The Land of the Green Man: A Journey through the Supernatural Landscapes of the British Isles

New
Hardcover
2015
$18.71

Beyond its housing estates and identikit high streets there is another Britain. This is the Britain of mist-drenched forests and unpredictable sea-frets: of wraith-like fog banks, druidic mistletoe and peculiar creatures that lurk, half-unseen, in the undergrowth, tantalising and teasing just at the periphery of human vision. How have the remarkably persistent folkloric traditions of the British Isles formed and been formed by the identities and psyches of those who inhabit them? In her sparkling new history, Carolyne Larrington explores the diverse ways in which a myriad of imaginary and fantastical beings has moulded the cultural history of the nation. Fairies, elves and goblins here tread purposefully, sometimes malignly, over an eerie, preternatural landscape that also conceals brownies, selkies, trows, knockers, boggarts, land-wights, Jack o'Lanterns, Bargests, the sinister Nuckelavee, or water-horse, and even Black Shuck: terrifying hell-hound of the Norfolk coast with eyes of burning coal.Focusing on liminal points where the boundaries between this world and that of the supernatural grow thin - those marginal tide-banks, saltmarshes, floodplains, moors and rock-pools wherein mystery lies - the author shows how mythologies of mermen, Green Men and Wild Men have helped and continue to help human beings deal with such ubiquitous concerns as love and lust, loss and death and continuity and change. Evoking the Wild Hunt, the ghostly bells of Lyonesse and the dread fenlands haunted by Grendel, and ranging the while from Shetland to Jersey and from Ireland to East Anglia, this is a book that will captivate all those who long for the wild places: the mountains and chasms where Gog, Magog and their fellow giants lie in wait.

Synopsis

Beyond its housing estates and identikit high streets there is another Britain. This is the Britain of mist-drenched forests and unpredictable sea-frets: of wraith-like fog banks, druidic mistletoe and peculiar creatures that lurk, half-unseen, in the undergrowth, tantalising and teasing just at the periphery of human vision. How have the remarkably persistent folkloric traditions of the British Isles formed and been formed by the identities and psyches of those who inhabit them? In her sparkling new history, Carolyne Larrington explores the diverse ways in which a myriad of imaginary and fantastical beings has moulded the cultural history of the nation. Fairies, elves and goblins here tread purposefully, sometimes malignly, over an eerie, preternatural landscape that also conceals brownies, selkies, trows, knockers, boggarts, land-wights, Jack o'Lanterns, Bargests, the sinister Nuckelavee, or water-horse, and even Black Shuck: terrifying hell-hound of the Norfolk coast with eyes of burning coal.Focusing on liminal points where the boundaries between this world and that of the supernatural grow thin - those marginal tide-banks, saltmarshes, floodplains, moors and rock-pools wherein mystery lies - the author shows how mythologies of mermen, Green Men and Wild Men have helped and continue to help human beings deal with such ubiquitous concerns as love and lust, loss and death and continuity and change. Evoking the Wild Hunt, the ghostly bells of Lyonesse and the dread fenlands haunted by Grendel, and ranging the while from Shetland to Jersey and from Ireland to East Anglia, this is a book that will captivate all those who long for the wild places: the mountains and chasms where Gog, Magog and their fellow giants lie in wait.

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More Information

Format: Hardcover
Pages: 256
Publisher: I.B.Tauris
Published: 30 Jul 2015
ISBN 10: 1780769911
ISBN 13: 9781780769912

Media Reviews

'Indispensably inspiring.' - Times Higher Education; 'Carolyne Larrington illuminates how shallowly the UK's rich folklore and mysticism lie under the surface' - Wanderlust; 'Caroline Larrington's joyous celebration of English folklore delights in the way these stories bounce around the culture, never quite going away. Living in an infinite universe, we search for beginnings and ends. The Land of the Green Man is a celebration of the long-living tales of a short-lived folk' - Frank Cottrell Boyce, New Statesman; 'In this fascinating study of Britain's folkloric landscape, Larrington traces ancient legends to their most modern reworkings, from Yorkshire lore to Harry Potter. An enjoyable tangle of kelpies, tolls, night-riders, changelings, goblins and selkies regale us before the Green Man himself grins out from the foliage.' - Christopher Howse, Sunday Telegraph; 'Fascinating' - Daily Telegraph; 'Larrington's enthusiasm and exhaustive knowledge give the old tales an anecdotal liveliness - Nina Lyon, The Spectator; 'The folklore of Britain abounds with local tales about the activities of one sort of supernatural being or another - giants, elves, hobs, boggarts, dragons or shape-changing witches. The stories are vivid, dramatic and often humorous. Carolyne Larrington has made a representative selection, which she re-tells in a simple, direct way which is completely faithful to the style and spirit of her sources. Most collectors of local legends have been content merely to note how they may serve to explain some feature of the landscape or to warn of some supernatural danger, but Carolyne Larrington probes more deeply. By perceptive and delicate analysis, she explores their inner meanings. She shows how, through lightly coded metaphors, they deal with the relations of man and woman, master and servant, the living and the dead, the outer semblance and the inner self, mankind and the natural environment. Her fascinating book gives us a fuller insight into the value of our traditional tales.' - Jacqueline Simpson, Visiting Professor of Folklore, University of Chichester, and former President of the Folklore Society, London; 'This delightful book makes terrific bedside reading, but should also be kept in the car for reference on drives through the English countryside. It combines a charmingly informal style with impressive learning, mixing personal anecdotes and retellings of local legends with a deep knowledge of the history and literature of our islands, and evocative descriptions of the landscape. Don't leave home without it!' - Elizabeth Archibald, Professor of English, Durham University, co-editor of The Cambridge Companion to The Arthurian Legend

Author Bio

Carolyne Larrington is Fellow and Tutor in Medieval English Literature at St John's College, Oxford. Her previous books include The Women's Companion to Mythology (1997), The Poetic Edda (2008), King Arthur's Enchantresses: Morgan and her Sisters in Arthuran Tradition (I.B.Tauris, 2006) and Magical Tales: Myth, Legend and Enchantment in Children's Books (2013).