary, taken from oral and other sources and re-written to promote current ideals and beliefs. Ironically the very idea this individual is arguing against.

For the Grimms it was the bourgeois view of how the lower classes should live and should behave, written to indoctrinate German children with these perceived values. For Perrault it was veiled instructions on proper decorum for young ladies at King Louis XIV’s court that occasionally contained warnings about specific personages there. Some literary fairy tales even combined fairy tales, or invented new ones, in light of current values in order to protest them, such as those written by Hans Christian Andersen. Many of his fairy tales were his personal expressions of fury and despair over his homosexuality and the fate it condemned him to in the 19th century, that’s why so many ended in misery.

The narrative in many centuries old fairy tales, Grimm ones especially, are no longer valued by 21st century audiences. They depict antisemitism and white supremacy, contain messages of racial purity and xenophobia, and have deep seated views on misogyny and able-ism. Their stories are a celebration of such beliefs as they are ones held dear at the time they were written.

Newer retellings celebrate newer beliefs. 20th century retellings, from the Victorian brand of fairy tales popular for the nursery to Disney’s retellings on the big screen, show new ideals and new beliefs and celebrate those instead. They became the new “classic” fairy tales. That’s how fairy tales work.

Fairy tales are meant to be retold, it’s how they survive. That is why they have been told over and over for generations, each time they have been changed and morphed and twisted to suit each century’s narrative. To argue against the retelling of a fairy tale is to argue against the very thing that has allowed you to know that fairy tale exisits in the first place.

This week is banned book week. In the spirit of standing up...

Mon, 01 Oct 2012 11:49:00 -0500

This week is banned book week. In the spirit of standing up against censorship I thought I would share fairy tales that have been banned in the United States, and their very silly reasons for doing so.

In 1987 a children’s book was published by Houghton-Mifflin that retold the Grimm version of Little Red Riding Hood, find a copy here. It was awarded the Caldecott Honor Book Award. In 1990 the school board of a district in Empire, California objected to the book because of the depiction of wine in Red’s basket on the cover.

That same year in Clay County, Florida parents of fifth and sixth graders also challenged the fairy tale because of the wine. Because fifth and sixth graders commonly read picture books in Florida.

The fear in both cases was that the book was promoting alcoholism and drinking to minors. Because grandmothers are commonly under the age of 21 in their school districts, apparently.

In 1991 a Bradford County, Florida school teacher complained that the wolves actions were too violent in this book. Because children should be taught that wolves (both literal and metaphorical) are not dangerous.

Interestingly enough none of these school districts have any problems with the sexuality inherent in the Little Red Riding Hood fairy tale. The first song ever known to be banned from radio back in 1925 was “How Could Red Riding Hood (Have Been So Very Good)?” by A.P. Randolph. It was banned for “sexual suggestiveness.”

When it comes to Grimm though they keep things pretty prudish, the sexuality is more between the lines than usual. And while Grimm tales have a lot of problems, violence being the least among them in my opinion, a grade school child should be able to read this fairy tale. They are old enough to question and, as all lovers of fairy tales know, nothing breaks the power of a fairy tale like reason.

laphamsquarterly: So…you’ve been accused of witchcraft. What to...

Wed, 26 Sep 2012 11:48:08 -0500

laphamsquarterly:

So…you’ve been accused of witchcraft.

What to do? Are you a woman? Well, there’s your first problem. Never fear, because Lapham’s Quarterly has provided you with a handy chart to explain your options. Join us on a hilarious trip of torture, death, and excommunication!

More from our new issue MAGIC SHOWS…

"There are at least two other factors that should at least be mentioned because they have had an..."

Mon, 24 Sep 2012 09:35:48 -0500

“There are at least two other factors that should at least be mentioned because they have had an influence on the character of the Grimms’ tales, that is, on how the brothers consciously and unconsciously edited the tales. The first factor is the Protestant prudery of the Grimms in a narrow sense of the term, typical for the times, that led to the elimination of all offensive passages in consideration of young readers, and excluded smut from the very beginning. (By doing this the actual spectrum of orally transmitted folk stories was definitively limited.) The second factor is the familiarly of most contributors with the literary tradition of the French contes de fées, and this familiarity can be documented in a series of texts down to their very literal formulations borrowed from the contes. Therefore, a differentiated social-historical study must not misinterpret the Children’s and Household Tales as a document of an oral narrative tradition in which the social experiential world of agrarian lower classes had found its manifest expression. Even stories, which can be traced back to peasant sources, must be understood in their published narrative shape and in their manifold revised form, also in regard to the narrative content, more as documents of (educated) bourgeois conceptions of the experiential world of this social stratum.”

- The Brothers Grimm: From Enchanted Forests to the Modern World, Second Edition by Jack Zipes

I often have difficulty expressing the fact that the Grimm collection of fairy tales is a retelling of what rich people thought poor people’s storytelling (and experiences) should be like, not the actuality. Most of the stories do not even come from the peasant class at all and are largely French and not German. Zipes sums it all up nicely.

“The Twelve Brothers: Pan” and “The Twelve...

Sun, 23 Sep 2012 07:48:05 -0500

“The Twelve Brothers: Pan” and “The Twelve Brothers: Raj” by Wonderland-chan

Beautiful concept art for The Twelve Brothers. In this rewriting of the fairy tale Pan is the princess while Raj is the youngest son Benjamin. I love the Arabic setting versus the traditional European setting the fairy tale takes place in.

“The Twelve Brothers” by Jessica Mejias A...

Sat, 22 Sep 2012 15:57:04 -0500

“The Twelve Brothers” by Jessica Mejias

A photographer’s interpretation of The Twelve Brothers. I love the way they showed the princess carrying out her vow of silence and how they interpreted the star on her head. It’s a beautiful diptych.

“12 Brothers” by JodeeTaylah The princess, sans...

Sat, 22 Sep 2012 08:00:00 -0500

“12 Brothers” by JodeeTaylah

The princess, sans star, looks bewildered in the forest surrounded by her twelve brothers, now ravens.

“The Twelve Brothers” by Artybel Beautiful art...

Fri, 21 Sep 2012 16:35:00 -0500

“The Twelve Brothers” by Artybel

Beautiful art inspired by The Twelve Brothers showing the princess perched in the tree with her twelve brothers, now ravens, silently spinning. I love the red thread tucked into her mouth signifying her vow of silence.

“12 Brothers” by Melora The twelve brothers at the...

Fri, 21 Sep 2012 15:57:18 -0500

“12 Brothers” by Melora

The twelve brothers at the moment the princess picks the lilies, transforming them all into ravens.

“The Twelve Brothers” by Steve Mulvey A short...

Fri, 21 Sep 2012 07:59:25 -0500

“The Twelve Brothers” by Steve Mulvey

A short adaptation of The Twelve Brothers that focuses on the threat of death to the princes and their determination to murder the next female that crosses their path in retribution for it.

“The Twelve Brothers” by Dmitry Dryer This is a...

Fri, 21 Sep 2012 07:59:00 -0500

“The Twelve Brothers” by Dmitry Dryer

This is a silent short film that retells the fairy tale The Twelve Brothers in a very creepy but confusing way. The story takes place in a science fiction future in a kingdom of robots and seems to stop not long after the siblings are reunited.

The Twelve Brothers

Thu, 20 Sep 2012 16:55:00 -0500

The Grimm brothers felt a deep affinity for the following fairy tale and others like it. The Twelve Brothers is just one of three variations on this theme the Grimms included in their collection. The other two are the The Six Swans and The Seven Ravens. These stories are about sibling solidarity, heroic behavior and self-sacrifice in order to survive the destruction of the family unit. This is not unlike the Grimms’ own life story. The children in these tales band together and through “industry, cleanliness, order” as Zipes puts it they overcome adversity.

Unfortunately, as all Grimm fairy tales are, this literary fairy tale is aimed at a male audience and written from a male perspective so the women in this fairy tale get put through the wringer. To be fair to The Twelve Brothers, though, this fairy tale alone of the three features a heroine who is (relatively) independent and aggressive in her pursuit of what she believes to be right.

Two Versions

The opening of this fairy tale was rewritten between the first publication and the second. What remains the same is this. A king and queen have twelve sons, the queen is pregnant for a thirteenth time and the king decrees that if the child is a girl the other twelve children will be killed. The reasoning is what changed between versions.

“I would rather cut off all their heads than have a girl among them.”

That’s version number one. The father would rather his sons be dead than have to have a girl for a sibling. I’m not sure why they went back and changed it but the whole tone of the opening was altered by it. The second version actually inverts this story line.

“If the thirteenth child you are about to bear turns out to be a girl, then the twelve boys will have to be put to death, so that her wealth can be great and so that she alone inherits the kingdom.”

The king acknowledges the unfairness of gendered inheritance laws and seeks to correct this oversight by murdering his sons so that they can’t inherit. Lovely. “So much for sexism in fairy tales,” Margaret Atwood quips. This also, by the way, neatly makes everything that happens after the thirteenth child’s birth her fault. Wait and see.

Filicide

Freud views all this as a phantasmal fear come to life since it shows fathers murdering their sons, a fear on both sides of the knife. He cites Abraham and Issac of the Bible and Laius and Oedipus in myth as both fathers attempt to murder their sons to avoid a certain fate.

In The Twelve Brothers this murder is avoided with the intervention of the queen. The king gives her a key to a locked room containing twelve wooden coffins with twelve little pillows for their heads. He then tells her to say nothing of this and to show the room to no one.

Her youngest son Benjanmin, another biblical reference, is always at her side and is described throughout the fairy tale as “soft” and “weak” because of this. He begs to know why she is so sad and finally she breaks down and shows him the coffins and then hatches a plan. The boys will go out into the woods and climb the tallest tree so that they can watch the tower. She will run up a white flag is she has a son, but a red one if she has a daughter. If they see a red flag they are to flee.

It’s The Woman’s Fault

The brothers stay out in the woods and take turns climbing the tallest tree to watch the tower. When the queen runs up a red flag at the birth of their little sister the brothers become angry.

“Are we going to die just because of a girl! Let’s take an oath to avenge ourselves. If we run into a girl, her red blood will flow.”

This misogyny is really dark and sinister. It also shows that the brothers don’t want to blame this turn of events on their father whom they love even as they are on the run from him. They would much rather shift the blame to an unknown as they face abandonment and loss of home and parents.

Life In The Forest

The boys manage to find an abandoned cottage. Fairy tale forests are full of those. There they set up a home for themselves. They realize their society construct requires a female for the household but their new oath kind of makes that awkward so…

“Let’s live here. Benjamin, you are the youngest and weakest. You can stay and keep house while we go out and look for food.”

So the eleven brothers hunt and Benjamin stays home and cooks. This works out for several years, much like how the dwarves must have lived before Snow White.

Similar Motifs

Meanwhile back at the castle many years have passed and the princess has grown and become very beautiful. She has a star on her forehead that, according to Maria Tatar, marks has as being of royal descent. Not to mention it is awesomely alliterative, in German it’s Stern (star) Stirn (forehead). On a huge laundry day the princess finds twelve small shirts. She asks her mother about them and her mother breaks down and tells her everything. That’s when the princess decides she needs to go find her brothers right away and make sure they are okay and just like that packs up the shirts and leaves.

In The Six Swans and The Seven Ravens the stories also feature shirts that are central to the story line, identifying the missing brothers, and a star is associated with the lone princess. Each story takes these same elements and remixes them into very different tales. For example the princess in The Six Swans is useless compared to the princess in The Twelve Brothers who just walked out on her parents the moment she found out what they did to her brothers. A streak of aggressive feminine independence rarely seen in Grimm fairy tales.

I’m A Princess

She heads off into the same forest her brothers disappeared into years ago and finds the same cottage. On walking in she finds Benjamin and asks after her brothers, showing him the shirts she had brought with her.

“I’m a princess, and I’m searching for my twelve brothers. I’m willing to go as far as the sky is blue to find them.”

Benjamin tells her she’s in the right place and they have a joyful reunion with lots of tears, kisses and hugs. Then Benjamin remembers his brothers and warns her about their oath to kill the first female they see. The princess isn’t bothered by this.

“I would gladly give my life if I could save my twelve brothers.”

Your brothers do not deserve you. Benjamin comes up with a plan and hides her under a tub until the brothers come home. Then he plays the “I know something you don’t know” game and annoys them so much with it they promise not to kill the first female they see. At that moment the princess is revealed and shown to be their sister that caused all the trouble in the first place. They are so happy to see her they all hug and kiss her. She is no longer an unknown and clearly values their lives to seek them out like this.

She then sets to work keeping the house clean, picking herbs, keeping food on the table and so on with Benjamin there to help her. Much like Snow White this is to show the princess’ goodness through her industriousness and good housekeeping skills. While she did do the cooking the fairy tale goes to pains to show that she puts things on the fire but does not light or put it out herself, presumably Benjamin does. According to Ruth Bottigheimer women in Grimm fairy tales never control fire. Ever.

It’s The Woman’s Fault. Again.

One day the princess goes out into the garden and sees twelve white lilies growing there. She decides to pick them so that she can give one to each brother at dinner that evening. On picking the lilies her brothers suddenly turn into ravens. Frightened and now alone in the forest she turns to see an old woman who scolds her.

“Dear child, what have you done? Why didn’t you leave those twelve white flowers alone? They were your brothers, and now they’ve been turned into ravens forever.”

The princess bursts into tears and begs for a way to disenchant them. The old woman tells her there is one way but it so difficult as to be impossible. The princess must be completely silent and not smile for seven years. If she says even one word her brothers will die.

This Is For The Birds

In fairy tales men are far more likely to be transformed into animals by an enchantment. Women remain human but are rendered catatonic and are forever still and beautiful like in the fairy tales Snow White and Sleeping Beauty. Males on the other hand are transformed into an animal shape, often at the hands of an older woman. Just look at any of the many animal bridegroom stories for proof of this, from The Princess and the Frog to Beauty and the Beast. Maria Tatar points out how this can be viewed as commentary on women’s attitudes toward male sexuality. Of course silent and still Snow White and Briar Rose, the fairest of them all, can also be seen as “a statement on folkloristic visions of the ideal bride.”

Joyce Thomas points out how in The Twelve Brothers and similar fairy tales the brothers are always turned into birds, and because there are so many flock grouped birds at that. There is some word play involved in that as well as the German word for bird, Voegel, also is commonly used to refer to the penis. And for those that argue that some of these tales originated in France the word for bird there is Zoizeau which sounds very similar to zizi a common childish word for penis in French. The brothers in these three fairy tales are reduced to this basic form for years until long after the sister has reached adulthood.

Silence is Golden

Ruth Bottigheimer describes the princess’ sentence as a “redemptive silence” she also points out that while women are sentenced to long periods of silence the rare male character who faces a vow of silence finds they are “brief and attenuated.” Joyce Thomas points out how the terms for breaking the enchantment in fairy tales like these are more often ones of longevity and endurance not ones of feeling. The sister suffers in silence, but again is confident in herself.

“I know that I will be able to free my brothers.”

She climbs into a tree and starts silently spinning and many years pass. According to Maria Tatar the princess is spinning her way to salvation and finds deliverance by withdrawing from the world and retreating into silent domestic activities.

Marina Warner points out the irony in that many storytellers were women so in telling a tale like The Twelve Brothers they violate the edicts of silence and forbearance that the fairy tale attempts to teach.

A New Villain

One day a king passes through the wood and finds the princess spinning in the tree. He asks her if she will be his wife and she nods to give her consent. He then plucks her out of the tree and takes her back to the palace where they marry and are happy together for many years, though in all of that time the princess is silent and never smiles or laughs.

Enter the mother-in-law. She begins to stir up trouble, slandering the princess and accusing her of terrible things. The mother-in-law tells her son the girl must be a common beggar, that she was up to godless tricks and that even as a mute she should at least smile and laugh.

“A person who can’t laugh must have a bad conscience.”

More word play in the word Rabenmutter, there is no word for it in English but in German it literally translates as “mother of ravens” and is commonly used to refer to an abusive mother, or step-mother. In this story the mother-in-law is certainly that.

The king didn’t believe her at first but his mother kept up the accusations for so long, and his wife of course could say nothing in her defense, that finally the king became convinced that the princess was evil. He sentenced his wife to death.

Happily Ever After

So the princess was to be burned at the stake. The king watches on from an upstairs window with tears in his eyes as he still loved her. As the flames began to lick at the (still silent) princess’ clothes the seventh year came to a close. Her brothers fly in to the rescue transforming all around her from twelve ravens into the twelve brothers she loved. They then turned and began stomping out the flames, saving their sister’s life.

Once she was free and safe, reunited with her brothers once again, she told her husband everything. Once the king learned of the vow of silence and the curse he was relieved and they “lived together in harmony until their death.”

The mother-in-law on the other hand was brought before a judge and sentenced to death by being boiled in oil in a barrel full of poisonous snakes. Both of these death sentences were common at the time for witch craft. Her death ends the fairy tale.

Dryad and the Treespirit by Josephine Wall Deep in an enchanted...

Thu, 14 Jun 2012 10:33:31 -0500

Dryad and the Treespirit by Josephine Wall

Deep in an enchanted forest one of natures best kept secrets is revealed. As the sun lights up the leafy glade two hearts are joined in a magical embrace. The powerful tree spirit draws his dryad lover up into his arms and plants a kiss upon her willing lips. They are closely watched by spirits in the trees, rejoicing in the perfect union.

In flower language, bluebells symbolise constancy and...

Thu, 14 Jun 2012 10:14:00 -0500

In flower language, bluebells symbolise constancy and everlasting love.

According to folklore, the fairies were called when the bluebell was rung. Others believed that if you heard a bluebell ring, you or someone close to you will die.

It was thought to be unlucky to walk through a field of bluebells, as the spells that fairies have hung on the bluebell flowers will be disturbed.

Bluebells used to be known as “witches thimbles” and it was said the bells of the flowers would peal out at midnight calling to the fairies. Woe betides any poor unfortunate traveller who heard those bells - he would be dead in the morning.

The Latin name for this flower is “Endymion”, for a shepherd boy with whom the Moon goddess, Selene (later identified with Diana) fell in love. Selene put Endymion into an eternal sleep, so she alone could enjoy his beauty.

Bluebells were once used by herbalists to help prevent nightmares, and to cure leprosy, spider-bites and tuberculosis; but in fact, the bluebell is poisonous.

Forests in Folklore Book List

Sun, 10 Jun 2012 12:21:00 -0500

Probably one of the first things most people envision when they think of fairy tales, myths or even ancient legends is a deep, dark forest. Depending on the culture you might think of other dense pockets of nature too, whether a cave containing treasure, an oasis harboring the fountain of youth, a valley within which lies Shangri-la, or a jungle where intrepid heroes go in but never come out. Sometimes the nature is in a smaller package, it’s a single flower containing the power of the gods, a mythic tree of life or wisdom, an herb capable of granting eternal life, or a single apple promising forbidden knowledge.

Nature is a huge part of the mythic narrative no matter what part of the world you are in. Nature is a strange and mysterious mistress and stories from all over the world show her elements as magical, mythical and even legendary. What follows is a short book list that showcases books talking about the forests of the world in this context in one way or another. These books show nature’s mythical as well as very real abilities and the stories and legends that have sprung up surrounding the natural elements of our world.

Wicked Plants: The Weed That Killed Lincoln’s Mother & Other Botanical Atrocities by Amy Stewart

While this book is not mythologically focused what it does is alphabetically go through a list of deadly plants and features a short essay about each one. These essays not only touch on the facts of the plant such as what it does, where it is found, and how it is used, but it also mentions any shining moments in history along with any myths or legends a particular plant plays a part in. The organization of the book is strictly alphabetical and not organized by category so if you are only interested in reading about flora in myth you will have to page through every one, but the book is fascinating and very light reading. This is a good non-fiction read for people who don’t like non-fiction and/or prefer their reading in bite-size chunks. Be prepared to become a bit neurotic when it comes to plants after you finish reading it, however.

Irish Trees: Myths, Legends & Folklore by Niall Mac Coitir

In ancient Ireland, mythology and folklore were part of the general knowledge about each tree. This books gathers together the myths, legends, and folklore associated with the native Irish trees. The folklore has two main themes: the tree as a marker of important places such as royal site or holy well, and the role of different trees as source of magical power in folk customs and superstitions. Many themes are common to different trees, such as fertility, magical power, and the tree as a link between this world and the spiritual. Along with beautiful watercolors illustrating the different kinds of trees, the book features an Ogham tree calendar based on the early Irish alphabet and the ancient Celts’ lunar calendar that links the trees to the different months of that calendar.

The Forest in Folklore and Mythology by Alexander Porteous

This book is the one I credit with introducing me to forests in myth and legend. The book contains several stories, myths and legends about forests, sacred groves and even specific trees. The stories are summarized into brief, short paragraphs to give you a taste of the tale but there are well documented sources for all of them so it is easy to look up the full length legend if you are so inclined. The author also breaks off and talks about a forest’s magical denizens as well such as sprites, fairies or even witches. The book is not organized in any way so you go from one fairy tale, myth or legend to the next without much cohesiveness. It is a fascinating read though and a great way to be introduced to several stories about the forests of the world all at once.

Myths of the Sacred Tree by Moyra Caldecott

Protecting the earth is a universal theme and it is one that is brought to light in this next book in a very interesting way. In Myths of the Sacred Tree the author highlights myths from all over the world that celebrate the sacredness of nature, often in the form of a single divine tree. There are several page long (but often still truncated) summaries of the myth or legend in question accompanied by commentary picking out the threads that unite all of these stories into a cohesive, world-wide, centuries-old message about the preservation of nature. These myths either show nature being saved, nature being brought back from destruction or nature striking back in self-defense in stories from all over the world.

A Contemplation Upon Flowers: Garden Plants in Myth and Literature by Bobby J. Ward

My last selection focuses on flowers instead of trees but it’s a worthwhile side trip. The author lists 80 different types of flowers and talks about the various names each has had throughout history, its role in historical events and its practical uses. Each essay also includes name origins, symbolism, its meaning in the language of flowers and most importantly its magical or mythical stories and legends. Probably the best part of this book for a reader like myself are all the quotes and references in poems, literature and mythic writing throughout history. The author quotes work from ancient Greece straight through until Shakespeare and showcases each flower’s literary impact alongside its historical one.

While these books are a great start to forests in myth and legend they are just the tip of the iceberg. I have started a more thorough book list on GoodReads: Forests in Myth, Folklore and Fairy Tales. There you can find great collections of fairy tales, especially ones surrounding nature, like:

Have other recommended books about nature in folklore? Please share them! Especially if the titles are non-Europe centric which I realize is always hard to get away from in Western literature.

I was a bit shocked to see this image this morning on...

Sun, 04 Mar 2012 12:39:50 -0600

I was a bit shocked to see this image this morning on Sociological Images. The first African American Disney princess likes watermelon? Really, Disney? This is really in very poor taste and I’m shocked Disney would let this one slip past them. The origins of the stereotype that African American love watermelon dates back to pre-civil war days when it was used in propaganda posters to show that slaves were simple minded people that were happy with a watermelon and a bit of shade and would be too overwhelmed with the concept of freedom so they were best left slaves. In that light this was really tasteless and thoughtless to include on packaging for kids, especially for a character as empowering as Tiana has been for many children who now have a Disney princess that looked like them. Way to drop the ball on this one, Disney.

The Real Housewives of Disney Probably the best spot from...

Sun, 04 Mar 2012 10:47:09 -0600

The Real Housewives of Disney

Probably the best spot from Saturday Night Live last night was their spoof on Real Housewives reality shows with a Disney rift (with LiLo as Rapunzel who just escaped the tower, natch). These fairy tales are such a ubiquitous part of our culture that the princess in-jokes could effortlessly be reduced to a series of one line zingers even if they were largely in poor taste.