The Appeal of Folklore to the Uprooted and Rootless

Origins of The Folklore Forum Academy

When you grow up in a location and stay there long term, you firmly plant your roots there. Even if you move away in adulthood, having cultivated your youthful imagination in one particular place stays with you, whether you're conscious of it or not.

But for those of us who are frequently uprooted and transplanted either by choice or survival, there are things we miss out on, such as being acquainted with a rich history of local folklore. 

Perhaps that’s why someone like me is so drawn to the history and stories of places. I’ve always longed to belong to a place I can readily spout tales and legends about. If you ask me my home town, I can tell you where I was born, but I can’t really say it’s the place heart lives. 

By the time I was 14 I’d lived in 5 different communities and at least 8 different homes. We moved a lot. And that itself is not a bad thing. I learned how to meet new people, I became adaptable, and I quickly learned that different regions do things differently, even in the same country, province or valley. 

I wouldn’t change my childhood because it’s given me the perspective I have now.

Now that I’ve made my own family, that feeling of belonging is a bit less sharp, but it still draws me to the places my ancestors came from. If I don’t feel tied to a particular place in my lifetime, I can follow the threads back to where my families came from, which include the lowlands of Scotland and the East Fjords of Iceland.

While I haven’t travelled to Scotland yet, I have spent good time in Iceland and have seen the East Fjords twice. Those tall, jagged mountains and choppy cold shores of the eastern fjords pulled at my heartstrings. While I could never live there—it’s far too isolated for me and nearly impossible to immigrate there with my skillset—I hold the memories and feelings inside. 

Rather than attempting to put roots down as a foreigner in these times, I choose to sink back into history and immerse myself in the stories and lore of the past. 

In particular, I’m drawn to the lore of Scotland’s lowland region. An area heavily influenced by the presence of a border and a continuous shift of influences between English control and Scottish control. My great-grandmother Euphemia was born near Stirling in the early 1900s. She emigrated to Canada where she ended up meeting and falling in love with my great-grandfather, an Englishman from the south-west. The beauty of moving to new places is that they’d have never met if they’d both stayed in Britain and then I wouldn’t be here. 

While all of Scotland's folklore fascinates me, I begin with the lowland region because of the symbolism contained in the folk beliefs there and the challenges and trauma of living in a disputed border zone. I also feel a kinship not only to Lothian’s past, but the sense of conflicted roots. 

I guess for now, I’m a mother who is fascinated by the 13th and 14th century of Scotland and the character of Thomas the Rhymer and all the other historical figures his path crosses with—and it’s a lot! 

My goal with The Folklore Forum Academy courses is to help you fall in love with this time and space too.