Status
Available
Call number
Series
Publication
Oxford University Press (1989), Edition: 1st Edition, Hardcover, 512 pages
Description
This is a fascinating dictionary covering the wide range of folk beliefs that have survived into our own age. Each superstition is illustrated by quotations tracing its development through the centuries. Entries tell of the traditional significance of animals, colours, days, and the elements; rituals to be observed at certain seasons or when faced with natural and unnatural occurrences; cures, taboos, and the uses to which people have put everyday objects in pursuit of good fortune or knowledge of the future.
User reviews
LibraryThing member bookweasel
Alphabetical listing of common and not-so-common superstitions from around Europe, illustrated by quotations that trace their development. Literary work, more for stricter reference than something to loan a teenaged girl interested in magic.
LibraryThing member wrichard
Wholly entertaining treatise on superstitions from (mostly) the UK presumably designed to show how ridiculous superstitions are.
Subjects
Language
Original publication date
1989
Physical description
512 p.; 9 inches
ISBN
0192115979 / 9780192115973
Local notes
Ranging from the familiar to the bizarre, and including everything from spells and omens to rituals and taboos. Embraces family life and the lore of farmers, sailors, miners, and actors; offers advice on the signs to observe when contemplating a journey or a marriage; reveals the significance of animals, plants, stones, colors, food and drink, the elements, and heavenly bodies; and outlines the precautions to be taken after a death in the house or during a thunderstorm. Each entry is arranged alphabetically according to its central idea or object, and illustrated with a selection of chronologically ordered quotations that indicate the history and development of each belief.