The folklore of the British Isles includes that of four countries England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales as well as the folklore of Cornwall, in England. In this folklore, two outstanding influences are apparent, the Anglo-Saxon and the Celtic. The influence of Anglo-Saxon culture is seen in the English folktales. The Old English epic 'Beowulf' also represents the influence of the Anglo-Saxons. The Celtic influence is most clearly apparent in the long, romantic fairy tales of Scotland, Ireland, and Wales (see Celts).
Even a brief survey of English, Scottish, and Irish folktales reveals the wealth and variety of stories these folk literatures offer to the storyteller. In England there are the nursery classics for little children. There are the drolls, whose plots evolve from some act of stupidity or cunning. In Scotland there are the folk and fairy tales of goblins and witches, of bogeys and kelpies, of the mermen and mermaids who dwell in a strange land beneath the sea. From Scotland also comes the brownie, a lovable creature who is kindly disposed toward people if he is well treated but capable of mischief if ill treated. In Ireland and Wales there are the folktales as well as the stories of enchantment.
IRISH CYCLES.
From Ireland come three cycles of storytelling. The first of these is legendary, or mythological, and is called the epic of Tuatha De Danann (the people of the goddess Dana). The stories included in this cycle form a legendary history of the peoples that invaded and populated Ireland. Since Cuchulain is the chief character of the second cycle, it is known as the Cuchulain, or Red Branch, Cycle. The third, the Fenian Cycle, is romantic and Fionn is the central hero. (See also Irish Literature.)
The Irish themselves have selected three stories from these cycles as the most beautiful in their literature and have grouped them under the title 'The Three Sorrows of Storytelling'. Two of these, 'The Children of Lir' and 'The Fate of the Children of Tuireann', are from the first cycle. The third, 'The Fate of the Sons of Usnach', or 'Deirdre', belongs to the second cycle.
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