Folklore as an Historical Science   By: George Laurence Gomme (1853-1916)

BY GEORGE LAURENCE GOMME

WITH TWENTY EIGHT ILLUSTRATIONS

METHUEN & CO. 36 ESSEX STREET W.C. LONDON

First Published in 1908

[Illustration: "PEDLAR'S SEAT," SWAFFHAM CHURCH]

CONTENTS

CHAPTER

I. HISTORY AND FOLKLORE pages 1 122

INTRODUCTORY pages 1 13

HISTORY AND LOCAL AND PERSONAL TRADITIONS 13 46

HISTORY AND FOLK TALES 46 84

TRADITIONAL LAW 84 100

MYTHOLOGY AND TRADITION 100 110

HISTORIANS AND TRADITION 110 120

II. MATERIALS AND METHODS 123 179

TRADITIONAL MATERIAL 123 129

MYTH, FOLK TALE, AND LEGEND 129 153

CUSTOM, BELIEF, AND RITE 154 179

III. PSYCHOLOGICAL CONDITIONS 180 207

IV. ANTHROPOLOGICAL CONDITIONS 208 302

PRIMITIVE INFLUENCES 211 238

EARLIEST TYPES OF SOCIAL EXISTENCE 238 261

AUSTRALIAN TOTEM SOCIETY TESTED BY THE EVIDENCE 262 274

TOTEM SURVIVALS IN BRITAIN 274 296

SYNOPSIS OF CULTURE STRUCTURE OF SEMANGS OF MALAY PENINSULA 297 302

V. SOCIOLOGICAL CONDITIONS 303 319

VI. EUROPEAN CONDITIONS 320 337

VII. ETHNOLOGICAL CONDITIONS 338 366

INDEX 367 371

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

PAGE 1. PEDLAR'S SEAT, SWAFFHAM CHURCH, NORFOLK. Frontispiece

2. CARVED WOODEN FIGURE OF THE PEDLAR IN SWAFFHAM CHURCH 8

3. CARVED WOODEN FIGURE OF THE PEDLAR'S DOG IN SWAFFHAM CHURCH 8

Nos. 1 3 are taken from photographs, and show how the story of the Pedlar of Swaffham has been interpreted in carving. The costume of the Pedlar is noticeable.

4. THE PEDLAR OF LAMBETH AND HIS DOG, FIGURED IN THE WINDOW (NOW DESTROYED) OF LAMBETH CHURCH (from Allen's History of Lambeth ) 20

5. THE PEDLAR OF LAMBETH AND HIS DOG AS DRAWN IN 1786 FOR DUCAREL'S History of Lambeth 22

Nos. 4 and 5 illustrate the traces of the Pedlar legend in Lambeth, and the costume of the Pedlar, though later than that shown in the Swaffham carving, exhibits analogous features which are of interest to the argument.

6. PLAN OF THE SITE OF THE "HEAVEN'S WALLS" AT LITLINGTON, NEAR ROYSTON, CAMBRIDGESHIRE (reprinted from Archæologia ) 43

7. SKETCH OF LITLINGTON FIELD (reprinted from Archæologia ) 44

Nos. 6 and 7 show the site and general appearance of this interesting relic of the Roman occupation of Britain.

8. STONE MONUMENTS ERECTED AS MEMORIALS IN A KASYA VILLAGE (reprinted from Asiatic Researches ) 55

9. STONE SEATS AT A KASYA VILLAGE (reprinted from Asiatic Researches ) 55

10. VIEW IN THE KASYA HILLS, SHOWING STONE MEMORIALS (reprinted from Asiatic Researches ) 56