How have global folklore traditions, stories, and customs shaped our identities? And what does contemporary folklore look like? Delve into fascinating topics like the lore of our landscapes, the importance of sung history, and how crafting can serve as an expression of heritage, with Folklore Reimagined.
Through workshops, performances and discussions, explore the connections folklore forges between us and communities of the past, and discover how these customs and cultures are presented today.
Events in April-May 2025
10-Minute Talks: The rise and fall of Matthew Hopkins, Witchfinder General
24 Apr 2025 Professor Ronald Hutton FBA
What really happened when a breakdown of the legal system in the English Civil War fuelled a series of witch-hunts? In this 10-Minute Talk, Professor Ronald Hutton FBA delves into England's witch trials and Matthew Hopkins, the self-proclaimed Witchfinder General.
Fairytales
Folklore is full of fairytales. Across time and cultures, we see these stories used as a tool for human connection. They offer lessons, warnings, and a sense of shared identity, helping us navigate challenges and find meaning in life.
Witches and demons
Witches and demons come in many different forms. How can we use them to understand history? What do they tell us about power?
Religion and folklore
Signs from the cosmos
Nine medieval comet sightings that signalled death and destruction
What did Anglo-Saxons know about comets? Recordings of comet sightings are abundant in medieval chronicles, where they figure continually as portents of war, pestilence, famines, and the fall of kingdoms.
Thoughts on a pandemic inspired by ancient astrology
In this 10-Minute talk, Jane Lightfoot considers what a particular corner of the classical world, astrology, thought about disease – how it classified it, and what mental models it built around it.
Can the past foretell your future?
Martha McGill delves into the art of fortune-telling between 1500 and 1800, introducing some colourful characters from the early modern period who used astrology, palmistry, scrying and even portentous kale to predict the future.
