Editing England (section)

===Folklore===
{{Main|English folklore}}
[[File:The King joins the hands of Robin Hood and Maid Marian.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Robin Hood]] and [[Maid Marian]] with [[Richard I of England]]]]

English folklore developed over many centuries. Some of the characters and stories are present across England, but most belong to specific regions. Common folkloric beings include [[pixie]]s, [[giant (mythology)|giants]], [[elf|elves]], [[bogeymen]], [[troll]]s, [[goblin]]s and [[dwarf (mythology)|dwarves]]. While many legends and folk-customs are thought to be ancient, such as the tales featuring [[Offa of Angel]] and [[Wayland the Smith]],<ref name="keary">{{harvnb|Keary|1882|p=50}}.</ref> others date from after the Norman invasion. The legends featuring [[Robin Hood]] and his [[Merry Men]] of [[Sherwood Forest|Sherwood]], and their battles with the [[Sheriff of Nottingham]], are amongst the best-known of these.<ref>{{harvnb|Pollard|2004|p=272}}.</ref>

During the [[High Middle Ages]] tales originating from Brythonic traditions entered English folklore and developed into the [[Arthurian myth]].<ref name="woodbbc">{{cite news |last=Wood |first=Michael |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ancient/anglo_saxons/arthur_03.shtml |title=King Arthur, 'Once and Future King' |work=BBC News |access-date=16 September 2009}}</ref><ref name="higham1">{{harvnb|Higham|2002|p=25}}.</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Koch|2006|p=732}}.</ref> These were derived from [[Anglo-Norman language|Anglo-Norman]], Welsh and French sources,<ref name="higham1" /> featuring [[King Arthur]], [[Camelot]], [[Excalibur]], [[Merlin]] and the [[Knights of the Round Table]] such as [[Lancelot]]. These stories are most centrally brought together within [[Geoffrey of Monmouth]]'s {{Lang|la|[[Historia Regum Britanniae]]}} (''History of the Kings of Britain'').{{Efn|These tales may have come to prominence, at least in part, as an attempt by the Norman ruling elite to legitimise their rule of the British Isles, finding [[Anglo-Saxon]] history ill-suited to the task during an era when members of the deposed [[House of Wessex]], especially [[Edgar the Ætheling]] and his nephews of the Scottish [[House of Dunkeld]], were still active in the isles.<ref name=higham1 /><ref>{{harvnb|Lacy|1986|p=649}}.</ref> Also [[Michael Wood (historian)|Michael Wood]] explains; "Over the centuries the figure of Arthur became a symbol of British history – a way of explaining the matter of Britain, the relationship between the Saxons and the Celts, and a way of exorcising ghosts and healing the wounds of the past."<ref name=woodbbc />}}

Some folk figures are based on semi or actual historical people whose story has been passed down centuries.<ref>{{harvnb|Briggs|2004|p=26}}.</ref> On 5 November people celebrate [[Bonfire Night]] to commemorate the foiling of the [[Gunpowder Plot]] centred on [[Guy Fawkes]]. There are various national and regional folk activities, participated in to this day, such as [[Morris dancing]], [[Maypole dance|Maypole dancing]], [[Rapper sword]] in the North East, [[Long Sword dance]] in Yorkshire, [[Mummers Play]]s, [[bottle-kicking]] in Leicestershire, and [[Cooper's Hill Cheese-Rolling and Wake|cheese-rolling]] at [[Brockworth, Gloucestershire|Cooper's Hill]].<ref>{{harvnb|Withington|2008|p=224}}.</ref> There is no official national costume, but a few are well established such as the [[Pearly Kings and Queens]] associated with cockneys, the [[Queen's Guard|Royal Guard]], the [[Morris dance|Morris costume]] and [[Beefeater]]s.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/customs/questions/costume.html |publisher=Woodlands-Junior.kent.sch.uk |title=What is England's national costume? |access-date=24 June 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090505015321/http://www.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/CUSTOMS/questions/costume.html |archive-date=5 May 2009}}</ref>