J is for Juliana (Women's Epics A to Z)

This year my theme for the A to Z Blogging Challenge is Women's Epics. My goal was to read 26 traditional epics from around the world that have women as their heroes. Because epics like this do exist, and they are fascinating! Read the intoduction post here.

CW: Torture

Juliana
England

Juliana is a 9th century Old English epic poem telling the story of St. Juliana of Nicomedia. It is attributed to a poet named Cynewulf. It was preserved almost complete, with only one page missing, and published with comments by Rosemary Woolf. For a modern English translation, I used this site. The introduction to Woolf's edition talks about the linguistic intricacies of the poem as well as the dating, and points out that the poet knowlingly imitated the style of the epic Beowulf. The translator also discusses how the Anglo-Saxon poet changed the saint's existing legend to fashion it more to the taste of his own audience - with villains more evil, characters more black and white, and punishments more severe. Therefore, while the legend itself is not typically Anglo-Saxon, the way of retelling the story is; to the point where the characters are treated as characters from heroic legends. It also uses language that is reminiscent of old sagas.

What is it about?

TL;DR: Juliana, a Christian virgin, refuses to marry a pagan man, therefore she is tortured and eventually killed. However, before her death she fights a devil and beats it into submission.

Young Juliana is promised by her father to a wealthy pagan man named Eleusius, who greatly desires her. She, however, is Christian, wants to stay a virgin, and publicly declares that she would only marry if her suitor was Christian too. Eleusius is angered, and her father gives Juliana over to him to do as he pleases. Eleusius tries to convince her to sacrifice to the pagan gods and marry him. When she repeatedly refuses, he tortures her to get what he wants, but she doesn't break. He then locks her into a cell. 

In prison, a devil visits Juliana disguised as an angel, trying to talk her into avoiding death and torture by giving up her faith. Juliana prays to God, and she is told to grab the devil and make him confess his true nature. So she does. Unfortunately, the actual fights scene is the part that is missing from the folio. But somehow Juliana overcomes the devil, who confesses all the evil he had done before, and also explains his methods of corrupting people, before he begs for mercy.

The next day Juliana is brought up from prison, and she drags the devil along in chains, showing him off before she finally sets him free. Another part is missing, but the point is that they put Juliana on a pyre to burn, however, an angel puts out the flames. They then set a cauldron of lead to boil and throw her in it - but while the splashing lead burns everyone around, she is still unharmed. Eleusius then orders her to be stabbed with a sword.

At this point the devil shows up again, singing mocking songs about Juliana... but as she turns and gives him a look, he panics and flees. Juliana is led to a place of execution where she preaches to the crowds, and accepts her death. Soon after, Eleusius and his people are shipwrecked on an ocean voyage and they all drown. The story ends with an epilogue by the poet who expresses hope that people will recite the song and remember his name.

The highlights

The poem begins with a very effective and epic introduction to the dark times when the emperor persecuted Christians. "Fiend-ship was aroused, heaving up heathen idols and slaying the holy, breaking the book-crafty and burning the chosen, terrifying the champions of God with spear and flame."

I am really sad that we are missing the part where Juliana actually fights the devil. I am sure it was epic. But from later lines we can surmise that she wrestles him, beats him, and binds him in chains - "battle-bold beyond all woman-kind." He also complains later that her treatment is "excessive punishment," and that over centuries no prophets or kings dared to treat him like this.

(World's smalles violin plays in the background)

I also enjoyed the part there the subdued devil tried to explain to Juliana that he was just following orders (given by his father, the King of Hell). "We are sad-minded, frightened in spirit— He is not a merciful lord, but a terrifying prince. If we have not done anything evil, we dare not afterwards come anywhere near his presence." He then describes how he would be tortured if didn't do what he was told (corrupting humans). The part where he describes the psychological warfare against the faithful is also pretty on point.

JULIANA IS A CHRISTIAN SAINT, BUT THIS POEM ECHOES OLD LEGENDS OF WARRIOR-HEROES.

Can you guess what, or who, Juliana is the patron saint of?

Tarot Tales: I is for Illusion (The Moon)

Welcome to the 2021 A to Z Blogging Challenge! My theme this year is Tarot Tales. I am making a selection of folktales, legends, and other traditional stories that correspond to tarot cards. Storytelling and tarot go well together. Do other stories come to mind? Let me know in the comments!

The card: The Moon

Meanings: The Moon is a card of shadowy things, things that can't quite be seen. It is about anxiety, deception, and foreboding. But it is also about intuition, illusions, mystery, and hidden truths. It is about things not always being what they seem; about caution, fearing the unknown, and moving through uncertain times. Through the role of the Moon in folklore, it is connected to ritual and divine guidance.

Selection process: Despite all the millions of tales about the Moon out there, this one was an easy choice. From the moment I first read about the Moon card, this was the story that immediately came to mind. 

The story: The Buried Moon

Origin: England

Summary: The Moon decides to come down to earth one night to see all the things her light protects people from. Whenever she shines in the sky, she chases away the Things that live in the bogs and marshlands and threaten people in the dark. As she walks around the bog, she slips into a pool and gets caught by the creatures. While she struggles, a mortal man comes along, and to warn him of the danger, the Moon throws back her hood and shines her light around. The man escapes, but the Moon remains trapped. Before the sun rises, the Things roll a big rock over her to keep her from returning to the sky.

When the Moon remains lost for several nights, people begin to worry. What will happen to then at night if her light never returns? Eventually the man who escaped the bog tells the others about the light he'd seen. Following a wise woman's advice people set out into the bog to find and rescue the Moon. They do so together, and the Moon flies back to the sky, chasing the Things away with her radiant light. 

Sources & notes: Read the story here, or the more archaic text here.

Have you ever walked in moonlight at night? What is your favorite thing about the moon?

Forests full of forgotten folktales (Following folktales around the world 89. - England)

Today I continue the blog series titled Following folktales around the world! If you would like to know what the series is all about, you can find the introduction post here. You can find all posts here, or you can follow the series on Facebook!

I could not get access to any collections that cover all parts of the UK in one volume, so I decided to do them separately.
 

Forgotten Folk-tales of the English Counties
Ruth L. Tongue
Routledge, 1970.

This book instantly became one of my all-time favorite folktale collections; it is full of enchanting and unknown stories. Ruth Tongue's vast folklore collection burned down in 1966, after which she began to salvage what she could, by writing stories down from memory, and copying scorched pieces of paper. Some of these had been sent to her before and she did not even have time to read them, so it was a close call for them to be lost forever. Luckily, we now have them printed in this book, and they are a treasure trove!
The book contains 90 stories, grouped into three parts of 6 sections each. The sections are thematic (e.g. "Ghosts and Curses", "Witches and Evil Spirits," or "Rhozzums"). Each story comes with sources and notes, and there is a list of them compiled by county.

Highlights

I found a lot of new favorites. I fell in love with The Vixen and the Oakmen, where trees and plants helped a fox get away from hunters and home to her husband. I encountered again the Elder Tree Witch, a fascinating and creepy story that I also included in my own book. Trees kept popping up in many of the best stories: Timbertoes and Silvertoes was about the friendship of an oak and a birch, The Wonderful Forest saved a girl from an evil king hunting her, and the Green Ladies of One Tree Hill punished two men who cut them down. There were many tales about apple trees specifically; they were often protected by fairies, or fairy horses (Lazy Lawrence) from greedy people.

Several stories that featured helpful animals. I loved the Wee Little Tyke, a tiny black dog that was adopted by a family and defended them fiercely from the curses of a witch. A little boy was helped by a donkey, a cat, and a dog to rescue her baby sister who had been taken through The Fairies' Mist Gate (lovely Christmas story, by the way). A mother was also helped by a horse, a hound, and a lap dog (!) in the fight against a Grim to save her daughter. In Food and fire and company a little old lady was helped by an invisible being around the house.
There were some stories that almost brought me to tears. Next to the wee little tyke, such a story was Poor Mall's Pilgrimage, the sad tale of a girl sold to a lord for a night, and then bullied mercilessly by her village. Eventually a strong and brave priest came along that protected her from the villagers, and carried her on his back to see her baby boy who'd grown up to be the bishop of Canterbury.

There were some ancient tales in the book too, such as one about the Wild Hunt, summoned unwittingly by a boy who blew into Herne's Horn. Or the Dragon of Solway, killed by people who dug stakes into the beach at low tide, and impaled the monster; a story that appears in indigenous traditions around the world. Dragons featured into a few stories, among them the one that got banished not once, but twice - first, by a monk on Winlatter Rock, and second, by Thee Valiant Lads who chased it into the Blue John Mines (this is how I found the book in the first place).
There were many other supernatural beings included in the book - quiet, deepwater mermaids (Asrai), the legendary Black Dog, it's cousin the Dog of the Hills, second cousin the Daisy Dog (actually a Pekingese), Black Annis the blue-faced hag, the Shuck, water ponies (shoopiltee), and fair folk under dozens of names (grig, boggarty, silky, etc.).
Even Robin Hood appeared in one story. We are in England, after all...

Connections

The story of the Seven Swans took an unexpected turn: One was wounded by a hunter, turned into a girl, and was carried away by him - but when she recovered, she turned back into a swan, chased him out of the house, and her swan sisters drowned him (just sayin'). The tale of the Cheshire cheese that went to heaven after rolling away from the priest and dividing itself among the needy reminded me of all the rolling pancake / gingerbread man tales.
Ruth Tongue suggests that the In my pocket story was probably known to J. R. R. Tolkien. It is about the friendship of a dumb giant and a smart dwarf, the latter of which hides in the pocket of the former, and beats a wizard at a game of riddles.

Where to next?
Wales!

Teaching English has never been about grammar tests

I tell stories in English. I write (and publish) in English. I got a Fulbright Scholarship, and I am doing my PhD in the USA. I read books in English for fun. I watch TV shows in English. At this point, I am technically bilingual.
None of this would have happened, if I didn't have great English teachers.
Including my mother.

My mother never sat down with me to fill out grammar tests; she never made me practice Past Perfect, or Spanish conjugations in the afternoon. What she did was a lot more important, and a lot more effective than that: As I grew up I watched her, day after day, take honest enjoyment from using the language. I saw her with English books in her hand, reading for fun. I saw her watch TV shows and movies. I heard her sing along with English and Spanish songs, and she taught them to me too. And, most of all, I watched her prepare for all of her classes with incredible excitement, passion, and attention to detail.
She didn't make me learn the language - she made me LIKE the language.
And she does the same with her students.

Too many language teachers in Hungary think that language is about grammar. They make the students painfully fill out pages after pages of grammar tests and incomplete sentences - often explaining all the rules in Hungarian, and barely speaking English in class at all. This is due to our national system of "language certificates" that are based on tests, with a smaller oral component. The general belief is that once you have the grammar down pat, speaking will come easy (that is not how it works at all - people will stress out about perfect grammar, and rather not say anything they are not sure about). Hence, most English teachers regard anything that is not a workbook as a complete waste of time.
Things like singing.
Things like playing.
Things like watching TV shows together.
Things like riddles.
Things like tongue-twisters.
Things like reading Harry Potter.
Things like storytelling.

Things like a Creative English Contest.

My mother works for a bilingual vocational high school. In the past five years she has been organizing a regional English contest that fit her philosophy of teaching: It was supposed be, above all, FUN for the students. It was a kind of talent show where participants could sing, or tell stories, of perform scenes from a play, or even rap. There were cookies, and drinks, a general good mood, and multiple prizes. Not because of the "everyone gets a trophy" mentality - but because my mother understood that teenagers standing up in front of a crowd, performing creative work in a foreign language, and enjoying it, is one hell of an accomplishment in itself.
(An accomplishment that would even make most English teachers break out in hives, I might add)

This year, they decided to take the contest away from her. They said they will make it better. More respectful to the reputation of the school. They will have frontal audiences, sitting politely. No food, no drinks, no music, and, most of all, no English. There will be a hierarchy of winners, from best to worst. It will be great.

I have seen my mother, and her way of teaching, work wonders on highschoolers. They passed language exams with flying colors (to the endless surprise of Team Dry Grammar). I have seen many of them go on to scholarships, semesters abroad, or bilingual jobs, and I have read the emails they send her years later, when they finally realize how much of an advantage her teaching style has given them.
It is not about grammar.
It is not about Present Perfect.
It is not about Perfect at all.
It is about Self-confidence, Creativity, and Fun.

Some teachers will never understand  that. But the good ones do.