HKA-001700
Folk Custom
The Hobby Horse of Padstow May Day
Padstow's distinctive May Day procession centred on the 'Obby 'Oss, recorded as a living Cornish custom.
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The Hawthorn Archive
Stories, customs and beliefs preserved as individual records, with place and context kept attached wherever the evidence allows.
HKA-001699
Legend
The Glastonbury Thorn at Christmas
The Glastonbury Thorn's Christmas flowering tradition and its relationship to local legend.
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HKA-001698
Historical Event
The Pendle Trials at Lancaster Assizes
The 1612 Pendle witchcraft prosecutions as proceedings at the Lancaster assizes, distinct from later folklore retellings.
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HKA-001694
Literary Tradition
Robin Hood and the Monk in the Early Ballads
An early Robin Hood ballad about danger in Nottingham and the loyalty of his companions.
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HKA-001693
Literary Tradition
Robin Hood and the Potter in the Early Ballads
An early Robin Hood ballad built around a potter, disguise and a journey into Nottingham.
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HKA-001692
Literary Tradition
The Green Knight’s Severed Head
The Green Knight's challenge reaches its first astonishing turn when, after the blow at Arthur's court, the visitor retrieves his severed head and reminds Gawain of the promised return encounter.
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HKA-001691
Weather Lore
The Blackthorn’s Early Spring Flowers
Blackthorn commonly flowers before its leaves appear, making pale blossom against dark branches a conspicuous sign of the changing season. This distinctive appearance helps ex
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HKA-001690
Protective Object
The Rowan Cross and Red Thread
Small crosses made from rowan twigs and tied with red thread are described in accounts of protective folklore, especially in Scotland and northern Britain. Their intended purp
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HKA-001689
Literary Tradition
The Robin Hood and Guy of Gisborne Ballad
Robin Hood and Guy of Gisborne is a striking narrative in the surviving ballad tradition. Its account of confrontation, disguise and violent rivalry differs in tone from many
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HKA-001688
Literary Tradition
The Prioress and Robin Hood’s Return
Some Robin Hood ballads tell of the outlaw's final journey to a religious house, where a prioress is implicated in his death. The episode differs markedly from the more famili
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HKA-001687
Literary Tradition
The Lady’s Temptations in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight
While the lord of the castle goes hunting, his wife visits Gawain and tests the boundaries of his courtesy. The exchanges take place across three days and are closely linked t
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HKA-001686
Material Object
The Green Knight’s Axe as a Romance Object
The Green Knight arrives at Arthur's court carrying an axe, an object that makes his challenge impossible to mistake for ordinary courtly entertainment. In Sir Gawain and the
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