Dear
Members, Alumni, and Friends of the James Scholar Media Team:
This
Tuesday, I had the privilege to present the ACES James Scholar Honors Program’s
eleventh annual Humanities Book Prize to JSMT member Michaeline at the Center
for Children’s Books (http://ccb.lis.illinois.edu).
The presentation took place in the “Storytellers’ Corner” of the center, where
a fine collection of books containing classic fairy tales, folklore, legends,
and mythology from around the world reside. My surroundings reminded me of how
important it is for children of all ages (including grownups!) to never lose that
childlike sense of wonder and delight in both factual and fictional stories
about the world around us. Here are two vintage articles from previous issues
of our honors newsletter that explore children’s literature and fairy tales,
encouraging us to keep our hearts and minds open to the everyday enchantments
that are hidden in plain sight all around us.
The
Enchanted World of Classic Stories
By
Rob Chappell, Editor
Reprinted
from Cursus Honorum VII: 6 (January 2007)
Long before the advent of television, radio, movies, and computers,
storytelling provided our agrarian forebears with endless hours of edutainment.
The myths, legends, and folktales transmitted by storytellers and collected by
scholars demonstrate how our ancestors viewed their relationship with the
natural world and with the invisible powers that were believed to dwell within
and beyond it.
Our pre-industrial ancestors’ worldview was built upon the foundation of shared
stories that defined the nature of their common life together. Classic tales
were handed down from one generation to the next because they conveyed
important life lessons in engaging and memorable ways. Adults who spent their
earliest years listening to spellbinding tales being recited from memory or
read aloud from a storybook passed on their favorite stories to their children
– along with the values and lessons that the stories contained.
The following anthologies of classic tales, available in several printed
editions and on the Internet, can provide us with the keys to an enchanted
realm where the magic of the storyteller’s art can enthrall us for hours on end
in the theater of the mind!
•
Hans Christian Andersen’s Fairy Tales: This is the
Editor’s favorite collection of classic stories. Andersen (1805-1875), unlike
the anthologizers listed below, created marvelous tales from his own
imagination that conveyed his profound insights into the human condition. All
of Andersen’s stories are worthwhile reading, both those that are well known
(e.g., The Ugly Duckling) and those that are more obscure (e.g., The
Snow Queen).
•
The Arabian Nights: Collected over a
timespan of several centuries, beginning at the royal court of the learned
Caliph Harun Al-Rashid in 8th-century Baghdad, these stories include such
rollicking adventures as Aladdin, Sindbad the Sailor,
Ali Baba, and many others. Although these 1001 tales were
compiled in the Arabic language, they have a truly international flavor, having
originated in such diverse places as China, India, Persia, the Middle East, and
Egypt.
•
Bulfinch’s Mythology: Compiled by Thomas
Bulfinch, a Bostonian classicist of the 19th century, this is THE ultimate
anthology of timeless tales from ancient and medieval Europe. His monumental
compendium is sometimes divided into three separate volumes: (I) The Age
of Fable, (II) The Age of Chivalry, and (III) Legends
of Charlemagne. Each of Bulfinch’s lively retellings is drawn from
authentic original source material.
•
The Grimms’ Fairy Tales: Collected by the
German linguist brothers Jakob and Wilhelm Grimm in the early 19th century,
this anthology showcases the traditional household tales of the German people.
Many of our most familiar children’s stories (e.g., The Frog Prince,
Snow White, etc.) first found their way into print through the
Grimms’ anthology. However, the original tales are far more colorful than the
versions adapted for children! J
The
Lost Road to Faerie: Where Science and Folklore Meet
By
Rob Chappell, Editor
Excerpted
from Cursus Honorum VII: 10 (May 2007)
From prehistoric times until the rise of modern science, most human beings
regarded the world as an enchanted place. Fabulous beasties like dragons and
unicorns roamed along the edges of medieval maps; the stars were animated by
“intelligences” that guided them in their celestial circuits; and the “Fair
Folk” resided in the depths of caves or beneath hollow hills. With the advent
of the scientific and industrial revolutions, belief in such things waned
throughout much of the Western world, to be replaced by a reliance on science
and reason. Traditional folk beliefs have often been derided as superstitious
nonsense, but every once in a while, scientific research uncovers evidence that
the folk beliefs of yesteryear might once have had a basis in reality.
Up
the airy mountain,
Down
the rushy glen,
We
dare not go a-hunting
For
fear of little men;
Wee
folk, good folk
Trooping
all together;
Green
jacket, red cap,
And
a white owl's feather.
--
“The Fairies” by William Allingham (1824-1889)
Such a discovery occurred in 2003, when a team of Australian and Indonesian
paleoanthropologists unearthed the fossilized remains of eight prehistoric
humans on the Indonesian island of Flores. What is so remarkable about these
people is that they stood only three feet tall – yet they were fully-grown
adults! They belonged to a newly classified human species – Homo
Floresiensis – that lived alongside modern humans (Homo Sapiens) on
Flores from 50,000 to perhaps 500 years ago.
These recently discovered people – hailed as “Hobbits” in the popular press –
are apparently an offshoot of previous human populations that had rafted over
to the Indonesian archipelago at an even earlier date. According to evidence
collected on Flores, these “Hobbits” (named after the halfling heroes in J. R.
R. Tolkien’s Middle-Earth legendarium) were fully human in their abilities and
behavior. They made sophisticated tools, used fire, hunted, fished, and (based
on their anatomy) possessed the power of articulate speech. According to the
Flores islanders’ folklore, these prehistoric people might have survived until
the arrival of Dutch explorers in the 16th century.
How do these recent scientific discoveries intersect with ancient folk beliefs?
People from all over the world have been telling stories about the “Wee Folk” –
faeries, gnomes, leprechauns, etc. – since the beginning of recorded history.
These tales tell of small humanlike individuals who dwelt in caves or within
hollow hills. These “Fair Folk” or “Good People,” as they were euphemistically
called, lived in communities ruled by monarchs or chieftains, and they were
adept at many crafts (such as mining or shoemaking). Their alleged healing
abilities, musical artistry, and ability to “disappear” without fanfare when
one of us “Big People” came wandering along may have led our ancestors to
regard them as magical creatures instead of fellow human beings. These habits
of the “Wee Folk” may also have had the unfortunate effect of making our
ancestors fear and shun them.
The possible extinction of Homo Floresiensis in historical times might
be reflected in a recurrent folkloric motif about the disappearance of the “Wee
Folk” from everyday experience, as in the opening lines of Geoffrey Chaucer’s
(1340-1400) “Wife of Bath’s Tale”:
In
the old time of King Arthur,
Of
whom the Britons speak with great honor,
All
this land was filled full of Faerie;
The
Elf Queen, with her jolly company,
Danced
full oft in many a green mead.
This
was the old opinion, as I read;
I
speak of many hundred years ago,
But
now no one can see the elves, you know.
Of course, the identification of the “Wee Folk” from faerie lore with Homo
Floresiensis is somewhat speculative at this point. Nonetheless, we should
bear in mind that many legends have been found to have a basis in fact, and
that some activities and characteristics of our halfling human cousins might
have found their way into traditional faerie tales. Perhaps contemporary
folklorists will want to collaborate with paleoanthropologists and reexamine
the faerie lore of long ago and faraway to see what “data” might be gleaned
from worldwide folklore about our diminutive prehistoric kindred. To learn more
about how Homo Floresiensis could have been (mis)perceived by our
ancestors, you might enjoy visiting the following resources:
Related
Links of Interest
Finally,
I would encourage all fairy tale fans out there to check out the upcoming
Disney live-action film Maleficent (http://disney.com/maleficent),
an expanded retelling of the traditional story of Sleeping Beauty,
which will be coming to a theatre near you on Friday, May 30th.
Until
next time –
Rob :)
