Folklore lecture series begins Monday

New Series at the Caledon Library!
Folklore of the British Isles with Afsaneh Metaluna
3rd Mondays, 4pm

Inaugural lecture, Mon, April 20, 4pm - 5pm
Tinyville Library, Tinyville, Caledon Tanglewood
 http://slurl.com/secondlife/Caledon%20Tanglewood/23/214/23/

Folklorist Afsenah Metaluna will guide us in a new exploration each month; with illustrative stories and her own commentary she'll expose to our understanding some facet of the rich and varied folklore of the British Isles. In the Storyteller's Own Words…

"Rather than a repository of Märchen (wonder tales more or less of the "Grimm's" variety) much of the folklore of England is comprised of local legends that combine references to beliefs and customs and aspects of daily life, particularly rural life. This is contrasted with English ballads and broadsides, which have a strong tradition of their own, as well as the folklore around customs, dance and belief. The wonder tales exist too, though more in the Celtic regions."

This month and next, to get us started, she will tell and comment on short tales from England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales.

English Lore
The Apple Tree Man -- a legend that deals with customs as well as systems of land tenure and inheritance, this story is kind of a microcosm of the strength of English narrative lore.

Welsh Lore 
Later in the series, we will have a session entirely devoted to the relationship between Welsh traditions (including the somewhat heroically invented or compiled Mabinogion,  analogous to, though less well known than, the Finnish Kalevala) and the stories of King Arthur and the wizard Merlin. To start this topic off,  this time we will hear "The Cave of the Knights."

Irish Lore
To explore this tradition means to follow the threads in a perfect Celtic knot of history, myth and folklore and Christianity and Celtic belief.  One place to begin is to  situate this is relation to stories of The Children of Lir. As our series continues, Afsaneh will put The Golden Fly (which her fans heard recently at the West of Ireland Library) in context for us as a forerunner to the the story cycle of Conary Mor.

Scottish Lore
A Selkie story, of the kind we will encounter in future discussions. This time, Afsaneh will explain why she sees this tradition as exemplary of Scottish lore, with its ties to the environment, and its status as a cautionary tales where actions in one realm are mirrored in another.

This Month's lecture will be presented using SL voice



Gentlebeings, Your Servant
JJ Drinkwater.