Robert Hunt's Collection "Popular Romances of the West of England, Or the Drolls, Traditions, and Superstitions of Old Cornwall" in the Context of Victorian Medievalism

Our thesis is dedicated to analyzing Robert Hunt's collection Popular Romances of the West of England, or, The Drolls, Traditions, and Superstitions of Old Cornwall. Robert Hunt was interested in myriads of fields, for instance, geology, photography, antiques, poetry, literature and, in particular, folklore. The book was created during the reign of Queen Victoria, namely, during Victorian medievalism and published several times: the first edition was in 1865, the second edition in 1871. The third edition was the most popular and was reprinted in 1881, 1896, 1901, 1903, 1908 and 1923. The collection tells about giants, fairies, mermaids, demons, ghosts, sacred wells, King Arthur, witchcraft, old customs, popular superstitions related to diseases, birth and death. The plots presented in Hunt's collection are direct evidence of the revival of interest in medievalism. In this regard, the purpose of the research is to study Robert Hunt's collection in the context of Victorian Medievalism. To achieve this, we will pay attention to medievalism and its embodiment in the collection.