Ruth Tongue

Ruth Lyndall Tongue (7 February 1898 – 19 September 1981) was a British storyteller and writer who published several collections of folklore and various articles. She remains a controversial figure, with critics questioning her reliability as a folklorist.

Although Tongue was from an educated middle-class upbringing, she felt a deep rapport with the country folk of Somerset. She claimed to have been born during the Chime Hours on a Friday night, giving her a unique connection with people of the countryside; records indicate she was born on a Monday. She told stories of the asrai, sea-morgan, Lazy Lawrence, hyter sprites, oakmen, and many other creatures which appeared in Briggs' Encyclopedia of Fairies, and in later collections of folklore or fantasy.

Controversy Contemporary response to Tongue's work in folklore was mixed to positive. Some reviewers found her sources vague and the dates of collection confusing, but Tongue responded that most of her notes had been lost to a house fire.

Tongue is remembered as a "problematic figure" and the authenticity of her folklore collections has been called into question. Her collecting methods included recalling stories from her earliest childhood and rewriting stories from memory alone. In some cases a careful study of collected folk accounts suggests how Tongue might have invented sources. This is true for instance of her work on the Asrai. J. B. Smith, one of Tongue's harshest critics, has, meanwhile, pointed to her use of other sources in a devil legend. Here is the background to Roud and Simpson's comment that Tongue should be seen as a "storyteller reworking fragments of tradition, not as a reliable collector".

Published books

Folktales of England, eds. Briggs and Ruth L. Tongue (1965) Somerset Folklore (1965) The Chime Child, or Somerset Singers: being an account of some of their songs collected over sixty years (1968) Forgotten folk tales of the English counties (1970) A Dictionary of British Folk-Tales in the English Language by Katharine M. Briggs (1970) – Tongue contributed numerous stories.