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The Folk-Lore of the Isle of Man (1891): Being an Account of its Myths, Legends, Superstitions, Customs & Proverbs
From inside book:
The wonders of the Isle of Man, according to Nennius, are " a strand without a sea . . . . a ford which is far from the sea, and which fills when the tide flows, and decreases when the tide ebbs"; and " a stone which moves at night in Glen Cinden, and though it should be cast into the sea, yet at morning's dawn it would be found in the same valley." . Can the existence of superstitions among a people so excluded from the outer world be wondered at ? It is difficult in these days to estimate how complete this seclusion was, but a fair idea of what it was, even at the beginning of the present century, may be arrived at from considering the fact that the Battle of Waterloo was not heard of in the Isle of Man till the beginning of September, six weeks after it had taken place. Apart from their isolation, too, the people, who are of mixed Celtic and Scandinavian race, were naturally superstitious, so much so that Waldron stated "he verily believed that. idolisers as they were of their clergy, they would be even refractory to them were they to preach against the existence of fairies;" and at the beginning of the present century, we have the evidence of Sir Walter Scott, who was well informed about the Folk-Lore of the Island by his brother, who lived there, to the effect that "Tales of Goblins, Ghosts, and Spectres; legends of Saints and Devils,of Fairies and familiar Spirits, in no corner of the British dominions are told and received with more absolute credulity than in the Isle of Man.
Contents:
(1) Legendary Myths.
(2) Hagiological, and Mytho-Historical Legends.
(3) Fairies and Familiar Spirits.
(4) Hobgoblins, Monsters, Giants, Mermaids, and Apparitions.
(5) Magic, Witchcraft, Charms, &c.
(6) Customs and Superstitions connected with the Seasons.
(7) Superstitions connected with the Sun, Animals, Trees, Plants,Sacred Edifices, &c.
(8) Customs and Superstitions, connected with Birth, Marriage, Death, &c.
(9) Customs formerly enforced by Law.
(10) Proverbs and Sayings.
This pre-1923 publication has been converted from its original format for the Kindle and may contain an occasional defect from the original publication or from the conversion.
The wonders of the Isle of Man, according to Nennius, are " a strand without a sea . . . . a ford which is far from the sea, and which fills when the tide flows, and decreases when the tide ebbs"; and " a stone which moves at night in Glen Cinden, and though it should be cast into the sea, yet at morning's dawn it would be found in the same valley." . Can the existence of superstitions among a people so excluded from the outer world be wondered at ? It is difficult in these days to estimate how complete this seclusion was, but a fair idea of what it was, even at the beginning of the present century, may be arrived at from considering the fact that the Battle of Waterloo was not heard of in the Isle of Man till the beginning of September, six weeks after it had taken place. Apart from their isolation, too, the people, who are of mixed Celtic and Scandinavian race, were naturally superstitious, so much so that Waldron stated "he verily believed that. idolisers as they were of their clergy, they would be even refractory to them were they to preach against the existence of fairies;" and at the beginning of the present century, we have the evidence of Sir Walter Scott, who was well informed about the Folk-Lore of the Island by his brother, who lived there, to the effect that "Tales of Goblins, Ghosts, and Spectres; legends of Saints and Devils,of Fairies and familiar Spirits, in no corner of the British dominions are told and received with more absolute credulity than in the Isle of Man.
Contents:
(1) Legendary Myths.
(2) Hagiological, and Mytho-Historical Legends.
(3) Fairies and Familiar Spirits.
(4) Hobgoblins, Monsters, Giants, Mermaids, and Apparitions.
(5) Magic, Witchcraft, Charms, &c.
(6) Customs and Superstitions connected with the Seasons.
(7) Superstitions connected with the Sun, Animals, Trees, Plants,Sacred Edifices, &c.
(8) Customs and Superstitions, connected with Birth, Marriage, Death, &c.
(9) Customs formerly enforced by Law.
(10) Proverbs and Sayings.
This pre-1923 publication has been converted from its original format for the Kindle and may contain an occasional defect from the original publication or from the conversion.
256 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2004
About the author
A.W. Moore
14 books1 followerArthur William Moore CVO SHK JP MA (1853–1909) was a Manx antiquarian, historian, linguist, folklorist, and former Speaker of the House of Keys in the Isle of Man. He published under the sobriquet A. W. Moore.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
December 30, 2008
Mostly a Christianized version of Manx folklore, lots of info on how folks lived in general.
January 28, 2020
It's a classic, of course, and was for many years the only readily available resource on Manx folklore, though it has more recently been supplemented with other publications and reprints of other long out of print volumes. This remains the primary 'go to' volume, however.
It is rationally arranged in sections, though trying to relocate a specific item in the dense text can prove to be a bit of a struggle. However, it manages to pack a huge amount of information into its pages.
The edition I have appears to be a facsimile of the original print, with the result that the text is tightly packed, poorly defined, very small and often quite faint.
An invaluable book which would benefit from a new, revised edition with spacious new typesetting and a comprehensive index.
It is rationally arranged in sections, though trying to relocate a specific item in the dense text can prove to be a bit of a struggle. However, it manages to pack a huge amount of information into its pages.
The edition I have appears to be a facsimile of the original print, with the result that the text is tightly packed, poorly defined, very small and often quite faint.
An invaluable book which would benefit from a new, revised edition with spacious new typesetting and a comprehensive index.
December 20, 2019
Enjoyed reading this, for its age it’s surprisingly easy to digest and broke up into very short stories and pieces of info that mean you can pick up and read just for a short while if you like.
June 13, 2023
For the most part, this was schorlarly, academic and dry, and far less "fantastical" than I'd hoped. It ended up being a slog rather than a pleasure.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews