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The Science of Fairy Tales: An Inquiry Into Fairy Mythology
Excerpt from The Science of Fairy Tales: An Inquiry Into Fairy Mythology
The chief object of this volume is to exhibit, in a manner acceptable to readers who are not specialists, the application of the principles and methods which guide investigations into popular traditions to a few of the most remarkable stories embodying the Fairy superstitions of the Celtic and Teutonic peoples. Some of the subjects discussed have already been dealt with by more competent inquirers. But even in these cases I have sometimes been able to supply additional illustrations of the conclusions previously arrived at, and occasionally, I hope, to carry the argument a step or two further than had been done before. I have thus tried to render the following pages not wholly valueless to students.
A portion of the book incorporates the substance of some articles which I contributed to "The Archaeological Review" and "Folk-Lore." But these have been to a considerable extent re-written; and it is hoped that in the process wider and more accurate generalizations have been attained.
My hearty thanks are due to the various friends whose generous assistance has been recorded in the footnotes, and especially to Professor Dr. George Stephens, the veteran antiquary of the North, and Mr. W. G. Fretton, who have not measured their pains on behalf of one whose only claim on them was a common desire to pry into the recesses of the past.
About the Publisher
Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com
This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.
The chief object of this volume is to exhibit, in a manner acceptable to readers who are not specialists, the application of the principles and methods which guide investigations into popular traditions to a few of the most remarkable stories embodying the Fairy superstitions of the Celtic and Teutonic peoples. Some of the subjects discussed have already been dealt with by more competent inquirers. But even in these cases I have sometimes been able to supply additional illustrations of the conclusions previously arrived at, and occasionally, I hope, to carry the argument a step or two further than had been done before. I have thus tried to render the following pages not wholly valueless to students.
A portion of the book incorporates the substance of some articles which I contributed to "The Archaeological Review" and "Folk-Lore." But these have been to a considerable extent re-written; and it is hoped that in the process wider and more accurate generalizations have been attained.
My hearty thanks are due to the various friends whose generous assistance has been recorded in the footnotes, and especially to Professor Dr. George Stephens, the veteran antiquary of the North, and Mr. W. G. Fretton, who have not measured their pains on behalf of one whose only claim on them was a common desire to pry into the recesses of the past.
About the Publisher
Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com
This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.
404 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1891
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
July 4, 2013
This book was hard to read for many reasons, most notably the lack of organization as the author compared multiple stories and analyzed the links between them and the Victorian attitudes expressed toward non-European cultures. Even so, I learned a lot from this book and will consider reading it again, this time with note-taking materials at hand, in order to better integrate the great breadth of the material covered. Definitely a worthwhile read.
June 6, 2021
Let’s pick up a Victorian-era book about the History of Faerie folk they said...
It will be fun they said...
OH GOD WHY WHY WHY IS THERE SO MUCH RACISM?
(And to clarify, it was the wee little Faerie folk who told me to pick it up...)
Honestly though, there are some interesting stories in here once you weed through all the racist bullshit, and there is a lot of that to weed through.
It will be fun they said...
OH GOD WHY WHY WHY IS THERE SO MUCH RACISM?
(And to clarify, it was the wee little Faerie folk who told me to pick it up...)
Honestly though, there are some interesting stories in here once you weed through all the racist bullshit, and there is a lot of that to weed through.
December 11, 2024
3.50
Very interesting read about the common fairytales (märchen) and sagas types from around the world, especially Europe (but touches all continents) , their parallels across cultures, and how somehow that makes us all humans of the same calibre.
As it was published in 1891, there are some antiquated views in respect to cultures and different civilisations. It is very mild, but the author being so dry and very objective that it feels more the product its time rather than the author's personal opinion.
Borrowed from the Library.
Very interesting read about the common fairytales (märchen) and sagas types from around the world, especially Europe (but touches all continents) , their parallels across cultures, and how somehow that makes us all humans of the same calibre.
As it was published in 1891, there are some antiquated views in respect to cultures and different civilisations. It is very mild, but the author being so dry and very objective that it feels more the product its time rather than the author's personal opinion.
Borrowed from the Library.
September 2, 2023
While I enjoyed the discussion of the formula of what makes a fairy tale, the comparisons were a bit too disorganized to follow. I found “The Fairy Tellers” did a better job of explaining the origins and comparisons of various tales a little bit better.
January 18, 2023
Sebagai pemula dalam mempelajari folktale, isi buku ini sangat mencerahkan. Banyak hal yang selama ini kupertanyakan tentang cerita rakyat, mendapatkan jawaban secara keilmuan (bukan logika secara isi cerita).
Bahasa Hartland juga mudah dimengerti, meskipun banyak istilah yang mana membutuhkan ditemani kamus ketika membacanya, tapi aliran kalimatnya menyenangkan.
Satu-satunya pengalaman buruk membaca buku ini adalah edisi yang kubeli adalah edisi ekonomis dimana 367 halaman dimampatkan menjadi 154 halaman. Benar-benar neraka bagi mata.
Bahasa Hartland juga mudah dimengerti, meskipun banyak istilah yang mana membutuhkan ditemani kamus ketika membacanya, tapi aliran kalimatnya menyenangkan.
Satu-satunya pengalaman buruk membaca buku ini adalah edisi yang kubeli adalah edisi ekonomis dimana 367 halaman dimampatkan menjadi 154 halaman. Benar-benar neraka bagi mata.
April 30, 2023
Can't reasonably give this any higher than this because 1) I fully skipped some sections that were especially boring and 2) it was kind of hard to read between the meandering formatting and the, y'know, racism, but it got the job done for the research I needed in a pinch. Would've preferred to use a different text but this one is freely available in full on Wikisource, and it was nice to be able to search through it.
February 19, 2024
Like other classics, this book goes to great lengths with the characteristics of the fairies in all their important themes, such as challengings and apparitions, abductions, shape-shifting, punishments, and the whole attitudes.
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February 26, 201115.6 The Truth Is...
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews