Oak Trees

This month's episode is all about oak trees. There are tales of black doves and thunder gods, superstitions to protect you from aging and lightning and an exploration into how oak trees can help give us a sense of belonging.  

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Sources

Ali Isaac, ‘Tree Lore in Irish Mythology: Guardians of the Five Provinces’ https://www.aliisaacstoryteller.com/post/tree-lore-in-irish-mythology-guardians-of-the-5-provinces

Cora Linn Daniels and C. M. Stevens, ‘Encyclopedia of Superstitions, Folklore and the Occult Sciences of the World.’ (2003).

Fergus Kelly, ‘Trees in Early Ireland’ https://www.forestryfocus.ie/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/Trees-in-Early-Ireland.pdf

Frances Carey, 'The Tree: Meaning and Myth' (2012).

Margaret Baker, Discovering the Folklore of Plants (2019).

Robinson, George W. (trans.) (1916). The Life of Saint Boniface by Willibald.

Trees for Life, Oak Mythology and Folklore, https://treesforlife.org.uk/into-the-forest/trees-plants-animals/trees/oak/oak-mythology-and-folklore/

Transcript

Come, cheer up, my lads, 'tis to glory we steer,

To add something new to this wonderful year;

To honour we call you, as freemen not slaves,

For who are so free as the sons of the waves?

Heart of Oak are our ships,

Heart of Oak are our men,

We always are ready: Steady, boys, Steady!

We'll fight and we'll conquer again and again.

Hello, welcome to the History and Folklore podcast, where we look at different folk beliefs through history and how these beliefs shape people’s perceptions of nature. Today we’re looking at the history and folklore behind Oak trees across Europe, but particularly focussing on Britain and Ireland.

Oaks are one of the oldest trees in Europe and have acquired a great deal of symbology over the centuries. One of the most enduring associations of oak is with lightning and has been the sacred tree of various gods associated with thunder and lightning including Thor and Zeus. In Ancient Greece one of the most ancient sacred sites was the oracle at Dodona, which had an oak tree at the heart of the sacred sanctuary dedicated to Zeus and may date back to the second century CE.

The priestesses at Dodona were called peleiades, meaning doves, as it was said the site was founded after a black dove appeared from Thebes and landed on an oak tree. The dove told people in human language that they must create a place of divination to zeus there. Herodotus theorised this tale was not about a literal dove, but likely recalled an Egyptian priestess who had been a handmaid at a temple of Zeus. The priestess was at one point taken to Dodona and began a shrine in her new residence, teaching divination once she learned enough of the local language. He theorised that the locals may have referred to her as ‘dove’ as her mother language to them may have sounded like a dove’s song, which seems a bit of a stretch to me, but may make more sense if you have a better understanding of Ancient greek attitudes and the ancient Egyptian language. The name dove was then repeated in the rete