Alex Langstone recently published a book of folklore focused on eastern Cornwall. It uses some of the same sources as the Cornwall Project, so there’s some repetition of material, but I’ve managed to pull four pages of notes out of it. Most of them are going to just slot into the previously done material, adding examples to existing sections. I used Hunt’s monthly structure, and Langstone does the same, which makes this an easy process.

There are some distinctive clusters of plot hooks, which I’ll work through here. In the podcast, this material will be split up a little further. I recommend the book, because I’m only using folklore that has no period markers, or is distinctly pre-1220. There’s a heap of material from later included in his book.

Looe Island

  • Langstone is a fan of Looe Island. It needs to be followed up as a possible covenant site.
  • He has an article on it in a magazine he puts out.
  • Has many man made caves which are folkloristically similar to those of the Etruscans.
  • Smugglers have made up a lot of tales of ghosts, but in Mythic Europe, that summons faeries.
  • Jesus was left here while his uncle was off buying Cornish tin.
  • There’s a blue will-o-the-wisp on the island.
  • The chapel at the highest point is to St Michael.
  • Gets a fair in he game period.
  • There is a ghostly hare that warns of storms.

Piksies

  • Around this time, Piksie horsemen ride the roofs of Padstow.
  • A lot of Cornish houses have a little hole to let the piksies in and out, so they don’t get annoyed. How do they deal with the Aegis?
  • Juneish: the same time, people in Poliperro put up a bun, which gradually reduces in size until they replace it the next year. Sounds like a faerie bribe.
  • There’s a friendly piksie called Joan of the Woad that can be summoned as a guide by people with her brass (later called pewter) charm and the right rhyme. She’s a friend of Jack-of-the-lantern.
  • You can go across the bogs by standing on “piksie beds”. Are these trods of some kind?

Tintagel notes

  • St Materiana is the patron of the chapel at Tintagel.
  • The castle is built in the 1230s.
  • There’s a local story that Tristram was born here, and that some of the events in Tristram and Isuelt story happened there.
  • Arthur’s seat and Arthur’s cups are written up, I think, but check.

Vis sources:

  • If go into a particular graveyard on the evening of May 1, and run your hand down the tombstone of the most recently buried young person of the opposite sex, you get vis.
  • Each village puts up a maypole, which is a cut fir tree, and tries to steal one from their neighbouring village, during the month of May. This could be a contested vis source with a faerie court.
  • Some places store their poles and reuse them each year: some cut the poles up and use them to make things. There’s a note in Langstone about skittles. Is stuff made from a maypole special in some way?
  • At Dately there’s an oak that’s over a thousand years old.
    • Its acorns are used by folk magicians to make charms.
    • The tree grants wishes.
    • The tree is hollow and so large you can walk through it, or hold picnics in it.
  • Conjurers make altars on Brown Willy, to cast their spells.
  • Bat frenzies in August may create vis.
  • There are faerie hawthorn trees on the moor. If you sit under them, at dusk or dawn, you see piksies or visions.
  • Ash twigs can cure adder bites.
  • Silver is put under new planted trees, for luck.

Added notes

  • The tallest point in Cornwall is called “Brown Willy” and is on Bodmin Moor. The name means “Hill of Swallows”, which may matter to Bjornaer magi.
  • In January in Launceston there is a Gigglet Fair, a gigglet is a young woman, and its attended by men and women looking for spouses. Men are allowed to talk to girls they don’t know without anyone getting really upset about it.
  • During the apple wassail, some places dip cakes in cider and then put them into the branches of the trees.
  • On 3 February at Saint Blazey they have a parade with a great ram, representing Saint Blaise.
  • On 31 February (check?) there’s a night before Shrove Tuesday when people eat pancakes. The festival varies a bit, but basically young men wander around pretending to be imps, stealing stuff that’s not taken care of, and demanding pancakes.
  • On March 3, there’s a festival for St Piran at Mt Folly on Bodmin.
  • On March 9th, there’s a festival for Saint Constantine (at Constantine) where they eat pies made out of limpets, raisins and herbs.
  • There are 238 holy wells in Cornwall.
    • the Piksey Well at Pelynt: the piksies follow you home if you don’t follow the rituals., Vis source?
    • Clouties (cloths which decay to cure injuries) need to be stressed.
    • Bowsenning is name for the eastern Cornish practice of dunking people to cure their minds.
  • I need to stat up sea serpents.
  • May: The thing I’ve called the Hobby Horse is the Obby Oss. Your covenant needs a local thing to parade, and its probably tied to a saint, which may be tied to a guild or historical church founder. One place, Millbrook, uses a ship instead of a beast, Likserd has a fern-themed festival, Calstock has a giant (in memory of the story of Tamara).
  • May 10 and 11: In Linkserd they have annual game,s a fair and a sham judge who rides about with a retinue.
  • 4 June: Saint Petroc’s Feast. His relics are at Bodmin. He sometimes turns up as a spectral monk in a nearby town. He once removed the splinter from a dragon’s eye (look this up?). He has a stag as a symbol because of a historical thing..
  • 23 June: St Peter’s Feast. He’s the Saint of Fishermen, so he’s a big deal in Cornwall. Polperro, particularly.
  • They have a fair in Bodmin in July. The guilds parade. Each guild is known by the patron saint of its profession, which might happen at your covenant. THey have a mock court, sports, and a parade of the relics of the saint.
  • More mermaids.  I only have like, three, and I need more.
  • The Devil’s Jump is used in Infernal initiations. This involves pole vaulting.
  • Carburrow Tor has two cairns on it.  Each contains a king in a golden coffin. They are guarded by a flock of birds.
  • The Templar place mentioned already is called Saint Catherine’s.
  • An archdruid at Rillaton lost a magic cup, because it was buried with its thief.
  • Domazy Pool has a spirit called the “Old Storm Woman” who creates storms as she draws power to herself. May be a sort of giant ghostly mermaid.
  • August 12: Revel at Marhamchrcuh has a mock Queen. She represents St Marwenne, who is not St Morwenna.
  • In the section about Crying the Neck, note that its called the Crow or Craw in the east.
  • Corn dollies prevent owl blasting (curses).
  • Polperro: a woodland spirit leaves sweetmeats on the doorstops.
  • There’s a ghostly man with the head of a dog, but no context.
  • There’s a ghoulish thing called the “kergrim” at Launceston.
  • Launceston is called “Lanson” locally.
  • There’s the story of a ghost bound into a spider. Familiar? NPC?
  • The Devil’s Whetstone was placed by a smith, as part of a bet which kept the devil away from the area. Eventually a man is convinced to take it to use it as building materials, so the devil punishes the town for keeping him away for so long. Story hook.

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