Specific words, it was said, should not be uttered on a ship – unsurprisingly, all mention of pigs, hares, and the clergy were frowned upon – while the word ‘spoiling’ was often used in place of ‘drowning’.
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Certain animals were also a bad omen – to some, finding a hare, pig or pigeon on board meant the voyage was cursed from the very beginning, and might leave some sailors loath to set out at all.
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Both women and priests on board ship were seen as
tempting fate, and the ship would be seen as destined for disaster.
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A sailor from north-east Scotland setting out from
home on the morning of a voyage, would turn back to his house instantly on meeting a priest, or a woman with either red hair or a squinting eye, to begin the journey again. #FolkloreThursday #TreasuryOfBritishFolklore
Monk’s Well in #Wavertree, #Liverpool, bears an inscription from 1414, relating the local legend that all travellers must give alms at the local monastic building when drinking from the well or, should they not, a devil chained at the bottom would laugh. #TreasuryOfBritishFolklore #FolkloreThursday
Don't forget!
'Christmas decorations should be taken down before #TwelfthNight – either 5 January or 6 January – or bad luck will follow, although originally it was acceptable to leave them up until Candlemas, on 2 February.'
#TreasuryOfBritishFolklore https://amzn.to/3zjP1vK
