ahencyclopedia:

MEDIEVAL FOLKLORE: 

MEDIEVAL folklore is a body of work, originally transmitted orally, which was composed between the 5th and 15th centuries CE in Europe. Although folktales are a common attribute of every civilization, and such stories were being told by cultures around the world during the medieval period, the phrase “medieval folklore” in the west almost always refers to European tales.

The word “folklore” was coined in 1846 CE by the British writer William John Thoms to replace the more awkward phrase “popular antiquities” which designated the stories, fables, proverbs, ballads, and legends of the common people. In time, folktales were written down and became static but originally they were dynamic and ever-changing stories passed from one generation to the next and moving between cultures as merchants carried the tales to other countries through trade.

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