of France or Germany as regards its greater ease of interpretation due to the historical conditions which have determined its present form, an equally favourable comparison may be made in the case of lands like Scandinavia and Russia, the folklore of which in other respects is richer than our own.[1] For they lack that mixture of races, and to a far greater extent than we, that conflict and super-imposition of cultures, which afford such admirable opportunities for the isolation of folklore facts and the discrimination of their true character. If it be of moment to trace the influence of race upon folklore, we must obviously begin our investigation where diverse races have been in contact and conflict, and where we can study the result upon the still existing population.
The considerations I have enumerated concern the methodological side of our study, and may be said to amount to no more than this: if an inhabitant of Saturn visited this earth and became smitten with noble enthusiasm for the problems of folklore, he would find it profitable to start his investigations in Britain. But the geography and history of our islands have had other and more important effects than the relative facility yielded to the folklorist and the greater chance of solving the problems which fascinate him. If we regard European folklore as a whole we can discern with certainty four great influences, that of Greco-Latin classic antiquity, and those of the Celtic-, the Germanic-, the Slavonic-speaking peoples respectively. The last (the Slavonic influence) may be left out of account, as it entered too late into the general current of European culture to modify the other elements I have named. As regards the first, Britain is, of course, far inferior to the Mediterranean peninsulas, or even to Southern Gaul, in the extent and variety of the material it has
- ↑ To prevent misapprehension, I wish to emphasise that I recognise the superior richness of Scandinavian and Slavonic folklore over that of the English-speaking portions of our isles.
