“Tales and Legends”, a series to be found on our site

Legends travel, are passed down, and are transformed over generations and cultures, even being twisted to serve religious or political purposes. They continue to tell us about our humanity and the bonds that unite us. It is this resonance in our contemporary lives that we have chosen to explore this summer with our series: from Greenland to the Congo, via the United Kingdom, what do tales mean today?

Episode 1 – Building the Family Tree of Tales, a Scientific Epic

Where do fairy tales come from? Are there universal stories that have been passed down for centuries, even millennia? Linguists and ethnographers are trying to answer this question, using data analysis. An epic quest retraced by New Scientist.

Episode 2 – Greenland, the land of spirits

Wherever you go in Nuuk, the capital, you'll encounter stories of spirits. They're an integral part of Inuit culture, which has survived colonization and the introduction of Christianity. These beliefs also reflect Greenlanders' desire for independence for the island, explains the Danish daily Politiken .

Episode 3 – The mokélé-mbembé, spirit of the Congo transmuted into a dinosaur

The myth of the mokélé-mbembé, a Congolese water spirit who became a dinosaur in colonial tales, aroused fascination in the Victorian era. Today, it is a source of inspiration for creationists, reports Newlines Magazine.

Episode 4 – British Patriotism in the Age of Legends

A treacherous flower woman, a hellish black dog, and an Irish giant: creatures from British folklore are featured on a series of stamps. This Guardian columnist sees them as an inclusive and poetic response to the crisis of national sentiment.

Episode 5 – Why are we afraid of the big bad wolf?

Today the darling of environmentalists, the wolf, a source of myths and legends from the Middle Ages to the 20th century, has long terrorized our ancestors. Not without reason, recalls the German daily Die Welt.