SG Heritage Dictionary

Folk [Noun] Webster's Dictionary 1828

1. foke. [Latin vulgus. The sense is a crowd, from collecting or pressing, not from following, but from the same root, as to follow is to press toward. Gr. Originally and properly it had no plural, being a collective noun; but in modern use, in America, it has lost its singular number, and we hear it only in the plural. It is a colloquial word, not admissible into elegant style.]

2. People in general, or any part of them without distinction. What do folks say respecting the war? Men love to talk about the affairs of other folks.

3. Certain people, discriminated from others; as old folks, and young folks. Children sometimes call their parents, the old folks. So we say sick folks; poor folks; proud folks.

4. In scripture, the singular number is used; as a few sick folk; impotent folk Mark 6:5 . John 5:3 .

5. Animals.

6. The coneys are but a feeble folk Proverbs 30:26 .

Folk [N collective and plural] Webster's Dictionary 1913

Alt. of Folks

Folk lore Webster's Dictionary 1913

Tales, legends, or superstitions long current among the people.

Folk-land Encyclopedia Britannica

FOLK-LAND, or Folo-land, in early English law was the land belonging to the community at large—the ager publicus — as distinguished from hoc-land, or land granted to individuals in private ownership. The conception of the land as primarily belonging to the nation or tribe appears to be universal in early civilization. As civilization advances the rights of individuals emerge and increase in importance until, as in England at the present day, the original conception has entirely disappeared. The process by which it was lost may be shortly stated as follows. (1) Grants of land were made to individuals and to religious corporations (boc-land), subject only to the tmnoda necessitas (military service, and building bridges and fortresses). The king might hold land so granted. (2) Temporary rights over the folk-land were also granted to individuals, subject to various rent services or money payments. (3) The remaining portion of the folk-land not disposed of in this way came to be regarded as belonging to the king. Ultimately all land was said to be held of the king. Even where traces of the original conception remained in the rights of commoners the natural order was reversed, and they were regarded as deriving their right from the grant of some individual lord. While the folk-land became the terra regis, the private property of the king in land merged in the folk-land, and the king of England for many centuries occupied the anomalous position of being ultimate owner of all the land, and sole owner of the old folk-land, and yet, at the same time, incapable of holding land in private ownership. If a king purchased land with any private moneys of his own, it devolved upon his successor in office like the rest of the crown lands. All this, however, has now been changed. The ...

9th ed. Encyclopædia Britannica, vol. 9, p. 357
[352 words — estimated reading time: 3 minutes]

Folk-lore Encyclopedia Britannica

FOLK-LORE, This word, formed in imitation of such German compounds as “Volksepos,” “Volksfest,” “Volkslied,” has recently become current in the English language 1 as a convenient though somewhat vague general heading under which to arrange all that has been observed or recorded of the traditions current among the “common people” of different countries, civilized or uncivilized, whether in ancient, mediaeval, or modern times. Each nation and each locality has, of course, a “folk-lore” as it has a language; and it is obvious that to set forth any given folk-lore, with all its stratifications, in a comprehensive and orderly way, would virtually be equivalent to exhibiting fully the past and present intellectual, moral, religious, and social condition of the people to whom it belonged. An exhaustive account of the folk-lores of the world would be equivalent to a complete history of the thoughts of mankind....

The eccentricities of traditionary story and traditionary practice have always been found a more or less interesting and amusing study by the contemplative observer of human nature; and almost all travellers and historians, from Herodotus downwards, have occasionally condescended to add something to the general collection of curiosities in that department. But to make a thorough investigation of the “vulgar antiquities” of any country, and especially of one’s own, was, until very recently, regarded as childish and useless. An exception, indeed, was made in favour of the folklores of ancient Greece and Rome, as being intrinsically beautiful and exceptionally instructive. But the very fact that these had been beautified by artistic treatment impaired their usefulness from the purely antiquarian point of view; and in any case the floating traditions of Attica and Latium were too few, too fragmentary, and gathered from too narrow an area to furnish adequate data for the anthropologist and the sociologist. Here, as in so many other instances, it was necessary that men should greatly extend the area of their investigations before they could rightly understand that which alone they were curious to know.

It was in Germany that the study of folk-lore first entered upon its scientific stage. One of the earliest symptoms of the awakening of a wider and more sympathetic interest in the various products of a nation’s mind, its legends and its tales, its manners and its customs, its laws, government, religion, and daily life, was the appearance in 1778-9 of Herder’s celebrated collection of popular songs. But the new day was fairly ushered in by the successive publications of the brothers Grimm, more particularly of the Kinder- und Ilaus-Mährchenin 1812, and of the Deutsche Mythologie in 1835. The latter work, which was closely dependent on the former, showed for the first time what results may be hoped for by an intelligent investigator, if only, laying aside all prejudice, he will put himself to the trouble of collecting largely and widely, and of interpreting faithfully and rationally, a nation’s oral traditions and unwritten customs. It was seen that, although many relics of the past had been irrecoverably lost, enough had been preserved to furnish conclusive proof of the oneness in faith as well as in speech of the Teutonic race, and also to give indications, in many instances, of the precise points at which the divergences had occurred. This new knowledge, derived to a large extent from the skilful use of folk-lore “collected from the mouths of old women in the spinning-rooms of German villages,” acquired an altogether peculiar interest and importance from the other discovery by which the philological labours of Bopp and others had been crowned,—the discovery, namely, of the original unity of all the Aryan races, and the demonstration of the fact that the Teutons themselves were but one branch of a greater family, including Hindus and Celts, which had at one time inhabited the central plain of Asia, and before dispersing eastward and westward, had developed an ineffaceably characteristic speech, civilization, and religion. The identification verbally of Dyaus, Zeus, Jo(vi)s, Tiw, Zio, and Tyr was followed, as investigation proceeded, by the identification really of many of the strange forms in which religious sentiment had found expression; and comparative mythology became an inseparable companion of comparative philology. (See Mythology and Philology.) It was thenceforward obvious that every mythology, in the Aryan family at least, however puerile or absurd it might at first sight appear, was a fit subject for scientific investigation, and capable of yielding scientific results. The problem in each case was to trace the nursery tale to the legend, and the legend to the myth, and the myth to its earliest germ, and as far as possible to indicate the foreign interpolations when they occurred, and account 1 It was first suggested by Mr Thoms in the Athenaeum, of 1846 (p. 862). Its equivalent does not actually occur in German.

for the local accretions. In this way the history of a story, like the history of a word, was frequently found to be more interesting and more instructive than the history of a campaign. Once this had been realized, the new field of folk-lore found many skilled labourers; and the quantity of material available for examination and classification rapidly increased. Each fresh comparison made it increasingly plain that in groundwork and plot the stories current among the Indo-European peoples were substantially identical The reader of the fables of La Fontaine found nothing essentially and absolutely strange in the Pankatantra or Hitopadesa; the Indian ayah was discovered to have unmistakably the same stock of stories as the German, Norwegian, or Celtic nurse. In a few cases, indeed, it could be shown that the wide diffusion of some particular fable was attributable to migrations which had taken place within the historic period; and in other cases it could hardly be doubted that certain very remarkable coincidences were still mere coincidences and nothing more; but in a great majority of instances, it was plain that the notion of borrowing or copying having occurred was inadmissible, and that nothing could account for their constant similarity except the theory of a common origin. They were “primitive or organic legends, representing one common ancient stratum of language and thought reaching from India to Europe;” the others were secondary or inorganic, consisting of “boulders of various strata carried along by natural and artificial means from one country to another.’’

The aboriginal Aryan legends may be arranged under one or other of two categories, the myth or the fable. That primitive fables actually exist, stories expressly invented for a moral or didactic purpose, seems a well-established fact. The fable of the King and the Bee, for example, crops up alike in India, in Greece, and in Norway, in forms that cannot be accounted for by direct oral or literary transmission; and it would seem that the story of the Master-Thief (apχo<s φηλητeωv) which is to be met with in the Hitopadesa, in Herodotus, in the Tales of the Alhambra, and which is current in Norway and also in the Western Highlands of Scotland, must probably also be regarded as embodying at least a fable-germ. The organic fables, however, are not so numerous as the organic myths,—those stories, that is to say, which, whether based on mistaken metaphor or distorted history, are at least the product of the unconscious play of fancy. The same characters and the same incidents constantly recur under innumerable names and shapes. “The story of the heroes of Teutonic and Hindu folk-lore, the stories of Boots and Cinderella, of Logedas Rajah and Surya Bai, are the story also of Achilleus and Oidipous, of Perseus and Theseus, of Helen and Odysseus, of Baldur, and Rustem, and Sigurd. Everywhere there is the search for the bright maiden who has been stolen away, everywhere the long struggle to recover her. The war of ∏ion has been fought out in every Aryan land” (Cox). What we are accustomed to associate with the name of William Tell is told of many archers under other names, in England

(William of Cloudsle), Germany, Denmark, Norway, Iceland, and Lapland; the same story of the young hero dying in the fulness of youth is told of Baldur and Isfendiyar, Sifrit, and Achilles. The stories vary widely under the influence of climate, religion, and civilization, and yet remain substantially the same. The sun-myth, when transferred from southern to northern latitudes, cannot but undergo some change of shape; the dramatis personae are as various in each fable as the fauna and flora of the regions in which it is told. Odin, when no longer recognized as a deity, becomes simply the wild huntsman or Hellequin; when civilization makes even such a being no longer credible, he still survives possibly as Harlequin or Robin Hood.

Hitherto the systematic study of comparative folk-lore has been almost exclusively confined within Aryan limits. But the successful application of scientific method in that field has encouraged many labourers in other regions, and an amount of material is being accumulated which may be expected ultimately to yield very important results in ethnology and anthropology. So far as the savage tribes of the world are concerned, it would seem that the greater proportion of trustworthy data is to be derived from that department of their “folk-lore” which manifests itself in traditionary practices; but in no case, indeed, can the comparative mythologist afford to overlook the qualifying or corroborative evidence supplied by what may be called comparative “ethology.” Every custom has an instructive history if we can but succeed in interpreting its lore. In ascertaining when, where, and how any given tribe came first to worship plants, or animals, or ghosts, we get definitely nearer the solution of the fundamental problem of anthropology. Even the modem usages of social and domestic life, the observances that accompany such incidents as marriage, birth, and death, when skilfully read, are capable of telling us something at least of the condition of primitive man. See Anthropology, Animism, Demonology, Fire, Funeral Rites, Marriage, &c. Literature.— The oldest professed collections of English folk-lore are those of Aubrey {Miscellanies, 1686, and frequently reprinted), and Bourne (Antiquitates Vulgares, 1725). The latter was incorporated by Brand in his Observations on Popular Antiquities, 1777, republished by Sir Henry Ellis in 1813, and again in 1841. The Every-Day Book of Hone appeared in 1826, and The Year Book in 1829. Among the more recent publications of a similar class may be mentioned the Book of Days, and Popτιlar Bhymes of Scotland, by Chambers. Max Müller’s Essay on Comparative Mythology was first published in 1856; Dasent’s Tales from the Norse, with an introduction, in 1859; Campbell’s Popular Tales of the West Highlands in 1861; Kelly’s Curiosities of Indo-European Tradition and Folk-Lore in 1863; see also Hardwick’s Traditions, Superstitions, and Folk-Lore (1872); and Folk-Lore of the Northern Counties of England and the Borders, by W. Henderson, with an appendix on Household Stories, by S. Baring-Gould (1876). As for Germany, since the publication of the Kinder-u. Hausmährchen (1812), and of the Deutsche Mythologie (1835), “the myths, the legends, the nursery-tales, the songs, proverbs, and popular customs of the Scandinavo-Germanicτace have had a whole host of faithful expounders and affectionate illustrators, who have scarcely left a single foot unexplored of that vast and interesting field of tradition” (De Gubernatis). Special reference may be made to the Deutsche Mythologie, by Mannhardt, and to the Zeitschrift für Deutsche Mythologie und Sitteιdcunde, edited by Mannhardt and Wolf (1853-1859). The collection of Norse popular tales by Asbjömsen and Moe (1842-3) has for the most part been translated by Dr Dasent (as above). Castrén has given an account of the mythology of Finland (Finnische Mythologie, edited by Schiefner); Kreuzwald of the popular tales of Esthonia (Ehstnische Mährchen, 1869); and Afanassieff of the folk-lore of Russia. The Slavonic mythology has been specially treated by Popoff, Kaisaroff, and Hanusch; while Osinski and Grohmann have dealt respectively with the folk literatures of Poland and Bohemia. Hahn has published a collection of Griechische u. Albanesische Mdhrchen (1864), in the introduction to which he gives forty “story-roots” (Märchen-und Sagformeln); and something has been done for the folk-lore of Rome by R. H. Busk (1874). For Spain reference may be made to Feman Caballero; for Brittany to Villemarqué; for Iceland to Powell and Magnusson among others; for Eskimo tales to Rink. Radloff has dealt with the folk literature of the Turkish races of south Siberia; and a volume of Kalmuck and Mongolian Traditionary Tales was published in 1873. For Corea, see Dallet (Église de la Corée, 1874); for China, the works of Doolittle and Dennys; for Dardistan, Leitner; and for Southern Africa, the Zulu Nursery Tales, by I Rev. Henry Callaway, M.D. (1866), and the Hottentot Fables and Talcs of Dr Bleek (1864). For American folk-lore, see Brinton’s Myths of the New World, and Bancroft’s Races of the Pacific. The works of Sir John Lubbock, and Messrs Herbert Spencer, Tylor, M*Lennan, and Morgan deal largely with the folk-lore of various savage tribes. As bearing upon the general subject of comparative mythology, see the works of Kuhn, especially his Herab- kunft des Feuers und des Göttertranks (1859); Bastian (Der Mensch in der Geschichte) ; Roth (Ueber den Mythus von den fünf Menschengeschlechtern) ; Max Müller (.Lectures on Science of Language, 2d series, and Chips from a German Workshop, vol. ii.); Μ. Michel Bréal (Hercule et Cacus, Étude de mythologie comparée, and Le Mythe d’Oedipe)·, Husson (La Chaîne Traditionelle, Contes et Légendes au point de vue Mythique, 1874); Fiske (Myths and Myth-makers, 1873); and Gubernatis (Zoological Mythology, 1872). (J. S. BL. )

9th ed. Encyclopædia Britannica, vol. 9, p. 357
[2,320 words — estimated reading time: 14 minutes]

Folkes Encyclopedia Britannica

FOLKES, Martin (1690-1754), an eminent English antiquary, was born at London, October 29, 1690. At the age of seventeen he entered at Clare College, Cambridge, where he distinguished himself so much in mathematics that when only twenty-three years of age he was chosen a fellow of the Royal Society. He was elected one of the council in 1716, and in 1723 Sir Isaac Newton, president of the society, appointed him one of the vice-presidents. On the death of Newton he became a candidate for the presidency, but the higher standing and superior influence of the other candidate, Sir Hans Sloane, carried the election against him. In 1733 he set out on a tour through Italy, in the course of which he found opportunity of consulting the best furnished cabinets of that country, and composed his admirable “Dissertations on the Weights and Values of Ancient Coins,” which he read before the Society of Antiquaries. Before the same society he read in 1736 his “Observations on the Trajan and Antonine Pillars at Rome,” and also communicated his “Table of English Gold Coins from the 18th year of King Edward III., when gold was first coined in England, to the present time, with their Weights and Intrinsic Values.” In 1745 he printed this work along with another on the history of silver coinage. He also contributed both to the Society of Antiquaries and to the Royal Society various other papers, chiefly on Roman antiquities, wshich were published in their transactions. In 1741 he succeeded Sir Hans Sloane as president of the Royal Society; in the following year he was made a member of the French Academy; and in 1746 was honoured with the degree of LL.I). from Cambridge and Oxford. He died in 1754.

9th ed. Encyclopædia Britannica, vol. 9, p. 356
[295 words — estimated reading time: 2 minutes]

Folkestone Encyclopedia Britannica

FOLKESTONE, or Folkstone, a municipal borough, seaport, and market-town of England, county of Kent, is situated on the London and South-Eastern Railway, 7 miles W.S.W. of Dover. It is very irregularly built, part of it lying in a hollow between the chalk and greensand hills, and other portions on the hills. Folkestone is much frequented in summer for sea-bathing, and steam packets ply daily between the town and Boulogne. Many of the inhabitants are engaged in the fisheries, and there is also a considerable shipping trade. The pier-harbour is 19 acres in extent, and admits vessels of 150 tons burden. In 1861 a low-water landing-pier was erected, which enables passengers to land from the steamers at all states of the tide. The coast is defended by three martello towers, and a battery situated on the heights protects the town. During 1877 the number of vessels that entered the port was 885, with a tonnage of 154,897, and 854 cleared, with a tonnage of 153,208. Of these the number engaged in trade with foreign countries was—entered 46, with a tonnage of 9333; cleared 148, with a tonnage of 22,452. Among the public buildings may be mentioned the free grammarschool, the harbour-house, the town-hall and market-house, and the parish church, a cruciform structure in the early Gothic style, with a tower rising from the intersection. It has recently been enlarged and restored. The original church of St Eanswitha was built in 1095, and attached to it was a monastery for Benedictine monks, but the devastations of the sea compelled the removal of both to the cliff on which the church now stands. The monastery was destroyed at the dissolution of religious houses in 1535. At a very early period Folkestone was a place of some importance, and Roman remains have been found near it. It ...

9th ed. Encyclopædia Britannica, vol. 9, p. 356
[469 words — estimated reading time: 3 minutes]

Folkland [Noun] Webster's Dictionary 1828

In English law, copyhold land; land held by the common people, at the will of the lord.

Folkland [Noun] Webster's Dictionary 1913

Land held in villenage, being distributed among the folk, or people, at the pleasure of the lord of the manor, and resumed at his discretion. Not being held by any assurance in writing, it was opposed to bookland or charter land, which was held by deed.

Folklore Webster's Dictionary 1913

Alt. of Folk lore

Folkmote [Noun] Webster's Dictionary 1828

1. An assembly of the people, or of bishops, thanes, aldermen and freemen, to consult respecting public affairs; an annual convention of the people, answering in some measure, to a modern parliament; a word used in England before the Norman conquest, after which, the national Council was called a parliament.

2. But some authors allege that the folkmote was an inferior meeting or court.

Folkmote [Noun] Webster's Dictionary 1913

1. An assembly of the people

2. a general assembly of the people to consider and order matters of the commonwealth; also, a local court.

Folkmoter [Noun] Webster's Dictionary 1913

One who takes part in a folkmote, or local court.

Folks [N collective and plural] Webster's Dictionary 1913

1. In Anglo-Saxon times, the people of a group of townships or villages; a community; a tribe.

2. People in general, or a separate class of people; -- generally used in the plural form, and often with a qualifying adjective; as, the old folks; poor folks.

3. The persons of one's own family; as, our folks are all well.