Beeton, A. and Tidman, L. (2021). A study in Cumbrian myth-making: new light on the Luck of Muncaster. Transactions of the Cumberland & Westmorland Antiquarian & Archaeological Society 21 (series 3). Vol 21, Bowness-on-Windermere: Cumberland & Westmorland Antiquarian & Archaeological Society. pp. 161-174. https://doi.org/10.5284/1090527.
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Title:
A study in Cumbrian myth-making: new light on the Luck of Muncaster
Issue:
Transactions of the Cumberland & Westmorland Antiquarian & Archaeological Society 21 (series 3)
The article recounts the development of the Luck of Muncaster as an object of legend from the 15th to the 21st centuries. The folkloric roots of the legend are traced, revealing origins in an oral tradition of talismanic objects with a noticeably Cumbrian connotation. The modern development of the legend is traced, juxtaposing the individual choices and tastes of the first Lord Muncaster with his wider cultural and political contexts, particularly the 18th century Gothic Revival. The article concludes with an appraisal of the development of the legend of the Luck in the 19th century and reviews new evidence from the letters of Walter Scott. The Luck of Muncaster is seen as both a generic Cumbrian legend and an idiosyncratic story.
