PENGUIN GUIDE TO SUPERSTITIONS OF THE BRITISH ISLES

"The first major new survey in over a generation, this exploration of the superstitions of the British Isles explains not only what people have believed over the centuries, and why, but when particular superstitions arose, which parts of the country adopted them, how they evolved, and what people believe today. Drawing extensively on literary and oral accounts from Roman times to the present, it offers intriguing insights into beliefs and the bizarre rituals that often accompany them, debunks many popular myths, and provides in the process a fascinating sideways view of changing social customs and attitudes." Drawing extensively on literary sources from medieval times to the present, this survey not only explains what people have believed and why, but when superstitions arose, which parts of the country adopted them, how they evolved and what people today believe.