Mackley, J. S. (2013) “This stinckyng idoll”: the origins of some English Mayday traditions. Seminar Presentation presented to: The Rural Experience: Country Life in Literature, Song, Film & Folklore, Loughborough University, 26-28 March 2013. (Unpublished)
Presented version (896kB) |
| Item Type: | Conference or Workshop Item (Seminar Presentation) |
|---|---|
| Abstract: | This paper considers some of the traditions of the May Day festival, which might have had their roots in the Celtic celebrations of Bealtaine. Many pamphleteers and puritans expressed their displeasure at the performing of the rituals including the gathering of the May, and Queen and maypole veneration, all of which are linked with fertility rituals. There are suggestions that the Mayday rituals are also linked with the Roman fertility celebration of Floralia. These celebrations also developed to include dances of milkmaids and chimney sweeps and were linked with the procession of the Jack-in-the-Green and the Lord and Lady of the May |
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | Folklore, tradition, Mayday, Bealtaine, maypole |
| Subjects: |
G Geography. Anthropology. Recreation > GR Folklore > GR72 Folk literature (General) G Geography. Anthropology. Recreation > GT Manners and customs > GT3400 Customs relative to public and social life. Festivals. Holidays G Geography. Anthropology. Recreation > GR Folklore > GR81 Folk beliefs, superstitions, etc. B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > BL Religion > BL660 History and principles of religions > BL689 European. Occidental |
| Creators: | Mackley, J S |
| Faculties, Divisions and Institutes: | University Faculties, Divisions and Research Centres - OLD > Faculty of Arts, Science & Technology |
| Date: | 26 March 2013 |
| Date Type: | Presentation |
| Event Title: | The Rural Experience: Country Life in Literature, Song, Film & Folklore |
| Event Dates: | 26-28 March 2013 |
| Event Location: | Loughborough University |
| Event Type: | Conference |
| Language: | English |
| Status: | Unpublished |
| Refereed: | No |
| Related URLs: | |
| References: | Bede, The Reckoning of Time. Trans. Faith Wallis. Liverpool: Liverpool University Press, 1999. Bloomfield, Robert. Mayday with the Muses. London: Baldwin, Chadock and Joy, 1822. Brand, John. Observations on Popular Antiquities. Newcastle Upon Tyne: T. Saint, 1777. Brand, John. Observations on the Popular Antiquities of Great Britain, arranged by Sir Henry Ellis. 3. Vols. London: Henry G. Bohn, 1853. Brighton, Simon and Welbourn, Terry. Echoes of the Goddess. Hersham: Ian Allan, 2010. Broadhurst, Paul. The Green Man and the Dragon. Launceston: Mythos Books, 2006. Colquhoun, Hew B. Our Descent from Israel Proved by Cumulative Evidence. Glasgow: John Brown & Gray, 1940. Coulton, C.G. Medieval Panorama: The English Scene from Conquest to Reformation. Cambridge: Cambridge University press, 1949. de Waele, Ferdinand Joseph M. The Magic Staff or Rod in Graeco-Italian Antiquity. Wetteren: Drukkerij Erasmus, 1927. Fee Christopher R. with Leeming, David A. Gods, Heroes and Kings: The Battle for Mythic Britain. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2001. Gomme, Lady Alice Bertha. The Traditional Games of England, Scotland and Ireland. 2 Vols. London: David Nutt, 1894. Hampson, Robert Thomas. Medii Ævi Kalendarium: Or, Dates, Charters, and Customs of the Middle Ages. London: Henry Kent Causton & Co, 1841. Hazlett, W.C. A Dictionary of Faiths and Folklore. Senate Books, 1995. Hendon, Julia A and Joyce, Rosemary A (eds.). Mesoamerican Archaeology. Oxford: Blackwell, 2004. Hole, Christina. English Custom and Usage. 3rd ed. London: B.T. Batsford Ltd, 1950. Howitt, William. Rural Life of England. 2nd ed. London: Longman, Orme, Brown, Green and Longmans, 1840. Hutton, Ronald. The Rise and Fall of Merry England: The Ritual Year 1400–1700. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1994 Hutton, Ronald. The Stations of the Sun. Oxford; Oxford University Press, 1997. James, E.O. ‘The Influence of Christianity on Folklore’. Folklore, 58 (1947): 361-76. Joyce, P.W. History of Irish Names of Places. 2 vols. London: Longmans, Green, 1901. Lydgate, John. ‘Mumming at Bishopswood’ in Mummings and Entertainments. Ed. Claire Sponsler. Kalamazoo, Michigan: Medieval Institute Publications, 2010. Lyons, Reneé Critcher. The Revival of Banned Dances: A Worldwide Study. Jefferson, NC: McFaland and Co, 2012. MacCulloch, J.A. The Religion of the Ancient Celts. New York, Dover Publications Inc., 2003. Marcangelo, M. ’Robin Hood’. Folklore, 67(1956): 179–82. Matthews, John. The Quest for the Green Man. London: Godsfield Press, 2001. Montley, Patricia. In Nature’s Honour: Myths and Rituals Celebrating the Earth. Boston: Skinner House Books, 2005. Palmer, Roy. Everyman’s Book of English Country Songs. London: J.M. Dent, 1979. Patterson, Lee. Chaucer and the Subject of History. London: Routledge, 1991.. Phillips, George L. ‘May-Day is Sweep’s Day’. Folklore, 60 (1949): 217–27. Schirmer, Walter Franz. John Lydgate: A Study in the Culture of the XVth Century. Trans. Ann E. Keep. London: Methuen, 1961. Simpson, Jacqueline and Roud, Steve. A Dictionary of English Folklore. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000. Somerset, Julia (Lady Raglan). ‘The “Green Man” in Church Architecture’. Folklore, 50 (1939): 45–57. Spence, Lewis. Ritual and Myth in Dance, Game and Rhyme. London: Watts and Co, 1947. Stow, John. A Survey of London: Reprinted from the text of 1603, with introduction and notes by Charles Lethbridge Kingsford. Adamant Media Corporation, 2001. Stubbes, Phillip. Anatomy of Abuses in Shakespeare’s Youth AD 1583. Ed. Frederick J. Furnivall. London: N. Trubner and Co., 1877–9. Transactions of the Royal Irish Academy. vol. xiv .Dublin: R Graisberry, 1825. |
| URI: | http://nectar.northampton.ac.uk/id/eprint/5503 |
Actions (login required)
 |
Edit Item |
Altmetric
Altmetric