William Barnes, the self-taught Dorset writer and poet, concisely described folklore in his 'fore-say' to Dorsetshire Folk-lore by John Symonds Udal as: 'Folklore, taken in broad meaning, is a body of home-taught lore, received by the younger folk from elder ones in common life, and in the forms of knowledge or faith, or mindskills and handskills'. William Barnes, born at Bagber in the Blackmore Vale on 22 February 1801, hoped he had 'done some little to preserve the speech of our forefathers' and was a great advocate of a pure speech. For example, using the suffixes of 'lore' and stead', ornithology becomes birdlore, pathology: painlore, geology: earthlore, astronomy: starlore, optics: lightlore, an aviary: a birdstead and a museum, a lorestead. None of these terms remain with us today, ... Read More
William Barnes, the self-taught Dorset writer and poet, concisely described folklore in his 'fore-say' to Dorsetshire Folk-lore by John Symonds Udal as: 'Folklore, taken in broad meaning, is a body of home-taught lore, received by the younger folk from elder ones in common life, and in ... Read More
