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Post by The Folks @ TanneryWhistle.com on Sept 29, 2003 10:52:35 GMT -5
Being a storyteller, I have always been fascinated by the difference between these two terms. I think Joseph Campbell said something about that when he said something about folklore being the common man's mythology. As near as I can tell, most writers use the terms interchangably (along with the word "legend"). I've always felt that King Arthur and Hercules were safely established as "myth and legend" whereas Jack tales and the Grimm tales were folklore. Does that make sense?
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Post by Ol' John Brown on Sept 30, 2003 3:02:10 GMT -5
Good question!
I have always thought of the terms as having only a slight difference.
I could be totally wrong (it wouldn't be the first or last time) but here is how I think of the terms . . .
Myth: A story that is pretty much regarded as false that may have been a belief at one time.
Legend: A story that could be based in fact (though possibly exageratted) that has a signifigant cultural impact.
Folklore: Sometimes a combination of both of the above terms, but at least being an element of one, that is derived from the same general region.
Again, this all could be totally wrong. . .
Ol' John Brown
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Post by The Folks @ TanneryWhistle.com on Oct 2, 2003 0:06:44 GMT -5
Well, the guy that did the "urban myths" series doesn't seem to care about the fact that he is misusing the turn (and he edited a famous textbook on folklore.) I associate myths with "classical literature." We have Greek myths and Arthurian legends. I think folklore is pretty close to what Chaucer called "fablaux" which could be a "vulgar story" or a much-loved tale. Collections of folklore, like the Brown collectiion in North Carolina, simply compile everything - old tales, songs, superstitions, riddles, etc. - but all with strong ties to a specific geographic region and culture. That said, I don't think it matters.
Gary
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Post by countryrag on Dec 4, 2003 13:34:51 GMT -5
It's an interesting question.
Folklore, myth and legend all convey cultural values don't they? It seems like levels of significance and knowledge.
Folklore is passed around amongst a group of people, generally with some common background. Greek myths in that sense once were folklore.
Legends, it seems to me, are supposed to be about people and events that really existed, or are believed to have existed, and are "larger than life."
Myth is not true, such as the Uktena, but perhaps people have believed it to be at one time or another. Myths convey obviously supernatural values.
All may be like rumors passed around that may have had some basis in fact at one time. It's like the "legend" of some great figure versus the reality sometimes explored/exposed in biographies written, frequently posthumously.
This is sending me to the dictionary on "legend"....
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Post by The Folks @ TanneryWhistle.com on Dec 4, 2003 13:55:04 GMT -5
Well, I have always thought of folklore as the traditional stories that originate with "the common folk." Jack tales are folklore. King Arthur and the Grail Quest are legends, classical tales of the Greek or Norse gods are myths. They overlap, of course, but Chaucer wrote rauncy or moral tales that were based on English folklore. But, as I mentioned previously about the guy that did the urban myths books, the terms are frequently interchangable.
Gary
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Post by chickenmaggie1 on May 11, 2004 13:08:26 GMT -5
Hmmm....Well, I can see that I'm interested in the subject matter here, but I don't have a clue what to do about it. So. I guess this is an introduction of some sort from me to you all. I'm brand new here. I think I'm where I want to be, though we'll see... If you'll just take a gander at my name maybe that's all the intruduction that's needed. I am outwitted daily, hourly, sometimes only by minutes by my chickens. This is my real life, not a story yet. No matter what I do they manage to escape their pen and parade themselves across my patio just to make sure I can see them... Think chickens are stupid? Well, I'm the fool here. Since it's real life it's just sad... I know very, very little about what's up here so maybe someone can cast me a clue. As for the horror thing...It just scares me. I have a lot to learn.  Chicken Maggie |
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Post by chickenmaggie1 on May 11, 2004 18:24:25 GMT -5
WOW! I've been looking for a site like this for a long time! This is wonderful!
I grew up in a family of storytellers. No tv. No radio. The stories were a big, big deal. They were just part of life. I also grew up with the music and still play and sing the story songs...ballads. My own children have grown up with the stories and are involved with the music and are so interested the history of Appalachia. I simply cannot express how happy and relieved I am to find a site with this type of interest! There's SO much we can learn here!
We've moved clear across the land to 'the way out west' in Idaho and it's been almost heartbreaking to be separted from the culture. We've continued with the music and we tell the stories to our grandchildren now. I've only found one link to the history of this area with that of Appalachia and that is that a small number of the mining families from there moved here toward the end of the gold rush era.
If anyone else knows more about this please let me know.
Thank you, thank you, thank you for this site!!!
Chicken Maggie
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Post by Captain Obvious on May 24, 2004 20:20:28 GMT -5
Hey Chickenmaggie!
It looks like this site has been forgotten. I check in every now and then, since my first posts, because I like this kind of old folklore, but you're the first one to post since then.
I think a wild boar ate their flesh and drank their blood, coo be kee, cuddle down, killie quo qum.
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Post by chickenmaggie1 on May 24, 2004 21:33:24 GMT -5
Hey! This website lives...Maybe it walks these hills in the shadow of night...Typing notes...not shape notes of course...Them's the DEVILS notes! Poor try on my part.
Okay... Thanks for putting words here. I do appreciate it.
I need lots of titles and authors. My passion is Appalachia.
I had to laugh when I finally saw Gary's picture of himself doin' chicken preachin'. Chickens are such a wonderful captive audience. Mine are all lap chickens and they understand everything I say, feel, and they are such delightful critics...
chickenmaggie1
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Post by Captain Obvious on May 25, 2004 18:17:51 GMT -5
Well, I mentioned in another thread that Manly Wade Wellman works a lot of good folklore into his stories, especially the Silver John stories. If you can find any they're a real good read, especially if you like horror/ghost stories.
It seems like "After Dark" is the one I come across most often. It's not too bad. "Southern Mountain Stories" is probably a little better overall...at least to me. I tend to like short stories over novels for some reason.
The best places to look for this stuff is in the library and in used book stores. They don't print it much, and the fans usually gobble it up when they do, so it's hard to find it in the new book stores.
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Post by Gary Carden on Aug 22, 2004 7:08:11 GMT -5
Well, ChickenMaggie, I got terribly depressed and stopped coming to this website last year. I just visited by accident, and Lo, there you are. If you come back, contact me by email and I'll start posting again. My email is GCarden498@aol.com
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Post by homie g on Sept 6, 2004 13:26:25 GMT -5
word up homies, dis website is beat yo, we's need to add some flava to dis joint b, what y'all think, holla back...
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Post by chickenmaggie1 on Sept 7, 2004 0:17:04 GMT -5
Hey Gary,
I'm still here and I will email you soon as I get these chickens fed.
chickenmaggie1
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Post by chickenmaggie1 on Sept 7, 2004 0:22:24 GMT -5
Hey Homey G,
I holla back...You DID change things in here! *LOL* Thank you for the comedic relief!
chickenmaggie1
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Post by chickenmaggie1 on Sept 7, 2004 0:25:05 GMT -5
Ooops...I spelled your name wrong homie g. Sorry.
chickenmaggie1 again
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