English folklore English folklore consists of the myths and legends of England, including the region's Legendary creature, mythical creatures, traditional recipes, urban legends, proverbs, superstitions, Folk dance, dance, balladry, and Folklore, folktales tha ...

, the Apple Tree Man is the name given to the spirit of the oldest

apple An apple is a round, edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus'' spp.). Fruit trees of the orchard or domestic apple (''Malus domestica''), the most widely grown in the genus, are agriculture, cultivated worldwide. The tree originated ...

tree in an orchard,Bane, Theresa (2013). ''Encyclopedia of Fairies in World Folklore and Mythology''. McFarland & Co. p. 33. . and in whom the fertility of the orchard is thought to reside. Briggs, Katharine (1976). ''An Encyclopedia of Fairies''. Pantheon Books. pp. 9–10. . Tales about the Apple Tree Man were collected by the

folklorist Folklore studies (also known as folkloristics, tradition studies or folk life studies in the UK) is the academic discipline devoted to the study of folklore. This term, along with its synonyms, gained currency in the 1950s to distinguish the ac ...

Ruth Tongue in the

cider Cider ( ) is an alcoholic beverage made from the Fermented drink, fermented Apple juice, juice of apples. Cider is widely available in the United Kingdom (particularly in the West Country) and Ireland. The United Kingdom has the world's highest ...

-producing county of

Somerset Somerset ( , ), Archaism, archaically Somersetshire ( , , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel, Gloucestershire, and Bristol to the north, Wiltshire to the east ...

. In one story a man offers his last mug of mulled cider to the trees in his orchard on

Christmas Eve Christmas Eve is the evening or entire day before Christmas, the festival commemorating nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus. Christmas Day is observance of Christmas by country, observed around the world, and Christma ...

(a reflection of the custom and ritual of apple wassailing). He is rewarded by the Apple Tree Man who reveals to him the location of buried gold, more than enough to pay his rent. Thomas, Taffy (2014). ''Midwinter Folk Tales''. The History Press. pp. 114–116. . In another tale a farm cat was curious to explore some fields that people avoided working because they were haunted by

ghost In folklore, a ghost is the soul or Spirit (supernatural entity), spirit of a dead Human, person or non-human animal that is believed by some people to be able to appear to the living. In ghostlore, descriptions of ghosts vary widely, from a ...

s and

witches Witchcraft is the use of magic by a person called a witch. Traditionally, "witchcraft" means the use of magic to inflict supernatural harm or misfortune on others, and this remains the most common and widespread meaning. According to ''Enc ...

. She set out one day and got as far as the orchard when the Apple Tree Man cautioned her to go back home, because folks were coming to pour cider for his roots and shoot guns to drive away the witches. He persuaded her not to go wandering around at night until St. Tibb's Eve, and she never did because she did not know when St. Tibb's Eve was, nor did anyone else.Briggs, Katharine and Tongue, Ruth (1965). ''Folktales of England''. University of Chicago Press. pp. 44–47. .

References

English folklore Trees in mythology Apples Christmas characters {{Lit-char-stub

See also

References