A collection of essays from 1908 by George Laurence Gomme, arguing that folklore should be studied as a historical science. It examines traditions, myths, folk-tales, customs, beliefs and rites alongside anthropological, sociological and ethnological conditions. It is worth listening to for an insight into early folklore scholarship and its relationship to history.
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Text source: gutenberg.org · The work is in the public domain.
Opening of the book
FOLKLORE AS AN HISTORICAL SCIENCE BY GEORGE LAURENCE GOMME WITH TWENTY-EIGHT ILLUSTRATIONS METHUEN & CO. 36 ESSEX STREET W.C. LONDON First Published in 1908 Pedlar''s Seat, Swaffham Church, Norfolk. "PEDLAR'S SEAT," SWAFFHAM CHURCH
CONTENTS CHAPTER I. History and Folklore pages 1-122 Introductory pages 1‑13 History and Local and Personal Traditions 13-46 History and Folk-tales 46-84 Traditional Law 84-100 Mythology and Tradition 100-110 Historians and Tradition 110-120 II. Materials and Methods 123-179 Traditional Material 123-129 Myth, Folk-tale, and Legend 129-153 Custom, Belief, and Rite 154-179 III. Psychological Conditions 180-207 IV. Anthropological Conditions 208-302 Primitive Influences 211-238 Earliest Types of Social Existence 238-261 Australian Totem Society tested by the Evidence 262-274 Totem Survivals in Britain 274-296
Synopsis of Culturestructure of Semangs of Malay Peninsula 297-302 V. Sociological Conditions 303-319 VI. European Conditions 320-337 VII. Ethnological Conditions 338-366 Index 367-371 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS PAGE 1. Pedlar's Seat, Swaffham Church, Norfolk Frontispiece 2. Carved Wooden Figure of the Pedlar in Swaffham Church 8 3. Carved Wooden Figure of the Pedlar's Dog in Swaffham Church 8 Nos. 1-3 are taken from photographs, and show how the story of the Pedlar of Swaffham has been interpreted in carving. The costume of the Pedlar is noticeable.
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