Wednesday, July 8, 2015

Reviewing A Folklore Calendar

Desk Calendar For The Word Lover And Folklore Enthusiast

Not only am I a fan of the folklore of the world but I also like to stay organized so one of my favorite calendars is Forgotten English.

I enjoy keeping my tasks in check each day but I also love the words which have vanished from our vocabularies that are given to me on a daily basis. Yes, I'll admit I am kind of a time management junkie but I guess that I am also a word junkie. Since I read a lot of historical fiction, sometimes these calendars have come to the rescue when I wasn't sure what a word meant. Besides getting the definition, I also got an explanation of why the word was used and how it came about being a part of language in the first place.

Take the word "fragor" for instance. It means a strong or sweet scent. From the explanation I would guess that just about any human being in rural Britain during medieval times would have had quite a strong and nasty fragor about them. You see, many folks reserved one day a year for their annual bath. That is right! They bathed once a year whether they needed it or not! Ewwww! Tradition at the time was to have that bath on the first Saturday of June which was the day before Sweetening Day when many a couple were wed. Some historians believe that King Henry VIII was bathed when he was born and not again until he died.

That is one of the things that I love about this calendar each year! I get an archaic word but I also learn about the culture of the peoples who used that word in their daily lives.

An instance of a word that really hasn't disappeared from use but is just spelled differently now, is the word gaol. Often times when reading a book that is a fictional story taking place in an era long past we will run across this word. A person might have gone to gaol or someone might go talk to the gaoler. We spell this word jail today. It is pronounced the same just spelled differently. Now, isn't that just fascinating?

If you are a lover of trivia, folklore and words in general; I do believe you will enjoy this desk calendar. It might also be something to think of as a gift for someone on your list that enjoys these topics. What a great idea for a gift for an English teacher! Don't you think?




  1. Bev This calendar sounds really interesting. Love the examples you give...can't imagine the once a year baths!

  2. Thank you Mary Beth! I'm wondering how old King Henry ever got any of those wives to marry him, he must have had quite the fragor about him and I'm guessing it wasn't sweet!

  3. What a fun way to start each day! The "Ewwww" is exactly what I was thinking about the baths once a year. Plus, if they all bathed on the same day, where? In the local lake, river or stream? And all at the same time? Major ewwww!!! I wouldn't want to drink the water for at least a month. I can't even imagine only one bath in a lifetime. I feel like I need a bath just talking about it!

    It does sound like a fascinating calendar and would make a great gift!

    1. Some had a tub that they used for that annual bath which brought the saying, "Don't throw the baby out with the bath water." The babes were one of the last to get the bath....all the family bathed in the same water so by the time the babe was washed that water was pretty darned murky!

  4. I'm a word fan too, Bev. This looks like a fascinating calendar.

    1. It really is, Elf! I think you would enjoy it.

  5. Very interesting calendar and what a wonderful gift idea for those who enjoy reading historical fiction! Love the artwork on the box. Fun review - love your examples!

  6. Love this idea for a calendar, educational for the family as well! I would certainly choose this one!

  7. Thank goodness for showers is all I have to say!

  8. What an interesting calendar idea!. That's quite a story about Henry VIII. I wonder if his wives smelled any better than he did. I think back then they considered bathing unhealthy. I'll bet there are a lot of other interesting things to learn in this calendar.


The Review This Contributors

Lou16Lou16The Savvy AgeThe Savvy AgeTreasures by BrendaTreasures by BrendaMargaret SchindelMargaret SchindelBuckHawkBuckHawkDecoratingforEventsDecorating
Heather426Heather426Coletta TeskeColetta TeskeMissMerFaeryMissMerFaeryMickie_GMickie_G


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