Desperate father or murderous fool? The genesis of one migratory legend of poverty, fecundity and multiple birth

Davies, Sarah J.

Abstract

© 2016, © The Society for Folk Life Studies 2016. This study explores attitudes expressed in one specific Devon legend, concerning the multiple birth of seven children, as it was told in early seventeenth-century England. A diachronic study of related Western European narratives offers fresh insights. These earlier legends reveal how certain elements were discarded whilst others were retained within this migratory tale. The focal point of this story evolves over time from the medieval stigma attached to multiple births and towards the relationship between faith, fate, family size and household economics.

Citation

Davies, S. J. (2016). Desperate father or murderous fool? The genesis of one migratory legend of poverty, fecundity and multiple birth. Folk Life, 54(2), 81-97. https://doi.org/10.1080/04308778.2016.1227663

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Aug 20, 2016
• Online Publication Date: Oct 21, 2016
• Publication Date: Oct 21, 2016
• Deposit Date: Oct 6, 2016
• Publicly Available Date: Apr 21, 2018
• Journal: Folk Life
• Print ISSN: 0430-8778
• Electronic ISSN: 1759-670X
• Publisher: Maney Publishing
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 54
• Issue: 2
• Pages: 81-97
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/04308778.2016.1227663
• Keywords: multiple birth, septuplets, infanticide, Devon legend, local legend, migratory legends
• Public URL: https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/905389
• Publisher URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/04308778.2016.1227663
• Additional Information: Additional Information : This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in Folk Life on 21 October 2016, available online: http://www.tandfonline.com/10.1080/04308778.2016.1227663