Riassunto
Trama e riassunto di Antiche leggende, incantesimi mistici e superstizioni d’Irlanda
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About 10 h 30 min to read.A chi è rivolto
Readers who love plainly told fairy tales, folklore collectors, and those curious about holy wells, banshees, charms and old festivals will enjoy this book, along with anyone who likes tales by a winter fire.
Che cos’è questo libro
What would you do if a stranger stared at your baby and never said a blessing? In County Galway, you would burn a piece of the stranger's cloak until its smoke made the child sneeze. Lady Wilde fills her book with moments like this, where ordinary life meets the unseen.
Ancient Legends, Mystic Charms and Superstitions of Ireland gathers tales that peasants told in Irish or in Irish English, written down close to the tellers' own words. She feared the old generation was leaving for America and the stories with them. You get fairy tales, curses, cures, wake customs and holy wells, and a bold claim of a very old creed from Persia.
In questo riassunto
- 1The tales come from the people and the EastFree
- 2The fairy race loves beauty and wants peace
- 3Fairies steal the beautiful, but spells can break
- 4The Evil Eye is answered with a blessing
- 5The dead are honoured and never quite gone
- 6Kindness pays and greed is punished
- 7The year turns on fire, salt and fairy festivals
- 8Holy wells and saints join old and new
- 9Herbs and charms work through faith and secrecy
- 10Poets, ancient finds and a past that lasts
Punto chiave 1 di 10
The tales come from the people and the East
Lady Wilde opens by saying that a nation's language, myths and monuments show what lies hidden in its people. The Irish never leaned much on the written word, so ordinary people lived on inherited tradition. Pagan myth and Christian legend blended into one belief that still holds.
Her bold claim is that the legends of all nations look alike because humanity once shared one creed. The tribes carried scraps of it west from Persia, and Ireland, at the edge of the known world, is where the last wave settled.
Her favourite proof is the sacred tree. In Persia, rich people hung robes on its branches and poor people tied scraps of cloth, and the Irish do the same beside their holy wells. Dar is the ancient Persian term for a tree, while darragh is the Irish name for the sacred oak. Wilde treats Irish folklore as a living record of very old human belief.
That’s 1 of 10 key points.
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Questions about Antiche leggende, incantesimi mistici e superstizioni d’Irlanda
What is Ancient Legends, Mystic Charms and Superstitions of Ireland about?
It is a collection of Irish folklore gathered from peasants and storytellers, covering fairies, the Evil Eye, charms, cures, wakes, festivals and holy wells. Lady Wilde also adds essays on bards, antiquities and Irish history.
Who are the Sidhe in Irish folklore?
The Sidhe, or fairy race, are spirits who live in hills, raths and under lakes. Wilde describes them as beautiful, music-loving and easily offended, and said by some to be angels cast out of heaven.
Are these stories true or invented?
They are folk tales and beliefs that Wilde collected, many told in Irish or Irish English by the peasants themselves. Storytellers often swear their tales are true, but the book presents them as living tradition.
Is this book easy to read?
Yes, the pieces are short and self-contained, so you can enjoy one tale or charm at a time. The plain, lively voice and clear stories make it easy to follow, even when you open it anywhere.
What is the main message of the book?
Wilde argues that Irish folk belief preserves very old human ideas, blended with Christianity. Through the tales she shows a people who honour the unseen, value kindness and generosity, and keep the past alive.
Cite this edition
Wilde, Jane. Ancient Legends, Mystic Charms & Superstitions of Ireland. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/ancient-legends-mystic-charms-superstitions-of-ireland.
Wilde, J. (2026). Ancient legends, mystic charms & superstitions of Ireland. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/ancient-legends-mystic-charms-superstitions-of-ireland (Original work published 1887)
Wilde, Jane. Ancient Legends, Mystic Charms & Superstitions of Ireland. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/ancient-legends-mystic-charms-superstitions-of-ireland.
@book{wilde2026ancient,
author = {Wilde, Jane},
title = {Ancient Legends, Mystic Charms \& Superstitions of Ireland},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/ancient-legends-mystic-charms-superstitions-of-ireland},
note = {First published 1887}
}
