Real Medieval Superstition and Folklore

[Trevalon Moonleirion]

Another round of thank-yous and a Friday evening bump, for all of us losers online instead of gaming it up or going out on the town with a lovely lady (or handsome gentleman, as the case may be).

If I've learned just one thing during this first year of college it's this: don't wait until a week before a 12 page research paper is due to start really looking for stuff. You'll find that the library is suddently checked out of all the books that you need.

 

[ajanders]

Another round of thank-yous and a Friday evening bump, for all of us losers online instead of gaming it up or going out on the town with a lovely lady (or handsome gentleman, as the case may be).

If I've learned just one thing during this first year of college it's this: don't wait until a week before a 12 page research paper is due to start really looking for stuff. You'll find that the library is suddently checked out of all the books that you need.

Indeed.
For more primary sources, consider Canterbury Tales, Piers Ploughman, and do a search on Virgil's Eclogues: Virgil was considered the holiest of the Roman poets because some of his poetry contained references to a Christ figure. You'll want likewise to look for Gog and Magog.

 

[morrolan]

A good book for this kind of situation would be Medieval Folklor: A Guide to Myths, Legends, Tales, Beliefs, and Customs by Carl Lindahl, John McNamara, and John Lindow (Oxford University Press, 2002). I've seen copies at Borders, Barnes & Nobles, and several independent booksellers. It is probably also sold at Amazon.

I'll second that with a biased plug... two of the authors (Lindahl and McNamara) are profs of mine at the University of Houston. Lindahl studied under Stith Thompson, very heavyweight name on folklore studies.

 

[krichaiushii]

These two sites should eventually steer you into medieval superstitions:

http://www.netserf.org/
http://www.the-orb.net/

This one might, or may only cover premedieval times - its far too massive for me to explore thoroughly.

http://www.julen.net/aw/

 

[Neil Aitken]

A book off of my bookshelf comes to mind:

"Religion & the Decline of Magic" by Keith Thomas
Paperback: 716 pages
Publisher: Prentice Hall; (November 1975)
ISBN: 0024202002

The book focuses on the superstitions prevalent in Europe from the Dark Ages through the late Middle Ages into the Industrial Revolution and how magic and religion interplayed in the lives of the people. Loads of interesting material.

-- edit: IIRC it also has a great index and a comprehensive bibliography

I'd also recommend an excellent book on Celtic mythology by T.W. Rolleston -- not that it fits with your paper, but just because it's really well-written

"Celtic Myths and Legends" by T. W. Rolleston
Paperback: 512 pages ; Dimensions (in inches): 1.98 x 8.84 x 6.20
Publisher: Dover Pubns; (November 1, 1990)
ISBN: 0486265072

 

[Neil Aitken]

More links/sources to consider:

I'm not certain if these are exactly what you're looking for, but there are a number of very interesting papers at the Porta Ludovica Umberto Eco site.

(If you haven't read Eco's Foucault's Pendulum and Name of the Rose, I can't recommend them enough).

Anyway, try the following link as well for other ideas:

Online Papers and Essays related to Eco

 

[Olive]

I was looking yestwerday at Daily Life in the Age of Charlegmane wich is an academic work that deals with superstitions and the like in part.

 

[TheAuldGrump]

Curious myths of the Middle Ages by Sabine Baring-Gould. A selection from it can be found here: http://www.commonplacebook.com/fiction/myths/

You might well be able to find the book remaindered as well.

The Auld Grump

 

[William Ronald]

Hi, Trev:

Here are some books I would check. The Mabonogion ( a collection of Welsh myths and legend -- including some of the earliest appearances of King Arthur), The Golden Bough by Sir James Frazier, The Hero with a Thousand Faces by Joseph Campbell, Le Morte D'Arthur by Sir Thomas Mallory are good sources. You might want to check on books on fairies as well as some of the wild travel tales that were quite popular. I believe John Mandeville was the author of one. Also, you might want to check out An Encyclopeaedia of Occultism By Lewis Spence, University Books, 1960 and The Encylopedia of Witchcraft And Demonology by Rossell Hope Robbins, Crown Publishers, Inc., 1969, which are two good -- and fairly easy to use -- scholarly works.

Also, you might want to check into the popular legend of Prester John, a reputed emperor whom many in Europe hoped would join in the Crusades. You should also check religious references of different faiths. Perhaps you could do a search under relics, or pick up a few books on folklore.

Good luck!!!

 

[Pramas]

Medieval Player's Manual

This week we just released the Medieval Player's Manual. If you like d20 and are interested in the medieval period, it's right up your alley.

http://www.greenronin.com/cgi-bin/product.cgi?prodid=1403