European folklore or Western folklore refers to the folklore of the Western world, especially when discussed comparatively. The history of Christendom during the Early Modern period has resulted in a number of traditions that are shared in many European ethnic and regional cultures.
In addition, there are certain apotropaic gestures or practices found in large parts of the Western world, such as the knocking on wood or the fingers crossed gesture.
Many tropes of European folklore can be identified as stemming from the Proto-Indo-European peoples of the Neolithic and Bronze Age, although may originate from even earlier traditions. Examples of this include the ‘Chaoskampf’ myth-archetype as well as possibly the belief in knocking on wood for good luck.[1] The culture of Classical Antiquity, including mythology, Hellenistic religion and magical or cultic practice was very influential on the formative stage of Christianity, and can be found as a substrate in the traditions of all territories formerly colonized by Greeks and the Roman Empire, and by extension in those territories reached by Christianization during the Middle Ages. This includes all of Europe, and much of the Middle East and North Africa. These traditions inherited from folk beliefs in the Roman era were syncretized with local traditions, notably Germanic, Celtic and Slavic. Many folk traditions also originated by contact with the Islamic world, especially in the Balkans and in the Iberian peninsula, which were ruled by Islamic empires before being re-conquered (in the case of the Balkans, partially) by Christian forces. The result of such cultural contact is visible e.g. in the tradition of the Morris Dance in England, an adaptation of the "moorish" dances of the late medieval period.
The result were the related, but regionally distinct, folk traditions as they existed in European society on the eve of the Early Modern period. In modern times, and especially since the 19th century, there has been much cross-pollination between these traditions, often by the detour of American folklore.
^Ray (2017-05-18). "Why do we knock on wood?". TED-Ed Blog. Retrieved 2021-09-03.
Leach, Maria (ed.), Funk & Wagnalls Standard Dictionary of Folklore, Mythology and LegendNew York: Funk & Wagnalls Co, 1949.
Newhall, Venetia J., European Folklore: An Encyclopedia, Garland Publishing, 2005, ISBN978-0-8153-1451-6.
Ziavras, Mary, "Greek Folk Stories, Old and New:, ComteQ Publishing, 2012, ISBN978-0-615-40612-1.
External links
Media related to European folklore at Wikimedia Commons
(at Freiburg University)
June 05, 2023
european, folklore, western, folklore, refers, folklore, western, world, especially, when, discussed, comparatively, history, christendom, during, early, modern, period, resulted, number, traditions, that, shared, many, european, ethnic, regional, cultures, ro. European folklore or Western folklore refers to the folklore of the Western world especially when discussed comparatively The history of Christendom during the Early Modern period has resulted in a number of traditions that are shared in many European ethnic and regional cultures Robin Shoots with Sir Guy This concerns notably common traditions based on Christian mythology i e certain commonalities in celebrating Christmas such as the various Christmas gift bringers or customs associated with All Souls Day In addition there are certain apotropaic gestures or practices found in large parts of the Western world such as the knocking on wood or the fingers crossed gesture Contents 1 History 2 Regional traditions 2 1 Northern Europe 2 2 Western and Southern Europe 2 3 Central and Eastern Europe 3 See also 4 References 5 External linksHistory EditFurther information Classical mythology Proto Indo European mythology Folk Christianity Christianization Germanic mythology Slavic mythology and Celtic mythology Many tropes of European folklore can be identified as stemming from the Proto Indo European peoples of the Neolithic and Bronze Age although may originate from even earlier traditions Examples of this include the Chaoskampf myth archetype as well as possibly the belief in knocking on wood for good luck 1 The culture of Classical Antiquity including mythology Hellenistic religion and magical or cultic practice was very influential on the formative stage of Christianity and can be found as a substrate in the traditions of all territories formerly colonized by Greeks and the Roman Empire and by extension in those territories reached by Christianization during the Middle Ages This includes all of Europe and much of the Middle East and North Africa These traditions inherited from folk beliefs in the Roman era were syncretized with local traditions notably Germanic Celtic and Slavic Many folk traditions also originated by contact with the Islamic world especially in the Balkans and in the Iberian peninsula which were ruled by Islamic empires before being re conquered in the case of the Balkans partially by Christian forces The result of such cultural contact is visible e g in the tradition of the Morris Dance in England an adaptation of the moorish dances of the late medieval period The result were the related but regionally distinct folk traditions as they existed in European society on the eve of the Early Modern period In modern times and especially since the 19th century there has been much cross pollination between these traditions often by the detour of American folklore Regional traditions EditNorthern Europe Edit British Folklore English folklore Anglo Saxon paganism Estonian folklore Finnish folklore Lithuanian folklore Scandinavian folklore Celtic mythology Matter of Britain Irish folklore Manx folklore Hebridean mythology and folklore Scottish folklore Welsh folklore Dutch folkloreWestern and Southern Europe Edit Alpine folklore Spanish folklore French folklore German folklore Modern Ancient Greek folklore Portuguese folklore Italian folklore Swiss folklore Folk CatholicismCentral and Eastern Europe Edit Albanian folklore Hungarian folklore Montenegrin folklore Romanian folklore Slavic folklore Polish folklore Czech folklore Russian folklore Ukrainian folklore Serbian folklore Bulgarian folkloreSee also EditWestern Folklore American folklore Australian folklore Brazilian folklore Ethnic groups of Europe Folk Catholicism Crypto paganism European culture European mythologyReferences Edit Ray 2017 05 18 Why do we knock on wood TED Ed Blog Retrieved 2021 09 03 Leach Maria ed Funk amp Wagnalls Standard Dictionary of Folklore Mythology and LegendNew York Funk amp Wagnalls Co 1949 Newhall Venetia J European Folklore An Encyclopedia Garland Publishing 2005 ISBN 978 0 8153 1451 6 Ziavras Mary Greek Folk Stories Old and New ComteQ Publishing 2012 ISBN 978 0 615 40612 1 External links Edit Media related to European folklore at Wikimedia Commons folklore europaea Festivals Customs Traditions in Europe at Freiburg University Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title European folklore amp oldid 1147563104, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
