Genealogy, Local History & Folklore
Discovering Christmas Customs and Folklore
A Guide to Seasonal Rites Throughout the WorldPrice: £6.99
ISBN: 978 0 74780 175 7 / Shire Discovering 32 / 120 pp
Discovering English Dialects
Price: £4.99
ISBN: 978 0 74780 176 4 / Shire Discovering 235 / 64 pp / Available Now
As long ago as the 1720s Daniel Defoe was pondering on the eccentricities of English dialects, and three hundred or so years before him John Trevisa had censured ‘all the language of the Northumbrians’ as harsh and incomprehensible. Variety in English speech is thus of some antiquirty, and the old dialects used in areas like the Yorkshire Dales and rural East Anglia are as substantial a part of the Englishman’s living heritage as are his ancient buildings. This book describes the most significant features of English regional dialects, including in its scope the ancient vocabulary of the North, enriched by borrowings from medieval Norsemen, the important north/north midland dialect boundary, old forms of nouns like housen and childer and the remaining traces of extinct Cornish. The complex problems of the ‘mixed dialects’ of towns also receive attention. A chapter on occupational and specialised vocabularies gives examples of regional terminology associated with such traditional industries as fishing and mining and also bird and plant names and children’s language.
Martyn Wakelin worked for seven years on the Survey of English Dialects. He lectured on English language and medieval English literature at Royal Holloway, University of London. He published several books on dialect, most notably Language and History in Cornwall. His last major publication, The Archaeology of English, is an enduring testament not only to his wide-ranging interests across the whole field of English language studies but also to his meticulous scholarship.
Discovering English Folk Dance
Price: £6.99
ISBN: 978 0 74780 225 9 / Shire Discovering 206 / 96 pp / Available Now
There are not many countries where the traditional dances, songs and music of the past have become so successfully integrated into modern everyday life as they have in England. This book tells the uninitiated where they may see folk dancing in England and how they may join in if they wish.The history and evolution of the dances that have survived and their regional variations are described, and an attempt is made to explain the origins and meanings, for example the handkerchiefs and bells in the morris dance and the lock of swords in the sword dance, and what difference there may be between English and Scottish country dancing. The book also covers such well-known folk-dance celebrations as the Padstow and Minehead hobby horse dances and the Helston Furry Dance.
Hugh Rippon was an official of the English Folk Dance and Song Society, and spent much time teaching dancing, lecturing, writing articles and starting new morris sides. He has taught widely in England, Holland, Belgium, France and America and continues his ‘calling’ activities in retirement.
Discovering First Names
Price: £6.99
ISBN: 978 0 74780 383 6 / Shire Discovering 289 / 104 pp
Discovering Ghosts
Price: £6.99
ISBN: 978 0 74780 164 1 / Shire Discovering 147 / 88 pp
Although the evidence for ghosts is largely inconclusive, there has throughout history always been a widespread belief in paranormal beings and to this day the telling of ghost stories continues to intrigue and disturb us. With black and white photos of some of the old buildings that claim to be haunted and locations of where these lurking spirits can be seen, Discovering Ghosts aims to reveal some of the most interesting and persistent of all British ghost stories and will provide an abundance of unsettling tales to frighten and excite the reader, or even entice the brave to track down these ghosts for themselves.
Discovering Heraldry
Price: £6.99
ISBN: 978 0 74780 660 8 / Shire Discovering 250 / 96 pp
Discovering Highwaymen
Price: £6.99
ISBN: 978 0 74780 260 0 / Shire Discovering 94 / 88 pp
This book describes the rogues or Gentleman of the Road - their different backgrounds and methods, their punishments and the localities they supposedly frequented.
Discovering Local History
Price: £10.99
ISBN: 978 0 74780 562 5 / Shire Discovering 290 / 240 pp
This book describes many different sources of local history discovered by the authors in the course of extensive research and travel throughout Britain and Ireland.
Discovering Old Handwriting
Price: £6.99
ISBN: 978 0 74780 268 6 / Shire Discovering 285 / 184 pp
Discovering Parish Boundaries
Price: £6.99
ISBN: 978 0 74780 470 3 / Shire Discovering 282 / 96 pp
Discovering Place-Names
A Pocket Guide to Over 1500 Place-names in England, Ireland, Scotland and WalesPrice: £4.99
ISBN: 978 0 74780 617 2 / Shire Discovering 102 / 72 pp
Explains the meanings of more than 1500 place-names and discusses the techniques by which this information is obtained.
Discovering Surnames
Price: £6.99
ISBN: 978 0 74780 485 7 / Shire Discovering 35 / 96 pp
Your surname can tell you a lot about your ancestors. Not all names are what they at first sight seem to be: if your name is Farmer, then an ancestor was a tax-collector; if it is Alabaster, then you are descended from a crossbowman. This work includes about 1500 surnames, and if your name is not amongst them then probably a very similar one is.
Discovering the Folklore of Birds and Beasts
Price: £4.99
ISBN: 978 0 85263 126 3 / Shire Discovering 115 / 72 pp / Available Now
Many of the beliefs and superstitions of early man were connected with animals which were credited with their own powers of speech and understanding and were also regarded as a source of cures for both mental and physical ailments. Modern expressions of speech still echo these beliefs – ‘the hair of the dog that bit you’ – ‘a frog in the throat’, and ‘being licked into shape’. In this book Venetia Newall has compressed much of the folklore that surrounded domestic pets and wild animals to make a fascinating and very readable survey from adders to zebras.
Venetia Newall, MA, FRGS, FRSA, is an Anglo-American. She was a former correspondent of ‘The Times’ who travelled in 120 foreign countries and wrote, lectured and broadcasted on folklore, contributing to many scholarly publications in this field.
Discovering Your Family Tree
Price: £8.99
ISBN: 978 0 74780 535 9 / Shire Discovering 93 / 216 pp
A handbook on tracing ancestors and compiling a pedigree.