"Have I Got a Monster for You!": Some Thoughts on the Golem,The X-Files and the Jewish Horror Movie

The figure of the golem, the Jewish "mud man," has persisted not only in folklore, but in popular culture as well; not only in Jewish tradition, but in Gentile too; it has inspired not only horror writers, but also scientists, who see in this legend a metaphor for humanity's quest for the creation of life. One particular variation of this story is the focus of this paper: in February 1997, Fox Television's highly acclaimed weekly television show The X-Files told the story of the golem, but with certain new features added. These additions annoyed a number of fans, and they expressed their concerns on the Internet newsgroup, alt.tv.x-files. Not all of the problems identified by these tuned-in vernacular theorists were errors, I think; instead, they point to a number of issues concerning the nature of "monstrosity" and "horror." In this case, those issues are framed within a Jewish context. This paper will begin with a brief overview of the legend of the golem, which, like most folk legends, exists in multiple forms. I hope to demonstrate that The X-Files episode should be regarded as one further variant of this legend. I also outline the objections many of the show's fans had to that particular episode, specifically the variance between The X-Files version and Jewish tradition. Finally, I will say why I feel these "errors" are not mistakes, but perhaps operate to define the monstrous within Jewish culture. "Go ahead … make my mitzvah!" (Dennis Terrell, on alt.tv.x-files)     

George eliot as a type of European intellectual∗

The article examines the developments that made the legend of an Asian migration into Europe part of mainstream historiography during the eighteenth century. It was believed that the Norse god Odin was in fact a historical person, who had migrated from Asia to with the north of Europe with his tribe. The significance of this legend to how medieval poetry was received and debated in England has received little attention. The study falls into three sections. The first will trace the significance of the Odin migration legend in discovering Germanic cultural origins. The second section examines the impact of the legend on philological studies, primarily in establishing a new category: the Gothic (i.e. Teutonic/Germanic) poetic tradition. The final section will focus on the debate between two of the most important eighteenth-century pioneers of vernacular poetic tradition: Thomas Percy and Thomas Warton. Their discussion over whether the Asian foundation of Germanic (and thereby English) tradition had paved the way for later Arabian influences is instructive, as it shows how Eastern “others” were negotiated in the discovery of cultural and national roots.     

云象、望气、矿藏:“金马碧鸡”传说的生成过程

"金马碧鸡"是我国西南地区重要的地方传说。关于"金马碧鸡"传说的由来,以往研究者提出的自然现象说、矿产说虽有合理之处,但忽略了地理环境和西汉社会动因对该传说的塑造作用,未能解析这一传说的形成轨迹。笔者从多维贯通的视角出发,研究认为:云南大姚一带山区的云象奇观和丰富的铜、碧矿藏资源是该传说生成的基础,在西汉"崇祥重祀"的社会背景下,望气之术则成为贯通二者的思想纽带,并将之解释为一种"金碧其质、鸡马其形",代表金玉之气的祥瑞吉兆。     

Collecting Material Folklore: Motivations and Methods in the Owen and Hasluck Collections

As contributor to the mistakenly conceptualised concept of “belief legend,” I want to survey the historical antecedents and the circumstances that at a certain stage prompted researchers to identify this category, formerly classified as mythical or demonological legend. This was the time when legend scholars began field-collection, experiencing the profound attachment of narratives to living local folk religion. After decades of meticulous field observation, which has led to the accumulation of a more dependable stock of legendry from diverse national, subcultural, occupational groups, it becomes clear that folk belief is a part of any legend, therefore there is no need to maintain the term “belief legend.” Belief is the stimulator and the purpose of telling any narrative within the larger category of the legend genre; it is also the instigator of the legend dialectic. The current confusion caused by the whimsical application of terms such as “truth,” “rationality,” “belief,” and “believability” in scholarly legend interpretations, should caution us to avoid making biased, outsider's judgements instead of presenting the viewpoint of tellers and audiences.     

“天鹿锦”或“麒麟补”

本文以故宫博物院藏织绣珍品《纳纱天鹿图》卷为研究对象,修正了乾隆帝命名为"天鹿锦"的错误解读,并从纹样、品名和工艺方面提出补充认识,指出明代的"天鹿"亦称"麒麟",明代麒麟多作长颈鹿形状,而此件文物本应为一件麒麟补子。     

Proto-Israelite Mythopoeics. A Perspective from Neuroscience on the Book of Joshua

This article contends that the Deuteronomic‐1 legend of the book of Joshua was formed into its mythical cyclical form through a process of oral transmission. As the oral stories told about an original source event were transformed into a community story it began to take on a liturgical form. This article explains the neuropsychological aspects of this natural process and also highlights how the cultural shift in the 12th century B.C.E. preserved the form of the Deuteronomic‐1 legend.     

Anchors in a Three-Decker World

This paper focuses on anchors as links between two worlds. It examines medieval legends first, starting with mirabilia which link ships in the sky to the earth, then goes on to study those legends which link the surface of the sea to a submarine world. In tracing the evolution and interrelationships of these sets, the pivotal legend is shown to be one in which a man is lured to a submarine monastery. The remainder of the paper focuses on modern accounts of similar legends. Those involving ships in the sky and cloudland themes are instanced first. After a brief look at legends of anchors blocking submarine fairy paths, the final section takes up the lining theme in the modern context. The emphasis here is on a legend localised in Kerry in which a woman from the sea uses an anchor to trap her man.     

Performing race and gender: the exoticization of Josephine Baker and Anna May Wong

Josephine Baker and Anna May Wong are two exceptions to white hegemony in early show business. They became the first Afro-American and Chinese-American stars in the 1920s and reached international stardom in spite of their ethnicity but also because of it. Their careers and success were based on their exoticization. Baker and Wong's exoticism has much to do with ethnicity, but also with sex and gender. Their exotic dances on stage or on screen can be considered to be forms of erotic shows. This article shows how sex, gender, and race are entangled in their movies and burlesque shows. It also discusses the ways in which the agency and the audience of the performer should be taken into account, and analyzes how these performances were both rooted in Western imaginative geographies and connected to symbolic and material spaces.     

‘A Young Tory’? The Early Parliamentary Career of Charles James Fox 1768–74

This article seeks to redress the neglect, even by his biographers, of Fox's early career, when he made over 250 speeches in the house of commons in six years. The period when young Fox supported government was an inappropriate prelude to his later fame as opponent of Prime Minister Pitt and champion of ‘liberal causes’. He was anything but a ‘man of the people’ in his authoritarian attitude and detestation of popular opinion, and yet there were signs that he would not be an administration man in the mould of his father, Henry Fox.     

民间的“正统”:明清时期姜太公风物传说的时空结构

姜太公的传说存在两种类型,一种是"役神"类传说,另一种是风物传说,两种类型来自不同传统。明清时期姜太公传说发生了重要变化,"役神"传说伴随明初礼仪改革经过从"礼"到"俗"的转变,逐渐发展为"封神"传说。然而,对明代姜太公传说的历史地理统计却显示,风物传说中几乎没有"役神"情节。在普通百姓尤其是渔民的想象中,姜太公"渔夫"形象突出。免课一说依托姜太公的图像,在明代江南渔户中流传。清代,两种传说类型融合,并形成了新的传说结构和"家神"信仰。围绕文字、图像和家宅讲述的风物传说成为新的民间"正统"。     

新密市古城寨龙山古城的族属及相关地理问题

位于河南省新密市境内的古城寨古城是近年来发现的一座中原地区目前面积最大、墙体保存最好的龙山时代城址。古城寨一带为传说中的祝融之墟,亦黄帝所居轩辕之丘。传说中的黄帝集团中的大隗氏极有可能曾在此地筑城,故当地有一夜“鬼”修城的传说。该传说正反映了黄帝集团与祝融集团在相互通婚的基础上逐步走向融合的历史事实。     

“长于姜水”、“都陈”与“葬于长沙”——炎帝传说流衍途径考察

在炎帝传说流衍的过程中,逐渐形成其"长于姜水"、"都陈"与"葬于长沙"的说法。诸说之间似乎缺乏必然的联系,但均有历史与文化的渊源。早在先秦时期,炎帝传说在东、西方流传之时,亦有缘起于南方说流行。随着东汉后期"三皇五帝"系统整合工作的完成,以及魏晋时期以现实生活中的帝王为标准,对传说中古帝王的生平事迹、都城、陵墓所在等关键环节的再次整合,尽管依旧保留着相当浓郁的传说色彩,然而炎帝的人格化倾向却日益凸现,这是古代帝王传说演变过程中一个值得关注的历史文化现象。"姜水"、"陈"与"长沙",似乎可以被理解为炎帝传说流衍过程中三个重要的地理标志,各地不同的炎帝传说借此得以整合,最终形成一个与黄帝并称的华夏民族始祖形象。     

"A man among men": gender, identity and power in South Africa's Marashea gangs

This article explores gender and power relations in a South African criminal society through an examination of the legend surrounding a prominent leader. Tseule Tsilo achieved a degree of notoriety in South Africa in the 1960s and 1970s. Tsilo's legend lives on in the lore of the Marashea, the criminal organisation to which he belonged. However, rather than being embraced by the entire Marashea, Tsilo is a hero only to men. The legend was created, and is sustained, by men and for men, a discursive development that mirrors the gendered nature of power within the Marashea.     

John Patrick Sarsfield's Santa Clara: an addendum

It was a pleasure for this writer to see the two articles in IJNA , 21.4 , on John Sarsfield's Santa Clara , after following the field work that led to it, and providing many of the documentary sources from 1983. John had contacted me through the kind offices of Ruth Baker [widow of W. A. (Bill) Baker; she died last year] and I would like to record our indebtedness to that charming and knowledgeable lady, who took such interest in any extension of her husband's work. Sarsfield's work was so important that comments are here offered on the two papers (Carrell, 1992; Nance, 1992).     

THE LAST WORD ON THE GOLDEN FLEECE LEGEND?

Summary. Evidence is discussed for the three theories on the origins of the Golden Fleece legend. That the epithet 'golden'referred to fine wool, because of its value, is thought to be not incompatible with the view that fleeces were used to collect gold particles from streams. That the fleece was yellow is unlikely since such discoloration is a wool fault, but it is just possible that 'golden' might refer to genetically 'tan' fibres.     

The Golden Cradle Quest: Internationalizing a Contemporary Legend

This article analyses the popular Crimean legend ‘The Golden Cradle Quest’. The article examines its transformation from an ancient folk legend to a widespread contemporary legend which mixes two different traditions: Western stories about the Holy Grail and Crimean legends about the Golden Cradle. Finally, the article traces how these legends have reached a global audience.     

Towards a Revaluation of the Legend of “Saint” William of Norwich and its Place in the Blood Libel Legend

The legend of William of Norwich is extremely well known and often quoted in discussions of defamatory folklore. However, since I started working on it three or four years ago I have found that there are surprisingly few folkloric analyses. Leaving aside those who have attempted to believe the story and to use it as anti-Jewish propaganda, most of the respectable work has been done by historians and has tended to concentrate either on debunking the legend or on attempting to reconstruct events in Norwich during Easter 1144. My aim in this paper is to redress this balance and tackle a couple of the more folkloric questions.     

Glastonbury Abbey: Archaeological Investigations 1904–79

Abstract

Netley Abbey began to attract visitors in the 18th century, of whom John Milner was amongst the first to leave an account of the ruins. Certain carvings he saw in the south transept led him to suppose that Richard Fox, bishop of Winchester (1501–28), had been a benefactor to the abbey church. Subsequent historians then followed Milner's supposition. This paper refutes Fox's patronage and reveals the true identity of the patron of Netley. It discusses the nature of the patron's gift to the abbey church and how his friendship with William Paulet, who was granted Netley after the Dissolution, preserved it. The article concludes by presenting details of some of the carved imagery from Netley that survives and other remains recorded in the 19th century which may have formed part of the final phase of building and ornamentation of the abbey church prior to its dissolution.     

上博简《容成氏》九州补论

上博简《容成氏》所记九州极有可能是战国时期发生于今黄河下游鲁地一带自成一系的古老传说。由于传说受地域的影响,其所记州名、州域与传世文献同中有异。不加分析地以传世文献州名、州域相比附,显然是不科学的。     

The Holy Thorn Ceremony: Revival,Rivalry and Civil Religion in Glastonbury

This study examines the chapbook tales of Tom Thumb and Jack the Giant-Killer. The earliest recorded forms of these stories are discussed and it is contended that the common dismissal of their Arthurian elements as unimportant background—Arthur's Britain as a variant of “Once upon a time”—is unhelpful. Rather, both arguably embody and illustrate important points about the nature of the Arthurian legend in an era in which interest in this had declined considerably. It is suggested that the Arthurian element in Tom Thumb is, while not central, significant, and that it is best viewed in the context of an established pattern of development and expansion of the international Arthurian cycle that meets the needs and interests of different audiences. Jack the Giant-Killer, in contrast, seems to owe a noteworthy debt to the Arthur of Welsh and/or Cornish folklore rather than to the roi fainéant of the international legend, perhaps reflecting the decline in importance of the latter since the time of the The History of Tom Thumbe (1641).