Blood, Blots and Belonging: English Heathens and their (ab)uses of folklore

Smith, Kate

Abstract

The rise of exclusionary, populist ideologies in the post-industrial Global North is a well-documented phenomenon: posing moral and physical challenges to civil society, manifestations of these ideologies occur in a diverse range of European localities. A strong commonality between these local expressions is the recourse to both the context and the content of folklore and folklore scholarship. This chapter considers the deployment of folklore by English, ethnonationalist, neo-Pagan communities as they gain confidence and claim legitimacy as recognised religious organisations. Part of this claim rests on the construction of a traditional cosmology, one feature of which is the observance of calendar customs. Examination of the way in which a range of folkloric calendar customs is used to create their model of a ‘traditional’ year traces the historical development of the English, ethnonationalist, Pagan ritual year focusing in particular on the rituals associated with Plough Monday. In its incorporation of socially progressive and politically regressive discourses, English ethnonationalist spirituality presents a compelling challenge and field of study for folklorists, geographers and other scholars of nation and identity.

Citation

Smith, K. (2021). Blood, Blots and Belonging: English Heathens and their (ab)uses of folklore. In M. Cheeseman, & C. Hart (Eds.), Folklore and the Nation (262-278). New York: Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003007531

• Online Publication Date: Aug 30, 2021
• Publication Date: Aug 31, 2021
• Deposit Date: Sep 17, 2021
• Publicly Available Date: Mar 1, 2023
• Publisher: Routledge
• Pages: 262-278
• Series Title: Routledge Studies in Cultural History
• Book Title: Folklore and the Nation
• Chapter Number: 16
• ISBN: 9780367440961
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003007531
• Public URL: https://hull-repository.worktribe.com/output/3763419
• Publisher URL: https://www.routledge.com/Folklore-and-Nation-in-Britain-and-Ireland/Cheeseman-Hart/p/book/9780367440961#