The Folklore Society
Learned society for the study of traditional vernacular culture.
The Folklore Society (FLS) is a registered charity under English law based in London, England, founded in 1878 to study traditional vernacular culture, including music, song, dance, drama, narrative, arts and crafts, customs and belief. Its foundation was prompted by a suggestion by Eliza Gutch in the pages of Notes and Queries, and its office is at 50 Fitzroy Street, London, home of the Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland.
- founded
- 1878
- location
- London, England
- field
- Folklore studies
- type
- Registered charity
- notable_publication
- Folklore (journal)
Lore & Background
The Folklore Society was founded in London in 1878, prompted by a suggestion from Eliza Gutch in Notes and Queries. William Thoms, who introduced the term folk-lore, and G. L. Gomme were instrumental in its formation. Early prominent members included Andrew Lang, Edwin Sidney Hartland, Alfred Nutt, William Alexander Clouston, Edward Clodd, and Gomme, later identified as the 'great team' in Richard Dorson's 1967 history. Charlotte Sophia Burne was the first woman to edit the society's journal and served as president from 1909 to 1911. Other notable members included Ethel Rudkin, author of Lincolnshire Folklore, and classicist Katherine Raleigh.
Reader's Guide
The Folklore Society has been central to the academic study of folklore in Britain since the late 19th century. Its journal, initially The Folk-Lore Record in 1878, evolved into Folklore, published quarterly with Taylor and Francis. The society also issues a newsletter, FLS News, since 1986. Its library, held at University College London, contains around 15,000 books and over 200 serial titles, with strengths in folk narrative and English, Irish, Scottish, and Welsh folklore, as well as substantial holdings of east European, Estonian, and Basque materials. The society's archives include papers of G. L. Gomme, Lady Gomme, T. F. Ordish, William Crooke, Henry Underhill, Estella Canziani, Denis Galloway, Barbara Aitken, Margaret Murray, and Katharine Briggs. The Katharine Briggs Award, an annual book prize established in 1982, honors notable works in folklore, with winners including Guy Beiner, Jack Zipes, Marina Warner, E. P. Thompson, Iona and Peter Opie, and Vladimir Propp. The Coote Lake Medal, named after Harold Coote Lake, is awarded for outstanding research and scholarship in folklore studies, with recipients including Mary MacLeod Banks, Iona and Peter Opie, and Ethel Rudkin.
Did You Know?
- The society was founded after a suggestion by Eliza Gutch in Notes and Queries.
- Charlotte Sophia Burne was the first woman to edit the society's journal and later served as president from 1909 to 1911.
- The Katharine Briggs Award has been given annually since 1982.
- The society's library holds around 15,000 books and is at University College London.
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