A Cake in the Furrow

T HE 'Broken Peel' is a fairy story in the true sense of that term; that is, it concerns the fairies. It has figured in a number of folklore anthologies and in general studies of fairy belief, most particularly in Katharine M. Briggs' The Fairies in English Tradition and Literature.' But perhaps because of widespread coverage and its belying simplicity, the story of the broken peel and its mending, of the cake in the furrow, has never been closely analyzed. The purpose of this paper is two-fold. First, to examine and define the 'Broken Peel' tradition. Second, to concentrate on aspects relating to other folklore and customs in order better to understand the story. Success in this might indicate the usefulness of other in-depth studies illuminating the development of general fairy beliefs

Folklore, Mythology, and Literature Studies · History