Jeremy Harte | Local Legends #27: Surrey
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Show notes
On this week's episode of Local Legends, Martin is joined by the much-acclaimed, multi-award winning author, folklorist and archaeological researcher Jeremy Harte, whose books, including Cloven Country: The Devil and the English Landscape and The Green Man, are beloved texts, yet barely the tip of the iceberg when it comes to Jeremy's work!
As Jeremy explains, he almost fell into folklore research via a semi-accidental career in museums and the heritage industry. Since then however, from topics as diverse as geomancy and English toponymy, Medieval faerie belief and detailed studies into the country's holy wells, he has gone on to write some of the most important literature on folklore as written in the last half-century.
While this chat is ostensibly focused on the history and folklore of Surrey, across the course of this interview topics discussed include what life is like for a local museum curator, the growth of 'the Devil' as a concept, Gawain and the Green Knight, haunted grandstands, debates about which came first, graveyard elms or the churches alongside them, and so much more.
It's a fascinating, ranging conversation, and one which, of course, also delves into the character, stories, and strange status of Surrey in terms of its folklore and place in the national consciousness.
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Three Ravens is a completely independent English myth and folklore podcast where we share stories, celebrate folk culture, and fall backwards through the hedgerows of history.
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We release three episodes a week, on Mondays, Thursday and Saturdays, through which we explore folktales, folkways, fairy stories, folk songs, mythology, local heritage, seasonal customs and traditional beliefs.
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