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English mythology
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
English mythology, like the conglomerate society which it represents, with a long and elaborate history of invasion and settlement by diverse cultures, is one which has nevertheless an entirely idiosyncratic nature of its own.
Laying aside the considerations of contemporary myths such as that of Deep England, there are a number of distinctive mythical folk heroes and legends, many of which have their roots steeped in the vestiges of historical fact: King Arthur, Hereward the Wake, Robin Hood, the lost land of Lyonesse.
There is a great deal of regional variation, and this reflects the historical sense of geographical separation which pre-existed today's transport systems. In Devon and Cornwall, for example, there are a number of faerie species including the pixies, sometimes known as piskeys, and the spirits of the mine-shafts, the Knockers, and these are known nowhere else in England. On Dartmoor, a traveller thought to have gone astray on the moor was said to have been 'pixie-led'.
Fantasy author J. R. R. Tolkien believed that traditional English mythology had been largely wiped out by the Norman Conquest of England, and much of his writing stems from his belief that this mythology could be reconstructed through linguistics - for example, the Barrow-wights stem from an Old English word meaning "man", which survives today in the name of the Isle of Wight.