Rough Music
Folk Customs, Transgression and Alternative Britain
Liz WilliamsAn exploration of transgression and shame in British folklore and customs.
Rough Music explores transgression and shame in British folklore and customs from ancient Britain to the present day. From Bonfire Night to Wassail, Morris dancing, Mari Lwyd and Twelfth Night, along with events like street football and the Cooper’s Hill Cheese-Rolling and Wake, Liz Williams reveals the roots and roles of violence, mockery, protest and public shaming. She also looks at alternative culture and modern protests, such as the Battle of the Beanfield and the Stonehenge Free Festival, as well as interaction between racism and traditions involving blackface, alongside the emergence of all-female Morris sides.This engaging book offers an entertaining and revealing look at British folklore and culture.
An exploration of transgression and shame in British folklore and customs.
Rough Music explores transgression and shame in British folklore and customs from ancient Britain to the present day. From Bonfire Night to Wassail, Morris dancing, Mari Lwyd and Twelfth Night, along with events like street football and the Cooper’s Hill Cheese-Rolling and Wake, Liz Williams reveals the roots and roles of violence, mockery, protest and public shaming. She also looks at alternative culture and modern protests, such as the Battle of the Beanfield and the Stonehenge Free Festival, as well as interaction between racism and traditions involving blackface, alongside the emergence of all-female Morris sides.This engaging book offers an entertaining and revealing look at British folklore and culture.
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A lively and well-informed account of traditional British popular customs, with a novel and valuable pair of twists: showing the close relationship of those customs with subversion and disorder, and following their observance up into the current time. It is thus a revealing commentary on both past and present.
'Ronald Hutton, Professor of History, University of Bristol, and author of Pagan Britain
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Liz Williams casts a refreshing twenty-first-century eye over a range of vibrant customs and traditions, questioning ideas of timelessness and exploring the relevance of folklore in society today. Her book is an engaging and thoughtful contribution to the current New Wave of folklore studies in Britain.
'Owen Davies, Professor of Social History, University of Hertfordshire, and author of Art of the Grimoire: An Illustrated History of Magic Books and Spells
Introduction
Chapter 1: What Is Folklore?
Chapter 2: Jacks in the Green
Chapter 3: The Mari Lwyd: Horse Skulls and Wren Hunting
Chapter 4: Wassail, Wassail, All Over the Town
Chapter 5: Morris and Molly
Chapter 6: Mystery Plays
Chapter 7: Bonfire Night: Gunpowder, Treason and Plot
Chapter 8: All the Fun of the Fair?
Chapter 9: Cheese Rolling
Chapter 10: Street Football
Chapter 11: Up Helly Aa
Chapter 12: Trick or Treat
Chapter 13: Skimmity Riding
Chapter 14: The Future of Folk Practice
References
Bibliography
Acknowledgements and Permissions
Index
Liz Williams is a writer and journalist. She lives in Glastonbury, where she co-owns a witchcraft shop, and where she also lectures in creative writing. Her books include Miracles of Our Own Making: A History of Paganism (2020), also published by Reaktion Books.
