The Folklore Society (FLS) is a

registered charity A charitable organization or charity is an organization whose primary objectives are philanthropy and social well-being (e.g. educational, Religion, religious or other activities serving the public interest or common good). The legal definitio ...

under English law based in London, England for the study of folklore. Its office is at 50 Fitzroy Street, London home of the

Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland The Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland (RAI) is a long-established anthropological organisation, and Learned Society, with a global membership. Its remit includes all the component fields of anthropology, such as biolo ...

. It was founded in London in 1878 to study traditional vernacular culture, including traditional music, song, dance and drama, narrative, arts and crafts, customs and belief. The foundation was prompted by a suggestion made by

Eliza Gutch Eliza Gutch (née Hutchinson) (1840-1931) was an English author, contributor to ''Notes and Queries'',Jacqueline Simpson (Editor), Steve Roud (Editor) (2003). ''A Dictionary of English Folklore''. Oxford University Press and founding member of th ...

in the pages of ''

Notes and Queries ''Notes and Queries'', also styled ''Notes & Queries'', is a long-running quarterly scholarly journal that publishes short articles related to " English language and literature, lexicography, history, and scholarly antiquarianism".From the inner ...

''.

Jacqueline Simpson Jacqueline Simpson (born 1930) is a prolific, award-winning British researcher and author on folklore.Steve Roud Steve Roud (; born 1949) is the creator of the Roud Folk Song Index and an expert on folklore and superstition. He was formerly Local Studies Librarian for the London Borough of Croydon and Honorary Librarian of the Folklore Society. Life and ...

(Editor) (2003). ''A Dictionary of English Folklore''.

Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the publishing house of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world. Its first book was printed in Oxford in 1478, with the Press officially granted the legal right to print books ...

Members

William Thoms William John Thoms (16 November 1803 – 15 August 1885) was a British writer credited with coining the term "folklore" in 1846. Thoms' investigation of folklore and myth led to a later career of debunking longevity myths, and he was a pioneer ...

, the editor of ''

'' who had first introduced the term ''folk-lore'', seems to have been instrumental in the formation of the society: as was G. L. Gomme, who was for many years a leading member. Some prominent members were identified as the "great team" in

Richard Dorson Richard Mercer Dorson (March 12, 1916 – September 11, 1981) was an American folklorist, professor, and director of the Folklore Institute at Indiana University. Dorson has been called the "father of American folklore"Nichols, Amber M.Richard M. ...

's now long-outdated 1967 history of British folkloristics, late-Victorian leaders of the surge of intellectual interest in the field, these were

Andrew Lang Andrew Lang (31 March 1844 – 20 July 1912) was a Scottish poet, novelist, literary critic, and contributor to the field of anthropology. He is best known as a folkloristics, collector of folklore, folk and fairy tales. The Andrew Lang lectur ...

Edwin Sidney Hartland Edwin Sidney Hartland (1848–1927) was an author of works on folklore. His works include anthologies of tales, and theories on anthropology and mythology with an ethnological perspective. He believed that the assembling and study of persistent a ...

Alfred Nutt Alfred Trübner Nutt (22 November 1856 – 21 May 1910) was an English publisher, folklorist, and Arthurian and Celtic scholar. Born in 1856 into a literary family in London, he took over his late father's publishing business in 1878 after st ...

William Alexander Clouston William Alexander Clouston (1843 – 23 October 1896) was a Scottish 19th century folklorist from Orkney.

Edward Clodd Edward Clodd (1 July 1840 – 16 March 1930) was an English banker, writer and anthropologist. He had a great variety of literary and scientific friends, who periodically met at Whitsunday (a springtime holiday) gatherings at his home at Aldebu ...

, and Gomme. Later historians have taken a deeper interest in the pre-modern views of members such as

Joseph Jacobs Joseph Jacobs (29 August 1854 – 30 January 1916) was an Australian-born folklorist, literary critic and historian who became a notable collector and publisher of English folklore. Born in Sydney to a Jewish family, his work went on to popula ...

. A long-serving member and steady contributor to the society's discourse and publications was

Charlotte Sophia Burne Charlotte Sophia Burne (1850–1923) was an English author and editor, and the first woman to become president of the Folklore Society. Life Charlotte Sophia Burne was born on 2 May 1850 at Moreton vicarage in Staffordshire, near to the border w ...

, the first woman to become editor of its journal and later president (1909–10) of the society."

: Shropshire Folklorist, First Woman President of the Folklore Society, and First Woman Editor of Folklore. Part 1: A Life and Appreciation", Gordon Ashman and Gillian Bennett, ''Folklore'', Vol. 111, No. 1 (Apr., 2000), pp. 1–21

Ethel Rudkin Ethel Rudkin (189321 September 1985) was an English writer, historian, archaeologist and folklorist from Lincolnshire. She pioneered the collection of folk material, particularly from Lincolnshire, and her collections are now part of several publ ...

, the Lincolnshire folklorist, was a notable member; her publications included several articles in the journal, as well as the book ''Lincolshire Folklore.''

Publications

The society publishes, in partnership with

Taylor and Francis Taylor & Francis Group is an international company originating in the United Kingdom that publishes books and academic journals. Its parts include Taylor & Francis, CRC Press, Routledge, F1000 Research and Dovepress. It is a division of ...

, the journal'' Folklore'' in four issues per year, and, since 1986, a newsletter, ''FLS News''. The journal began as ''The Folk-Lore Record'' in 1878, continued or was restarted as ''The Folk-Lore Journal'', and from 1890 its issues were compiled as volumes with the long title ''Folk-Lore: A Quarterly Review of Myth, Tradition, Institution, & Custom. Incorporating The Archæological Review and The Folk-Lore Journal''.

edited the first four annual volumes as the ''Quarterly Review'', succeeded by

. As the head of publisher David Nutt in the Strand, Alfred Nutt was the publisher of the journal from 1890.

Charlotte Burne Charlotte Sophia Burne (1850–1923) was an English author and editor, and the first woman to become president of the Folklore Society. Life Charlotte Sophia Burne was born on 2 May 1850 at Moreton, Staffordshire, Moreton vicarage in Staffordshir ...

edited the journal between 1899 and 1908. The editorship then passed to A. R. Wright (1909–14);

William Crooke William Crooke (6 August 1848 – 25 October 1923) was a British orientalist and a key figure in the study and documentation of Anglo-Indian folklore. He was born in County Cork, Ireland, and was educated at Erasmus Smith's Tipperary Grammar S ...

(1915–23); A. R. Wright (1924–31); E. O. James (1932–55);

Christina Hole Christina Hole (1896 – 24 November 1985) was an award-winning British folklorist and author, who was described as “for many years the leading authority on English folk customs and culture”. Early life and education Hole was born in Rick ...

(1956–78);

Jacqueline Simpson Jacqueline Simpson (born 1930) is a prolific, award-winning British researcher and author on folklore.Gillian Bennett Gillian Bennett (; 25 September 1939 – 13 December 2023) was a British folklorist, known for her work on contemporary legends. Early life and education Bennett was born on 25 September 1939. She enrolled as a mature graduate student at the ...

(1994–2004),

Patricia Lysaght Patricia Lysaght (born 1948) is an Irish folklorist. She is Professor Emerita of European Ethnology, University College Dublin, Ireland. Education Lysaght was born in County Clare. Lysaght's academic background was firstly in Law, before qual ...

(2004-2012) and Jessica Hemming (2013–).

Collections

The Folklore Society Library has around 15,000 books and more than 200 serial titles (40 currently received) and is held at

University College London University College London (Trade name, branded as UCL) is a Public university, public research university in London, England. It is a Member institutions of the University of London, member institution of the Federal university, federal Uni ...

Library. Its major strengths are in folk narrative and

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

, Irish,

Scottish Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...

, and

Welsh folklore Welsh folklore is the collective term for the folklore of the Welsh people. It encompasses topics related to Welsh mythology, Folklore, folk tales, customs, and oral tradition. Welsh folklore is related to Irish folklore, Irish and Scottish folkl ...

; there are also substantial holdings of east

European folklore European folklore or Western folklore refers to the folklore of the Western world, especially when discussed comparatively. The history of Christendom during the Early Modern period has resulted in a number of traditions that are shared in many E ...

books, and long runs of

Estonian Estonian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Estonia, a country in the Baltic region in northern Europe * Estonians, people from Estonia, or of Estonian descent * Estonian language * Estonian cuisine * Estonian culture See also

...

and Basque folklore serials. The Folklore Society Archives and Collections include folklore-related papers of G. L. Gomme and Lady Gomme, T. F. Ordish,

, Henry Underhill,

Estella Canziani Estella Louisa Michaela Canziani (12 January 1887 – 23 August 1964) was a British portrait and landscape painter, an interior decorator and a travel writer and folklorist. Life and works Born in London, Estella Canziani was the daughter of t ...

, Denis Galloway, Barbara Aitken,

Margaret Murray Margaret Alice Murray (13 July 1863 – 13 November 1963) was an Anglo-Indian Egyptologist, archaeologist, anthropologist, historian, and folklorist. The first woman to be appointed as a lecturer in archaeology in the United Kingdom, sh ...

, Katharine Briggs and others. The society's archives and collections are held at University College London's Special Collections.

Presidents

* 1878–79

James Grimston, 2nd Earl of Verulam James Walter Grimston, 2nd Earl of Verulam (20 February 1809 – 27 July 1895), known as Viscount Grimston from 1815 to 1845, was a British peer and Conservative politician. He was the eldest son of James Walter Grimston, 1st Earl of Verulam, a ...

* 1880–85

Frederick Lygon, 6th Earl Beauchamp Frederick Lygon, 6th Earl Beauchamp (10 November 1830 – 19 February 1891), styled The Honourable Frederick Lygon between 1853 and 1866, was a British Conservative politician. Background and education Beauchamp was the third son of Henry Ly ...

* 1885–88

George Byng, 3rd Earl of Strafford George Henry Charles Byng, 3rd Earl of Strafford (22 February 1830 – 28 March 1898), styled Viscount Enfield between 1860 and 1886, was a Liberal Party (UK), British Liberal politician. Background and education Byng was the eldest son of Geo ...

* 1888–92

* 1892–95

Laurence Gomme Sir George Laurence Gomme, Society of Antiquaries of London#Membership, FSA (18 December 1853 – 23 February 1916) was a public servant and antiquarian. Two of his main interests were folklore and old buildings. He helped found both the Vict ...

* 1895–97

* 1897–99

* 1899–1901 Edwin Hartland * 1901–03 Edward Brabrook * 1903–04

Frederick York Powell Frederick York Powell (4 January 1850 – 8 May 1904) was an English historian and scholar. Biography He was born on 4 January 1850 at 43 Woburn Place, Bloomsbury, London, the son of Frederick Powell, a commissariat merchant, and his wife Ma ...

* 1904–07 W H D Rouse * 1907–09

Moses Gaster Moses Gaster (17 September 1856 – 5 March 1939) was a Romanian, later British scholar, the ''Hakham'' of the Spanish and Portuguese Jewish congregation, London, and a Hebrew and Romanian linguist. Moses Gaster was an active Zionist in Rom ...

* 1909–11

* 1911–13

* 1913–18

Robert Ranulph Marett Robert Ranulph Marett (13 June 1866 – 18 February 1943) was a British ethnologist and a proponent of the British Evolutionary School of cultural anthropology. Founded by Marett's older colleague, Edward Burnett Tylor, it asserted that mode ...

* 1918–20

Alfred Cort Haddon Alfred Cort Haddon, Sc.D., FRS, FRGS FRAI (24 May 1855 – 20 April 1940) was an influential British anthropologist and ethnologist. Initially a biologist, who achieved his most notable fieldwork, with W. H. R. Rivers, Charles Gabriel Selig ...

* 1920–22 W H R Rivers * 1922–24

Henry Balfour Henry Balfour FRS FRAI (11 April 1863 – 9 February 1939) was a British archaeologist, and the first curator of the Pitt Rivers Museum. He was President of the Royal Anthropological Institute, Museums Association, Folklore Society, Royal Geo ...

* 1924–26 J L Myres * 1926–28 A R Wright * 1928–30 R M Dawkins * 1930–32 E O James * 1932–35 H J Rose * 1935–37 S H Hooke * 1937–39 Mary MacLeod Banks * 1939–43

John Henry Hutton John Henry Hutton Order of the Indian Empire, CIE Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland, FRAI (27 June 1885 – 23 May 1968) was an English-born anthropologist and an administrator in the Indian Civil Service (ICS) during ...

* 1943–45 L F Newman * 1945–47

FitzRoy Somerset, 4th Baron Raglan Fitzroy Richard Somerset, 4th Baron Raglan FRAI (10 June 1885 – 14 September 1964) was a British soldier, author, and amateur anthropologist. His books include ''The Hero: A Study in Tradition, Myth and Drama'' and '' Monmouthshire Houses'', ...

* 1947–48 H J Fleure * 1948–51

Walter Leo Hildburgh Walter Leo Hildburgh (1876-1955) was an American art collector, sportsman, traveller, scientist and philanthropist. Early life and education Hildburgh was born in New York in 1876 into a family that had arrived in America earlier in the nineteen ...

* 1951–53

Arthur Allan Gomme Arthur Allan Gomme (1882-1955) was a British librarian, historian of technology and folklorist. Early life and education Arthur Allan Gomme was born in 1882, the third son of Sir (George) Laurence Gomme (1853–1916) and his wife, Alice Bert ...

* 1953–55

* 1955 T W Bagshawe * 1956 (No president) * 1956–59 Sona Rosa Burstein * 1959–61 Sir Arthur Waugh * 1961–63 Mary Williams * 1963–64

Peter Opie Iona Margaret Balfour Opie, (13 October 1923 – 23 October 2017) and Peter Mason Opie (25 November 1918 – 5 February 1982) were an English married team of folklorists who applied modern techniques to understanding children's literature and p ...

* 1964–67 Douglas Kennedy * 1967–70 Katharine Briggs * 1970–73 Stewart Sanderson * 1973–76

Hilda Ellis Davidson Hilda Roderick Ellis Davidson (born Hilda Roderick Ellis; 1 October 1914 – 12 January 2006) was an English folklorist. She was a scholar at the University of Cambridge and The Folklore Society, and specialized in the study of Celtic and G ...

* 1976–79 J R Porter * 1979–82 W M S Russell * 1982–84

Carmen Blacker Carmen Blacker Order of the British Empire, OBE Fellow of the British Academy, FBA (13 July 1924 – 13 July 2009) was a British Japanologist. She was a lecturer in Japanese at the University of Cambridge. Life Blacker was born in Kensington in ...

* 1984–87 Venetia Newall * 1987–90 John Widdowson * 1990–93

Roy Judge Roy Judge (1929–2000) was a British folklorist and historian. Early life and education Judge was born in Hastings in 1929, where he attended the local grammar school before being evacuated to St Albans during the Second World War. He went on ...

* 1993–96

Jacqueline Simpson Jacqueline Simpson (born 1930) is a prolific, award-winning British researcher and author on folklore.Juliette Wood Juliette Wood is a British historian and lecturer at Cardiff University. She specializes in Celtic and Medieval history, magic, and folklore. She is a former director of the Folklore Society and an Honorary Fellow of Amgueddfa Cymru – Museum ...

* 1999–2002 W. F. H. Nicolaisen * 2002–05

Marion Bowman Marion Bowman (born 1955) is a British academic working on the borders of religious studies and folklore and ethnology. She is Professor Emerita in Religious Studies, The Open University where she was previously Professor of Vernacular Religion. ...

* 2005–08 W. F. Ryan * 2008–11 Eddie Cass * 2011–14 Robert McDowall * 2014–17 James H. Grayson * 2017–20

* 2020–23 Owen Davies * 2023-current

David Hopkin David Isaac Hopkin (born 21 August 1970) is a Scottish professional football coach and former player who was most recently the manager of Ayr United. As a player he was a midfielder from 1989 until 2003, notably in the English Premier League ...

Katharine Briggs Award

The Katharine Briggs Award is an annual book prize awarded by the Society in honour of

Katharine Mary Briggs Katharine Mary Briggs (8 November 1898 – 15 October 1980) was a British folklorist and writer, who wrote ''The Anatomy of Puck'', the four-volume ''A Dictionary of British Folk-Tales in the English Language'', and various other books on fairie ...

(who was the society's president from 1969 to 1972). The prize has been awarded every year since it was first announced in 1982. Notable winners include Israeli historian of social memory

Guy Beiner Guy Beiner (Hebrew: גיא ביינר) is an Israeli-born historian of the late-modern period with particular expertise in Irish history and Memory studies. He is the Sullivan Chair of Irish Studies at Boston College. Academic career Guy Beiner ...

(2019), American scholar of fairy tales

Jack Zipes Jack David Zipes (born June 7, 1937) is a literary scholar and author. He is a professor emeritus in the Department of German, Nordic, Slavic and Dutch at the University of Minnesota. Zipes is known for his work on fairy tales, folklore, crit ...

(2007), English mythographer

Marina Warner Dame Marina Sarah Warner (born 9 November 1946) is an English historian, mythographer, art critic, novelist and short story writer. She is known for her many non-fiction books relating to feminism and myth. She has written for many publication ...

(1999), British radical historian

E. P. Thompson Edward Palmer Thompson (3 February 1924 – 28 August 1993) was an English historian, writer, socialist and peace campaigner. He is best known for his historical work on the radical movements in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, in partic ...

(1992), English married team of folklorists

Iona and Peter Opie Iona Margaret Balfour Opie, (13 October 1923 – 23 October 2017) and Peter Mason Opie (25 November 1918 – 5 February 1982) were an English married team of folklorists who applied modern techniques to understanding children's literature and p ...

(1986) and Soviet folklorist

Vladimir Propp Vladimir Yakovlevich Propp (; – 22 August 1970) was a Soviet folklorist and scholar who analysed the basic structural elements of Russian folk tales to identify their simplest irreducible structural units. Biography Vladimir Propp was ...

(1985). Winners of the Award are: * 1982: Samuel Pyeatt Menefee, ''Wives for Sale: an Ethnographic Study of British Popular Divorce'' (Basil Blackwell) * 1983: Michael Pickering, ''Village Song and Culture'' (Croom Helm) * 1984:

Sandra Billington Sandra Billington is an academic, author and actress who was first a lecturer and then a reader in Renaissance Theatre at the University of Glasgow between 1979 and 2003. She became a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh in 1998. She is a gradu ...

, ''A Social History of the Fool'' (Harvester Press) * 1985:

, ''Theory and History of Folklore'', edited by Anatoly Liberman (Manchester University Press) * 1986:

, ''The Singing Game'' (Oxford University Press) * 1987: Amy Shuman, ''Storytelling Rights'' (Cambridge University Press) * 1988:

, ''Myths and Symbols in Pagan Europe'' (Manchester University Press) * 1989:

J. P. Mallory James Patrick Mallory (born October 25, 1945) is an American archaeologist and Indo-Europeanist. Mallory is an emeritus professor at Queen's University, Belfast; a member of the Royal Irish Academy, and the former editor of the '' Journal of ...

, ''In Search of the Indo-Europeans Language, Archaeology and Myth'' (Thames & Hudson) * 1990:

Paul Oliver Paul Hereford Oliver MBE (25 May 1927 – 15 August 2017) was an English architectural historian and writer on the blues and other forms of African-American music. He was equally distinguished in both fields, although it is likely that afici ...

, ''Blues Fell This Morning'' (Cambridge University Press) * 1991: Simon Charsley, ''Rites of Marrying: The Wedding Industry in Scotland'' (Manchester University Press) * 1992:

, ''Customs in Common'' (Merlin Press) * 1993: Georgina Boyes, ''The Imagined Village: Culture, Ideology, and the English Folk Revival'' (Manchester University Press) * 1994: Claudia Kinmonth, ''Irish Country Furniture 1700-1950'' (Yale University Press) * 1995: Timothy Mitchell, ''Flamenco Deep Song'' (Yale University Press) * 1996: Mary-Ann Constantine, ''Breton Ballads'' (CMCS Publications) * 1997: Neil Jarman, ''Parading Culture: Parades and Visual Displays in Northern Ireland'' (Berg) * 1998: Joseph Falaky Nagy, ''Conversing with Angels and Ancients: The Literary Myths of Medieval Ireland'' (Four Courts) * 1999:

, ''No Go the Bogeyman: Scaring, Lulling and Making Mock'' (Chatto and Windus) * 2000: Diarmuid Ó Giolláin, ''Locating Irish Folklore: Tradition, Modernity, Identity'' (Cork University Press) * 2001: Adam Fox, ''Oral and Literate Culture in England, 1500-1700'' (Clarendon Press) * 2002: Elizabeth Hallam and Jenny Hockey, ''Death, Memory and Material Culture'' (Berg) * 2003: Malcolm Jones, ''The Secret Middle Ages'' (Sutton) * 2004:

Steve Roud Steve Roud (; born 1949) is the creator of the Roud Folk Song Index and an expert on folklore and superstition. He was formerly Local Studies Librarian for the London Borough of Croydon and Honorary Librarian of the Folklore Society. Life and ...

, ''The Penguin Guide to the Superstitions of Britain and Ireland'' (Penguin) * 2005: Jeremy Harte, ''Explore Fairy Traditions'' (Heart of Albion Press) * 2006: Catherine Rider, ''Magic and Impotence in the Middle Ages'' (Oxford University Press) * 2007:

, ''Why Fairy Tales Stick'' (Routledge) * 2008: Richard Bebb, ''Welsh Furniture 1250-1950: a Cultural History of Craftsmanship and Design'' (Saer Books) * 2009: Kathryn Marsh, ''The Musical Playground: Global Tradition and Change in Children’s Songs and Games'' (Oxford University Press) * 2010: Arthur Taylor, ''Played at the Pub: the Pub Games of Britain'' (English Heritage Publications) * 2011:

Herbert Halpert Herbert Halpert (August 23, 1911 – December 29, 2000) was an American anthropologist and folklorist, specialised in the collection and study of both folk song and narrative. Biography Herbert Norman Halpert's interest in folklore emerge ...

, edited by John Widdowson, ''Folk Tales, Trickster Tales and Legends of the Supernatural from the Pinelands of New Jersey'' (Edwin Mellen Press) * 2012:

, ''Voices of the People in Nineteenth-Century France'' (Cambridge University Press) * 2013: Karl Bell, ''The Legend of Spring-Heeled Jack: Victorian Urban Folklore and Popular Cultures'' (Boydell Press) * 2014: David Atkinson, ''The Anglo-Scottish Ballad and its Imaginary Contexts'' (OpenBook Publishers) * 2015:

Richard Jenkins Richard Dale Jenkins (born May 4, 1947) is an American actor. He is well known for his portrayal of deceased patriarch Nathaniel Fisher on the HBO funeral drama series ''Six Feet Under (TV series), Six Feet Under'' (2001–2005). He began his c ...

, ''Black Magic and Bogeymen'' (Cork University Press) * 2016: Lizanne Henderson, ''Witchcraft and Folk Belief in the Age of Enlightenment: Scotland, 1670-1740'' (Palgrave) * 2017: Christopher Josiffe, ''Gef! The Strange Tale of an Extra-Special Talking Mongoose'' (Strange Attractor) * 2018: Martin Graebe'', As I Walked Out: Sabine Baring Gould and the Search for the Folk Songs of Devon and Cornwall'' (Signal Books) * 2019:

, ''Forgetful Remembrance: Social Forgetting and Vernacular Historiography of a Rebellion in Ulster'' (Oxford University Press) * 2020: William G. Pooley, ''Body and Tradition in Nineteenth-Century France: Félix Arnaudin and the Moorlands of Gascony, 1870-1914'' (Oxford University Press) *2021: Jonathan Y. H. Hui (ed. and trans.), ''Vilmundar saga viðutan. The Saga of Vilmundur the Outsider'' (Viking Society for Northern Research) *2022: Marina Montesano (ed.) ''Folklore, Magic, and Witchcraft: Cultural Exchanges from the Twelfth to Eighteenth Century'' (Routledge) *2023: Una McIlvenna, ''Singing the News of Death: Execution Ballads in Europe 1500-1900'' (Oxford University Press) *2024: Tabitha Stanmore, ''Cunning Folk: Life in the Era of Practical Magic'' (The Bodley Head).

Coote Lake Medal

The Coote Lake medal is awarded by the Committee of the Folklore Society for "outstanding research and scholarship" in the field of Folklore Studies. The award is named in honour of Harold Coote Lake (1878-1939), an active member of the Folklore Society in the 1920s and 1930s (who served as both Treasurer and Secretary of the Society at points in that period). The recipients have been: * 1940 Mary MacLeod Banks * 1941 Dr T. E. Lones * 1952 Dr Walter Leo Hildburgh * 1955 Professor Edward Oliver James * 1960

* 1968

Alex Helm Alex Helm (1920–1970) was an award-winning British folklorist, described as "one of the most important figures in the study of calendar custom and olkdance in post-war England". Early life and education Helm was born in Burnley, Lancashire, i ...

and Enid Porter * 1979

* 1983

Theo Brown Theo Brown (16 December 1914 – 3 February 1993) was a British scholar of Devon folklore. She was lecturer in Comparative Religion at Exeter University. Biography Theo Brown was born Jean Marion Pryce in London. Her mother died in childbirth. H ...

and Stewart Sanderson * 1984

and Dr Hilda Davidson * 1987 Dr Emily Lyle and Dr Ian Russell * 2000 Professor John Widdowson and Dr Roy Judge * 2006 Dr Venetia Newall * 2007 Dr Jaqueline Simpson and Dr ‘Doc’ Rowe * 2008 Jennifer Westwood * 2013 Professor Patricia Lysaght * 2014 Malcolm Taylor and Dr Eddie Cass * 2018 Dr Gillian Bennett and Dr Caroline Oates

References

External links

Folklore Society web siteFree online issues of the Folklore journal and predecessors, 1868-1922Folklore Society Collections
at

HathiTrust HathiTrust Digital Library is a large-scale collaborative repository of digital content from research libraries. Its holdings include content digitized via Google Books and the Internet Archive digitization initiatives, as well as content digit ...

Digital Library provides full views, apparently complete, for 1878 to 1922, the span of issues that are in the

public domain The public domain (PD) consists of all the creative work to which no Exclusive exclusive intellectual property rights apply. Those rights may have expired, been forfeited, expressly Waiver, waived, or may be inapplicable. Because no one holds ...

:

an

(two records). ''The Folk-Lore Record'', vols 1–5, 1878 to 1882

(two records). ''The Folk-Lore Journal'', vols 1–7, 1883 to 1889

''Folk-Lore'', vols 1–33, 1890 to 1922 (subtitled ''A Quarterly Review ...'', from the title page of Volume 1 as bound) {{DEFAULTSORT:Folklore Society, The The Folklore Society, 1878 establishments in England Charities based in England Folklore studies Learned societies of the United Kingdom Organizations established in 1878 Publishing companies of the United Kingdom