I am really interested in oral traditions and myths. Full honesty, I am a layperson not an expert but find the oral traditions past down completely fascinating, and at times completely compelling. I am half interested in trying to write a book about our area. Again, I have no idea how to write a book, but I love the idea of collecting tales and preserving them. The UK has so many myths and legends it is magnificent. I love to dream that Gogmagog (ok not north east) and the Lambton worm are rooted in some truths. I am personally really interested in the idea of an ancient race of giants. Anyway, I am after any old myths you have heard. I started my obsession with the story of the Stanhope Fairies. We had a cave system called the fairie caves and as a kid I would visit those. I always felt the place had a certain enchantment to it. Everything was so lovely and lush, and the beck plunge so blue. Fairies as little folk with magic doesnt wash, but what might the origin of the story been? Some evidence of very small folk emerging in different parts of the world. To avoid argument, I am not trying to do a Graham Hancock. I just wonder what the stories past down our generations are, and ehat they might mean. My dad tells about the cauld lad of hylton, for example.
Just my theory, but I wouldn’t be surprised if the Lambton Worm was about a Viking longship. Worm is an old English word for serpent or dragon and obviously longships looked a bit like that. My Dad wrote a book about County Durham myths. Don't know if it's still available. Edit: just to add, I love all this kind of stuff. I know a few local myths but would be interested to hear more.
Hoping you would respond mate. If I were to live my life again I would love a career like yours. Would love to know the book your Dad wrote. I have a few really old books about durham places and myths. I trying to collect the same stories in the White Peak, where I live now. So many oral traditions seem to be similar. We have a lot of standing stones in our area and the tales are quite tall, but intriguing to my mind. I am definitely more Moulder than Scully.
Sounds great mate, hope you get plenty of info. I just live over the road to Hylton Castle so was told the cauld lad story by my parents and grandparents. It's great what they have done with thw Castle to bring it back into use. Was looking at older pics of it and it used to be all connected to the separate building that's in the grounds... Used to play in Hylton Dene as a kid as well and they had a sculpture of the Lambton worm in there. Went down a few years ago with my kids but it's all overgrown now. Wisht lads, had yer gobs......
My mam used to work with a lady called Pamela Tate at the old Sunderland library in town (before it went back to being the winter gardens) who was right into all the local history stuff. Think she runs a guest house down the seafront now.
Stuff like that is really interesting. I definitely think that they (or many of them) are rooted in the truth but it's allegorical or embellished and changed, bits added or taken away, to suit particular circumstances. Either that or its people trying to make sense of things in ways that they understand. I've DMd you about the book, BTW.
A legend that I think is seen across the country. In weardale it wad Jenny cut-a-throat. A horrible tale, but one that went on for years and years. As a daft 14 year old I tried it, nowt happened. An example of suggestion being powerful. But a powerful thing. There is an idea of something called a Brag in weardale, and beyond. I knew farmers when I was a bairn who simply accepted they were reality.
The problem you might find with Sunderland is that the 'myths' all turn out to be true First female serial killer...Mary Ann Cotton...etc
I don't know many legends, other than the obvious one, the Lambton worm, Cauld Lad, Black Cat battery. But I do know quite a few local ghost stories and some stuff attached to them. I remember my history teacher during my GCSEs telling us the story that William Burke, of Burke and Hare grave robbery fame, allegedly was present in Sunderland as a grave robber before moving on up to Edinburgh. Whether it's true or not, I don't know, but it was when we were studying the history of medicine and about how anatomy became "the big thing" to study in the late 18th and early 19th century, but there was a shortage of bodies, and how "resurrection men" were employed by anatomists all over the country to supply fresh corpses.
That's something to do with Holy Trinity graveyard being the largest in the country at the time, I think.
Went down the Edinburgh dungeons with our lass a few years ago. I told her it was an 'educational experience' of the old town. Haha, she was bricking it after the first courtroom bit . They got me up on the stage for the torture hook bit quite early on. Superb
Went there a few years ago myself, a really good laugh. I got dragged up early on to stand trial in "Judge Mental's" court and found guilty. Definitely worth a visit if anyone is up that way. And if you're staying for a couple of nights it's worth doing the ghost walks in Greyfriars Kirkyard and the vaults under the old town as well.
With regard to the origin of fairies, this is an interesting article. A lot of it makes sense to me, on the basis of other things that I've read. https://formfluent.com/blogs/blog/f...e specific,Arabic and literature and Sanskrit
At the foot of Simonside Crag there's a description of the Duergar, evil dwaren creatures who lure travellers to their doom. A mate of mine wrote a song about them after the last walk we did there. There's a detailed description of them here:- https://faeryfolklorist.blogspot.com/2009/05/duergars-of-simonside.html
I've been viewing this lass on YouTube the last couple of weeks and she sort of tells things about the north east https://youtube.com/@northeastnostalgic5071?si=fyVNnvvt3PvncRmk
Been thinking about this thread quite a bit and where the crossover is between myths and 'reality'. I can think of a few examples but a particularly well-known one is King Arthur. I think there's a good chance that elements of the story are of Bronze Age and/or Iron Age origin. The sword in the stone could relate to the casting of bronze. In both periods, the votive deposition of metalwork into 'watery contexts' is a regularly observed phenomenon and I think that could be the origin of the Lady in the Lake.
The legend of Arthur fascinates me. So much of the legend is fantasy I am sure. But then the legends of Arthur seem to have consistencies across Wales and throughout England. This is why oral traditions get so interesting to me. When there are versions that can be connected I tend to think there has to be a grounding in reality somewhere. My sense has always been Arthur was likely a historical figure. One that then became a bit of a framework upon which a number of subsequent figures were documented. Almost like the King of the Britons was a name interchangeable with Arthur. I like the idea Riothamus was the historical figure that started it all. Links to an invasion of Gaul, and a placed called Avallon clinched it for me, but it is a tad romantic I admit.
Yeah, I think its quite likely that there's a real person at the core of it. The story has been messed around with so much, obviously a lot in the 12th century, that I think its never going to be possible to pick apart. I remain convinced that those elements of it are older than the sub-Roman date that it is usually suggested for its origins though. So, I reckon there are a lot of different stories and ideas chucked in there, beyond Geoffrey of Monmouth and Chretien de Troyes' stuff.
