Maidens, Monsters, and More

Mapping History and Culture through British Folklore of Water Beings

Datos Bibliográficos

ID24140366
AutoresJon Norman Mason (University of Sussex, autor de correspondencia)
Año2026
Volumen15
Número2
Páginas280-309
Fecha de publicación2026-09-01
Open AccessNo
TipoARTICLE
RevistaPreternature Critical and Historical Studies on the Preternatural (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 2161-2188 • E-ISSN: 2161-2196
EditorialThe Pennsylvania State University Press (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.5325/preternature.15.2.0280
OpenAlexW7203778708
IdiomaEN
Referencias citadas19

Popular anthologies of British folklore suggest regional diversity in magical water beings, for example, potentially benevolent fairy brides in Welsh tales as opposed to dangerous monsters throughout England. This article explores this apparent variation through mapping recorded tales of water beings across England, Wales, and Scotland. While positively portrayed beings occur mainly in the west of Britain, beings portrayed as hostile appear to be ubiquitous. Two approaches are taken to provide speculative explanations: first, a historical interpretation, considering medieval and postmedieval migration of motifs in light of Barry Cunliffe’s proposed historical Atlantic and North Sea cultural spheres; second, a psychogeographic approach, interpreting regional variations in folklore as expressions of differing practical and emotional interactions with the nonhuman environment in different social, geographical, and historical contexts. To illustrate that this affective relationship between story, landscape, and psychology is ongoing, differences are noted between present-day popular associations of water beings with Welsh and Scottish cultural identities.

Diversity (politics) · Folklore · Popular culture · Toponymy · Variation (astronomy) · Welsh · Folklore, Mythology, and Literature Studies · Historical Studies of British Isles · Scottish History and National Identity

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