''The Ingoldsby Legends'' (full title: ''The Ingoldsby Legends, or Mirth and Marvels'') is a collection of myths, legends, ghost stories and poems written supposedly by Thomas Ingoldsby of Tappington Manor, actually a

pen-name A pen name or nom-de-plume is a pseudonym (or, in some cases, a variant form of a real name) adopted by an author and printed on the title page or by-line of their works in place of their real name. A pen name may be used to make the author's na ...

of an English clergyman named Richard Harris Barham.

Background

The legends were first printed during 1837 as a regular series in the magazine '' Bentley's Miscellany'' and later in '' The New Monthly Magazine''. They proved immensely popular and were compiled into books published by Richard Bentley in 1840, 1842 and 1847. They remained popular during the 19th century, when they ran through many editions. They were illustrated by artists including

George Cruikshank George Cruikshank or Cruickshank ( ; 27 September 1792 – 1 February 1878) was a British caricaturist and book illustrator, praised as the "modern William Hogarth, Hogarth" during his life. His book illustrations for his friend Charles Dicken ...

, John Leech and

John Tenniel John Tenniel (; 28 February 182025 February 1914) was an English illustrator, graphic humourist and political cartoonist prominent in the second half of the 19th century. An alumnus of the Royal Academy of Arts in London, he was knight bachelor ...

; and

Arthur Rackham Arthur Rackham (19 September 1867 – 6 September 1939) was an English book illustrator. He is recognised as one of the leading figures during the Golden Age of British book illustration. His work is noted for its robust pen and ink drawings, ...

(1898 edition). As a priest of the

Chapel Royal A chapel royal is an establishment in the British and Canadian royal households serving the spiritual needs of the sovereign and the royal family. Historically, the chapel royal was a body of priests and singers that travelled with the monarc ...

, with a private income, Barham was not troubled with strenuous duties, and he had ample time to read, and to compose his stories and poems. Although the "legends" are based on

folklore Folklore is the body of expressive culture shared by a particular group of people, culture or subculture. This includes oral traditions such as Narrative, tales, myths, legends, proverbs, Poetry, poems, jokes, and other oral traditions. This also ...

or other pre-existing sources, chiefly Kentish,Samuel, ''Theatres of Memory'', vol. 1, p. 443. such as the " hand of glory", they are mostly humorous parodies or

pastiche A pastiche () is a work of visual art, literature, theatre, music, or architecture that imitates the style or character of the work of one or more other artists. Unlike parody, pastiche pays homage to the work it imitates, rather than mocking ...

Content

Barham introduces the collection with the statement that "The World, according to the best geographers, is divided into Europe, Asia, Africa, America and

Romney Marsh Romney Marsh is a sparsely populated wetland area in the counties of Kent and East Sussex in the south-east of England. It covers about . The Marsh has been in use for centuries, though its inhabitants commonly suffered from malaria until the ...

". The best-known poem in the collection is "The Jackdaw of Rheims", which is about a

jackdaw Jackdaws are two species of bird in the genus ''Coloeus'' closely related to, but generally smaller than, crows and ravens ('' Corvus''). They have a blackish crown, wings, and tail, with the rest of their plumage paler.Madge & Burn (1994) 136� ...

that steals a

cardinal Cardinal or The Cardinal most commonly refers to * Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds **''Cardinalis'', genus of three species in the family Cardinalidae ***Northern cardinal, ''Cardinalis cardinalis'', the common cardinal of ...

's ring and is made a saint under the name Jem Crow.
text online
with "Jim Crow". The village pub in Denton, Kent, was renamed The Jackdaw Inn in 1963. A popular prose story is that of "Grey Dolphin", a horse who helps save the life of his master, Sir Ralph de Shurland, by swimming to obtain a royal pardon for Sir Ralph's murder of a priest; but is then beheaded after a " hag" predicts that he will be the cause of Sir Ralph's death. Three years later, Sir Ralph encounters Grey Dolphin's skull and kicks it contemptuously, only for a tooth to pierce his foot and cause an infection, from which he dies – so fulfilling the prophecy. The tale is based on the traditional

Isle of Sheppey The Isle of Sheppey is an island off the northern coast of Kent, England, neighbouring the Thames Estuary, centred from central London. It has an area of . The island forms part of the districts of England, local government district of Borough ...

legend of Sir Robert de Shurland, combined with another local legend of a drowned seaman buried but then exhumed at Chatham, and with the addition of much imaginative detail. In an introductory note added to the story in 1840 (and writing as "Thomas Ingoldsby"), Barham claims descent from Sir Ralph de Shurland, and a right to bear the Shurland

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the last two being outer garments), originating in Europe. The coat of arms on an escutcheon f ...

alongside his own, which he does on the volume's title page. The collection also contains one of the earliest transcriptions of the song " A Franklyn's Dogge", an early version of the song " Bingo". Many of the tales include brief jocular and derisory references to an antiquary named "Mr Simpkinson": this was a satirical version of the real-life antiquary John Britton.

List of chapters

The chapters comprise:

Allusions and references in other works

* In

Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 1874 – 24 January 1965) was a British statesman, military officer, and writer who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1940 to 1945 (Winston Churchill in the Second World War, ...

's '' The Second World War'', when describing the scientific report of the German beams to direct Luftwaffe bombing, given by R. V. Jones of Scientific Intelligence, he quotes from "The Dead Drummer": "now one Mr Jones comes forth and depones …" * In Patrick Leigh Fermor's '' A Time of Gifts'', Chapter 11 "The Marches of Hungary", p. 312, on seeing a remarkably dressed old Hungarian soldier or official in a coach near the Danube in 1934, complete with brown fur and gold chain around his shoulders, a medal around his neck, and a scimitar across one knee: "('Twould have made you crazy' – the lines suddenly surfaced after years of oblivion – 'to see Esterhazy / with jools from his jasey / to his diamond boots.' Yes, indeed.)" ''jasey'' is a wig.* In H. Rider Haggard's 1885 novel '' King Solomon's Mines'', Allan Quatermain describes himself as non-literary, claiming to have read regularly only the

Bible The Bible is a collection of religious texts that are central to Christianity and Judaism, and esteemed in other Abrahamic religions such as Islam. The Bible is an anthology (a compilation of texts of a variety of forms) originally writt ...

and ''The Ingoldsby Legends''. Later in the novel he quotes a poem that he attributes incorrectly to ''The Ingoldsby Legends'', its actual source being

Sir Walter Scott Sir Walter Scott, 1st Baronet (15 August 1771 – 21 September 1832), was a Scottish novelist, poet and historian. Many of his works remain classics of European literature, European and Scottish literature, notably the novels ''Ivanhoe'' (18 ...

's epic poem '' Marmion''. * In

Henry James Henry James ( – ) was an American-British author. He is regarded as a key transitional figure between literary realism and literary modernism, and is considered by many to be among the greatest novelists in the English language. He was the ...

's 1888 essay "From London", his stay at Morley's Hotel (and the recollection of the four-poster bed) brings to mind ''The Ingoldsby Legends'', he "scarce knows why". * The narrator in

H. G. Wells Herbert George Wells (21 September 1866 – 13 August 1946) was an English writer, prolific in many genres. He wrote more than fifty novels and dozens of short stories. His non-fiction output included works of social commentary, politics, hist ...

' short story " The Red Room" (1894) refers to making up rhymes about the legend "Ingoldsby fashion" to calm himself. * In Sarah Grand's 1897 novel ''The Beth Book'', the narrator and main character, Beth, mentions ''The Ingoldsby Legends'' as a favourite of her childhood, and recites a passage from "The Execution" that appears in the collection. * In J. Meade Falkner's 1903 novel '' The Nebuly Coat'', Lord Blandamar amuses his wife by reading a new edition of ''The Ingoldsby Legends'' after dinner. * In E. Nesbit's '' The Phoenix and the Carpet'' (1904), the children consult ''The Ingoldsby Legends'' when they want to improvise a magic ritual. *

Rudyard Kipling Joseph Rudyard Kipling ( ; 30 December 1865 – 18 January 1936)''The Times'', (London) 18 January 1936, p. 12. was an English journalist, novelist, poet, and short-story writer. He was born in British Raj, British India, which inspired much ...

's short story "The Dog Hervey" (1914), collected in ''A Diversity of Creatures'' (1917), references the dog Little Byngo from "A Lay of St Gengulphus". * Dorothy L. Sayers has characters quote from ''The Ingoldsby Legends'' in her novels ''

Whose Body? ''Whose Body?'' is a 1923 mystery novel by Dorothy L. Sayers first published in the UK by T. Fisher Unwin and in the US by Boni & Liveright. It was her debut novel, and the book in which she introduced the character of Lord Peter Wimsey. ''Clou ...

'', '' Five Red Herrings'', '' The Nine Tailors'' and '' Gaudy Night''. * In Anthony Powell's 1968 '' The Military Philosophers'', Nick Jenkins mentions reading ''The Ingoldsby Legends'' when he needs relaxation from

Marcel Proust Valentin Louis Georges Eugène Marcel Proust ( ; ; 10 July 1871 – 18 November 1922) was a French novelist, literary critic, and essayist who wrote the novel (in French – translated in English as ''Remembrance of Things Past'' and more r ...

's ''

In Search of Lost Time ''In Search of Lost Time'' (), first translated into English as ''Remembrance of Things Past'', and sometimes referred to in French as ''La Recherche'' (''The Search''), is a novel in seven volumes by French author Marcel Proust. This early twen ...

''. * In Chapter 7 of ''Half Magic'' by Edward Eager, Katherine reads from ''The Ingoldsby Legends''. * Edmund Wilson references ''The Ingoldsby Legends'' in ''Memoirs of Hecate County'' when he states that his friend, "staggered in tonight like the jackdaw of Rheims, cursed by bell and book, —". The two main characters then discuss ''The Ingoldsby Legends''. * Kentish folk band Los Salvadores song "Smugglers' Leap" is based on the story of the same name featured in the Ingoldsby Legends. * P. G. Wodehouse refers to ''The Ingoldsby Legends'' in his novel '' A Prefect's Uncle'' (1903), comparing his title character to the lady in the earlier work "who didn't mind death, but who couldn't stand pinching". * Ngaio Marsh refers to '' The Ingoldsby Legends'' in '' Death in a White Tie''. Troy tells about coming across Lord Tomnoddy and the hanging and the "extraordinary impression" it had on her. She also makes references in '' Surfeit of Lampreys'', the second time (Chapter 19, Part 4) with reference to "The Hand of Glory". She also makes brief mention of the work in '' Death and the Dancing Footman''. * It has been said that the oldest documented usage of the phrase "two shakes of a lamb's tail" can be found within this compilation. Evidences are found within the stories ''The Babes In The Wood; Or, The Norfolk Tragedy'', ''A Row In An Omnibus (Box): A Legend Of The Haymarket'', and ''The Lay Of St Aloys: A Legend Of Blois''. * In Angela Thirkell's novel ''Miss Bunting'' (1946) ''The Ingoldsby Legends'' are referred to repeatedly (along with Butler, Byron and W. S. Gilbert) for comic effect as the Mixo-Lydian maid must study them very seriously in her cultural classes as examples of English humour.

References

External links