The Welsh fairy tale, “Elidore,” is collected in Joseph Jacobs’ Celtic Fairy Tales (some editions) and in his More Celtic Fairy Tales (other editions). The name “Elidore,” or some form of it, was current close to the time of Henry Beauclerc. (Henry Beauclerc is Henry I of England.)”Elidore” may be a derivative of the name “Eleutherius,” which was the name of the bishop of Rome who sent Christian missionaries to England.
“The great forest near St. David’s” is the forest around the land or cathedral of St. David, in Wales. St. David is the patron saint of Wales. The “hips and haws” that Elidore eats in the forest are probably rose hips (wild roses) and hawthorn berries. I was wrong when I said that David, the “bishop of St. David’s,” lived between one and two hundred years after Elidore. It turns out that he really did hold office around the time of Henry Beauclerc.
“Udor” is Greek for “water.” “Hap” is not the Greek word for “salt.” The myth that the Britons were descended from Priam of Troy, and that London was New Troy, was important justification for their domination of Scotland, among other places.
The British say St. John as “Sinjin,” or some such thing. A. E. Cannon used this difference in pronunciation to make one character look silly in her book, Amazing Gracie. Alyssa Milano’s ex-husband is named Cinjun. [uncontrolled laughter]
Joseph Campbell gave a model of a hero’s quest in his book, The Hero with a Thousand Faces. For a look at some folktales that do not follow Campbell’s model, try Fearless Girls, Wise Women and Beloved Sisters: Heroines in Folktales from Around the World. An excellent example of a story that does follow Campbell’s model is Lloyd Alexander’s novel, The Remarkable Journey of Prince Jen.
“The Plain in the Prodigy,” an episode of the TV show, Bones, questioned the validity of religious proscriptions.
Jenna Woginrich wrote Made from Scratch: Discovering the Pleasures of a Handmade Life.
The music in this episode was provided by Music Alley from Mevio.
“Phantom Spaceman” is by THE VITAL MIGHT.
“Your Silence Betrays You” is by Mojave.
“Farmyard Rock n Roll” is by The Jackass-Penguin Show.