• “When an American is Drunk he Brags; and when a Welshman is Drunk he Sings”: American identity and the celebration of Welshness in Wirt Sikes’s British Goblins (1880)

    Author(s):
    Adam Coward (see profile)
    Date:
    2013
    Subject(s):
    Folklore, National characteristics, Wales, United States, Nineteenth century, History
    Item Type:
    Article
    Tag(s):
    British Goblins, Drink, folklore, national identity, transnational, United States, Wales, Welsh, Wirt Sikes
    Permanent URL:
    https://doi.org/10.17613/st2m-pg17
    Abstract:
    Wirt Sikes, the United States consul to Cardiff from 1876–1883, wrote several articles and books about Wales and the Welsh during his time there. Among these is a notable work of folklore, entitled British Goblins: Welsh Folk-lore, Fairy Mythology, Legends and Traditions (1880), which examines various accounts of Welsh fairies, spirits, and popular pastimes. In this work, Sikes displays a sense of American identity and writes from an American perspective, often evoking American examples to which he compared Welsh customs and beliefs. However, he also demonstrates a veneration and celebration of Wales and Welshness, often excusing or responding to potential criticism of the Welsh and even, at one point, presenting an idyllic view of the Welsh in drink despite his deep temperance sensibilities. This article examines the way in which the work was informed by, and consequently reflects, both Sikes’s American experience and nationality and his love of Wales and Welsh culture, particularly folk-culture. As such it investigates the interaction of Welsh and American perspectives and culture in a work which is not so much “Welsh-American” as “American-Welsh”.
    Notes:
    Originally Published Open Access Online, but the journal is no longer available and the URL has been taken over by another site.
    Metadata:
    xml
    Published as:
    Journal article     Show details
    Pub. Date:
    2013
    Journal:
    North American Journal of Welsh Studies
    Volume:
    XIII
    Page Range:
    30 - 49
    Status:
    Published
    Last Updated:
    4 months ago
    License:
    Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike
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