Folklore of Wales

Anne Ross examines the beliefs, customs and stories that shaped Wales’s oral tradition, including the influence of the medieval church. The book considers legends attached to place-names, calendar customs and the traditions surrounding ancient monuments, which were sometimes regarded as the work of gods and heroes.

Its darker material includes lakes associated with the afanc, giants, fairies, witches, ghosts and corpse candles said to foretell death. Ross also discusses omens, second sight, seers, supernatural birds and animals, folk healing, herbal remedies and charms. Drawing together inherited lore from across Wales, the study shows how landscape, memory and custom became closely bound to stories of the Otherworld.