CHAPTER X

Difficulties of the Folklorist 556

The terrors of superstition and magic 557 The folklorist's activity no fostering of superstition 558 Folklore a portion of history 558 The difficulty of separating story and history 559 Arthur and the Snowdon Goidels as an illustration 559 Rhita Gawr and the mad kings Nynio and Peibio 560 Malory's version and the name Rhita, Ritho, Ryons 562 Snowdon stories about Owen Ymhacsen and Cai 564 Goidelic topography in Gwyned 566 The Goidels becoming Compatriots or Kymry 569 The obscurity of certain superstitions a difficulty 571 Difficulties arising from their apparent absurdity illustrated by the March and Labraid stories 571 Difficulties from careless record illustrated by Howells' Ychen Bannog 575 Possible survival of traditions about the urus 579 A brief review of the lake legends and the iron tabu 581 The scrappiness of the Welsh Tom Tit Tot stories 583 The story of the widow of Kittlerumpit compared 585 Items to explain the names Sìli Ffrit and Sìli go Dwt 590 Bwca'r Trwyn both brownie and bogie in one 593 That bwca a fairy in service, like the Pennant nurse 597 The question of fairies concealing their names 597 Magic identifying the name with the person 598 Modryb Mari regarding cheese-baking as disastrous to the flock 599 Her story about the reaper's little black soul 601 Gwenogvryn Evans' lizard version 603 Diseases regarded as also material entities 604 The difficulty of realizing primitive modes of thought 605