#folklore

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wants to read European Guilds by Joel Mokyr (Princeton economic history of the Western world)

Joel Mokyr, Sheilagh Ogilvie: European Guilds (Hardcover, 2019, Princeton University Press) No rating

A comprehensive analysis of European craft guilds through eight centuries of economic history

Guilds ruled …

I bought this book as a result of an Internet Argument where one of the posters claimed that the medieval European guilds were in their own way just as horrible as the large multinational companies of the present #LateStageCapitalism (though on a smaller scale) - and they cited this book as a reference.

If nothing else, this book should give me some useful context for my own #folklore research.

quoted Gnomi, fate, folletti e altri esseri fatati in Italia by Dario Spada

Dario Spada: Gnomi, fate, folletti e altri esseri fatati in Italia (Italian language, 1989, SugarCo) No rating

L'Alber, o ALBERER, è un enorme uccello di fuoco che porta sventura a chi lo vede.

— Gnomi, fate, folletti e altri esseri fatati in Italia by 

I find the "Alber" to be a very interesting creature indeed. It is a "bird of fire" whose approach is heralded by a disturbing whistle, and then everyone has to flee inside their houses and bar doors and windows so that they don't perceive it and suffer misfortune as a result. That description would make me inclined to identify it as a #WildHunt -type phenomena, perhaps similar to the Australian Wildg'fahr.

But what also makes me curious is its name. Is "Alber" derived from "albero", Italian for "tree" or "mast"? If so, perhaps this is no "bird" after all, but a flaming pole - which would make it kin to the "flaming pole"-type apparitions from German folklore as well.

#Italiano #folklore

quoted Gnomi, fate, folletti e altri esseri fatati in Italia by Dario Spada

Dario Spada: Gnomi, fate, folletti e altri esseri fatati in Italia (Italian language, 1989, SugarCo) No rating

Una delle loro occupazioni principali è quella di succhiare da un orecchio il sangue ai neonati che rapiscono dalle culle per nasconderli nei tronchi delle querce.

— Gnomi, fate, folletti e altri esseri fatati in Italia by 

And with the very first encyclopedia entry, we already have child-stilling "little people" - the "Abitatrici Dei Campi" ("Inhabitants of the Fields", if I've gotten this right). Although unlike their German counterparts, they do not replace the stolen children with changelings, and I am not sure if this is better or worse. #Italiano #folklore #kidnapping

quoted Schlesische Sagen 3 - Zauber-, Wunder- und Schatzsagen by Richard Kühnau

Richard Kühnau: Schlesische Sagen 3 - Zauber-, Wunder- und Schatzsagen (1913, B.G. Teubner)

In earlier times, people occasionally saw a fiery barrel roll down the west side of the mountain of Reich-Hennersdorf towards the river Bober. This barrel was filled with gold, and vanished as soon as it touched the waters of the Bober.

— Schlesische Sagen 3 - Zauber-, Wunder- und Schatzsagen by 

This is by no means the weirdest supernatural phenomenon from German #folklore ...

quoted Schlesische Sagen 2 - Elben-, Dämonen- und Teufelsagen by Richard Kühnau (Schlesische Sagen, #2)

Richard Kühnau: Schlesische Sagen 2 - Elben-, Dämonen- und Teufelsagen (1911, B.G. Teubner) No rating

On one rainy day, a girl from the village walked through the grain field, and discovered a small chicken which was entirely wet. She took pity on the little animal, and took it with her.

When she had brought it home, it started to vomit grain, and in this manner it spat out several sack-full of grains. This was the [above-mentioned] dragon, which was flying through the air at night and was trailing a fiery shine behind it.

— Schlesische Sagen 2 - Elben-, Dämonen- und Teufelsagen by  (Schlesische Sagen, #2)

I knew that #dragons could take on all sorts of forms in #folklore .

But I have to admit that I did not have "grain-spitting #chicken " on my bingo card...

quoted Schlesische Sagen 1 - Spuk- und Gespenstersagen by Richard Kühnau (Schlesische Sagen, #1)

Richard Kühnau: Schlesische Sagen 1 - Spuk- und Gespenstersagen (1910, B.G. Teubner)

If someone walks through the Jüschke (a forested gorge between Hollenau and Birgwitz) at midnight, an fiery foal jumps on their back. It makes the person carry it for a while, and then suddenly vanishes. Based on the location where it appears, it is called the "Jüschkefüllen" ("Jüschke Foal").

— Schlesische Sagen 1 - Spuk- und Gespenstersagen by  (Schlesische Sagen, #1)

I want to stress that strange things jumping on the backs of lone wanderers at night is an extremely common occurrence in German #folklore .

Really, it's probably best to stay home at night.

quoted Schlesische Sagen 1 - Spuk- und Gespenstersagen by Richard Kühnau (Schlesische Sagen, #1)

Richard Kühnau: Schlesische Sagen 1 - Spuk- und Gespenstersagen (1910, B.G. Teubner)

...A barber once hanged himself here. And when people step into this small forest at 12 o'clock at noon or after the evening prayers, they will be grabbed by invisible hands, forced to sit down on a tree stump, and be lathered and shaved against their will.

— Schlesische Sagen 1 - Spuk- und Gespenstersagen by  (Schlesische Sagen, #1)

Ghosts have little respect for personal boundaries. #folktale #folklore #ghost

commented on Preussens Volkssagen, Märchen und Legenden, als Balladen, Romanzen und Erzählungen. Dritter Band by Widar Ziehnert (Preussens Volkssagen, Märchen und Legenden, als Balladen, Romanzen und Erzählungen, #3)

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Widar Ziehnert: Preussens Volkssagen, Märchen und Legenden, als Balladen, Romanzen und Erzählungen. Dritter Band (1840, C.B. Polet)

 No rating