Fern Griffiths

As my game is going to base on the creatures of folklore I am going to start by exploring the different kinds of folklore specifically looking at the different folklore groups found throughout Europe.  European folklore has always been something that has interested me and while other cultures folklore has also been of interest, such as Japanese and Native American, as a British person I have more of a connection to the stories of European folklore as they are a part of my personal culture.

European Folklore itself is a large topic, spanning many cultures and languages and is most often split up and categorised by regional location and then further by country or culture.

Northern Europe

• British Folklore
  • English folklore
    • Anglo-Saxon paganism
  • Irish folklore
  • Scottish folklore
  • Welsh folklore
• Estonian folklore
• Finnish folklore
• Lithuanian folklore
• Scandinavian or Nordic folklore
  • Nordic paganism
• Celtic mythology
  • Matter of Britain
  • Irish folklore
  • Manx folklore
  • Hebridean mythology and folklore
  • Scottish folklore
  • Welsh folklore
• Dutch folklore
• German folklore
  • Germanic paganism

Western and Southern Europe

• Alpine folklore
• Spanish folklore
• French folklore
• Portuguese folklore
• Italian folklore
• Swiss folklore
• Folk Catholicism

Central and Eastern Europe

• Albanian folklore
• Hungarian folklore
• Montenegrin folklore
• Romanian folklore
• Slavic folklore
  • Polish folklore
  • Czech folklore
  • Russian folklore
  • Ukrainian folklore
  • Serbian folklore
  • Bulgarian folklore

While each country in these language groups may have specific or unique folklore to that nation, many of the countries share similar or identical folklore.  Certain themes and events are found throughout these different cultures such as the idea of a World Tree featuring in both Nordic and Slavic folklore and Mythology. This is because the languages throughout Europe all originated from the same source, a language called “Proto-Indo-European”(Britannica n.d.).  This language was likely spoken by nomadic herdsmen living in the area of what is now southwest Russia roughly between 3300 and 2600 BC and is the source for the similarities between the religious traditions and beliefs of the cultures descended from it (Ringe 2017).   The various wars and invasions of other countries which happened throughout Europe’s history has also resulted in the sharing of folklore and beliefs as people moved about Europe, talking their stories and culture with them.  These can be seen in Scotland which is heavily influenced by Nordic culture due to the colonised of Vikings during the 8th to the 15th centuries whose influence on peripheral Scotland, can still be seen today in the place names, language, genetics and other aspects of cultural heritage such as it’s folklore (Grydehøj 2013, Jamieson 2021). Many country’s folklore also feature the same, or similar creatures, under different names; for example, in Celtic and British folklore a house spirit that will aid the homeowner by doing chores in return for an offering of milk or food is called a Brownie, while in Norway they are called a Nisse, in Sweden a Tomte and in Finland, they are known as a Tontuu (Britannica n.d., Skandium n.d.).

The spread of Christianity during the European Middle Ages and the Early Modern period has a similar effect and resulted in a number of traditions and stories being shared by many European cultures.   Other tales, like that of Babba Yagga an old witch grandmother who lived in a house on chicken legs, is unique to Slavic folklore with there being no similar folktales being found in other cultures (World History n.d.).

European folklore is a common source of inspiration for video games and continues to be so with new games continually being influenced by the topic and an area that I will do further research into.  I will begin by looking at how existing video games use folklore as inspiration as well as choosing a specific area of European Folklore to base my game upon as the topic of European Folklore is too large a topic as a whole.  Once I have chosen a smaller, more specific area of folklore I will begin by doing in-depth research into the creatures found within the lore and use this to design the interactions and narrative of my game.

“There are so many mysteries that I once dismissed as mere stories. But the line between our myths and truth is fragile and blurry.”
Lara Croft – Tomb Raider (2013)

References:

BRITANNICA. n.d. “Brownie: English folklore” Britannica [online]. Available at: https://www.britannica.com/topic/brownie-English-folklore [accessed 8 February 2022].

BRITANNICA. n.d. “Flood Myth” Britannica [online]. Available at: https://www.britannica.com/topic/Proto-Indo-European-language [accessed 8 February 2022].

GRYDEHØJ, Adam. 2013. “Ethnicity and the origins of local identity in Shetland, UK—Part I: Picts, Vikings, Fairies, Finns, and Aryans”  Journal of Marine and Island Cultures, 2(1), 39-48

RINGE, Don. 2017. From Proto-Indo-European to Proto-Germanic. 2nd edn.  Oxford: OUP Oxford

JAMIESON, Teddy. 2021 “The Vikings in Scotland” The Herald Scotland [online]. Available at: https://www.heraldscotland.com/news/19660097.vikings-scotland/ [accessed 8 February 2022].

SKANDIUM. n.d. “Legends of the Tomte” Skandium [online]. Available at: https://www.skandium.com/blogs/news/legends-of-the-tomte [accessed 8 February 2022].

WORLD HISTORY. n.d. “Baba Yaga” World History [online]. Available at: https://www.worldhistory.org/Baba_Yaga/  [accessed 8 February 2022].

Games

Tomb Raider. 2013. Crystal Dynamics, Square Enix