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Lore

Legends 37: An Apple a Day

Duration
36m
Broadcast on
30 Sep 2024
Audio Format
other

Folklore grows. It has roots that run deep and branches that stretch out far and wide. The stories we pluck from it are fruit, in more ways than one—and that's not necessarily a safe thing.

Narrated and produced by Aaron Mahnke, with writing by Alex Robinson, and research by GennaRose Nethercott.

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©2024 Aaron Mahnke. All rights reserved.

This episode is sponsored by Wildwood. From Leica, the studio behind Coraline, comes a new epic fantasy adventure. And at the heart of Wildwood is a simple question. How far would you go for someone you love? Wildwood is a handcrafted epic fantasy adventure that transports audiences into a secret magical and dangerously alive world just beyond their doorstep. At its heart is the story of a courageous girl, Prue McKeel, on a desperate mission to rescue her baby brother from a forbidden forest filled with enchanted creatures, endearing allies, and formidable adversaries. Her journey unfolds in a spectacular high-stakes adventure where the fate of an entire hidden world hangs in the balance. The film features vocal performances from Carrie Mulligan, Mahershala Ali, and Angela Bassett. And I have to tell you folks, I have seen the trailer for this film so many times, and I cannot wait to park my button to seat and experience this adventure. Wildwood is now playing in theaters everywhere, so grab your tickets today. Hola, Dember! La Granina curación de wafer, commune salbaente de no bienbre. Bena comprario rar con esta uno cienta por ciento de des cuentos en tien de todo del fin de semana. Además, los primeros sientlientes cada día, reciben una tarketa de regallo de cinquenta dola de scratiz. Traya tu familia de spruatar de sorteos, múcica y sopresas. Desperamos en avenues at Northfield, de el bien te el bientidos de no bienbre. Welcome to Lore Legends, a subset of lore episodes that explore the strange tales we whisper in the dark, even if they can't always be proven by the history books. So if you're ready, let's begin.
On the day that Satan rose up against God, he was thrown into a bush. Many people have heard how when the devil lost his battle against the Archangel Michael, he was cast out of heaven. But there's an alternate ending that many are less familiar with. You see, according to British folklore, after he was thrown out, he landed but first in a thorny blackberry bush. In a rage, the devil cursed the bush's fruit. Some stories say that he then stomped on all the blackberries with his cloven hooves. Others say that he spit on them, or breathed fire at them, or even urinated on them. The point though is clear, the blackberries were completely ruined. While many years after Satan was dethroned, the church started celebrating the holy feast of Michael Mess in honor of Archangel Michael. Now, originally Michael Mess, or old Michael Mess, as it's now called, was celebrated on the 10th or the 11th of October, depending on what part of England you lived in. But after Europe shifted from the Julian calendar to the Gregorian, the feast day was moved to September 29th. It is a religious holiday, but religion and folklore have a long history of working in tandem, which is why it was determined that eating the devil's cursed blackberries on or after Michael Mess was terrible luck. Some people thought that it would simply bring misfortune to their lives, while others believed that it could kill you instantly. The expiration date on wild blackberries might seem like an odd superstition to a modern audience, but believe it or not, this bit of folklore is probably rooted in practicality. You see, many counties in England get their first frost by mid-October. In other words, around the time of old Michael Mess, frost turns the fruit mushy and therefore much more likely to develop dangerous mold. The folklore served a function. Don't eat blackberries after it gets cold because they're not safe to ingest. But of course, folklore doesn't spring up out of thin air. Stories are bound to the communities that tell them, and communities are bound to the land. And so folklore is often inspired by what comes out of that land, be it a blackberry bush, a grapevine, or an apple tree, which illustrates a powerful truth. If you want to understand how people once interpreted the world around them, look at the stories they told about what grew from their land. The power of folklore is often found in the fruit. I'm Aaron Mankey, and this is Lore Legends. When you think about fruits, what typically comes to mind? Maybe it's the apple that you gave your teacher on the last day of school, or maybe it's that perfect mango you had on vacation. Your mom's blackberry cobbler, or a good old fashioned main blueberry pie. In 21st century America, we had the luxury of thinking about fruit in a very casual way. After all, it's a food group that we have relatively easy access to. Most of us can walk into the grocery store at any time and buy a container of raspberries or a can of peaches. It isn't life or death, for most of us fruit is just a food. But for many civilizations throughout history, it was one of their only major sources of food. A number of agricultural communities depended on their crops to provide for their entire villages. Whether the fruit came from a vineyard, an orchard, or a backyard garden, people often relied on it for sustenance and income. If the harvest failed, people could die or lose their income.

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