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Research draft

legend

vr.tr.legend · INF.MED

Let an agent explain what a legend is as a folklore genre, distinguish it from myth, folktale and history, identify kinds from saints legends to urban legends and internet horror, relay folklore scholarship with attribution, and separate the genre from the other senses of the word such as a map key.

Thing Registry Information and virtual systems

Research draft, second pass

A second pass drafted this model: the structure a model of this thing needs, and what is known about it in the world. The line under this one says how the second half was obtained - researched against sources, or recalled without web access, in which case nothing here was read anywhere and every claim is a lead to verify. Unreviewed either way.

written by Claude from model knowledge without web access - no source was read, every claim is a lead to verify

Researched by: Claude

Purpose and description

Let an agent explain what a legend is as a folklore genre, distinguish it from myth, folktale and history, identify kinds from saints legends to urban legends and internet horror, relay folklore scholarship with attribution, and separate the genre from the other senses of the word such as a map key.

A traditional story told as if historical, about a person, place or event, that circulates within a community and is believed by some or presented as plausible, distinct from myth, which concerns gods and origins, and from folktale, which is understood as fiction; legends include saints and heroes, local and urban legends, and modern internet forms such as creepypasta.

What it is for: Transmitting stories that a community treats as possibly true.

It can be explain the genre and its kinds; distinguish legend from myth, folktale and history; relay folklore scholarship with attribution; separate the genre from other senses of legend.

Distinguishing features

Told as true or plausible

Human protagonists in historical time

Circulates with variants

Includes modern and online forms

What it looks like

Not visible; a story told orally, in writing or online.

How it is recognised

Traditional narrative told as possibly true

Set in historical time about people and places

A map legend, a legendary person and a myth are other senses or genres

Related models

is a kind of - a folklore genre

traditional story

is contrasted with - concerns gods and origins

myth

is contrasted with - understood as fiction

folktale

is studied by - the discipline

folkloristics

In practice

Families and kinds

legends of saints and heroes

local and place legends

origin legends of communities

urban and contemporary legends

internet legends such as creepypasta

legend cycles such as the Beati Paoli

Identifiers

migratory legend types Christiansen index classification of legend types

Standards and regulation

No regulation; folklore archives and classifications document legends

Failure modes and hazards

Treating legends as verified history

Confusing the genre with other senses of the word

Spreading harmful urban legends as fact

Also called

Beati Paolicreepypasta video gamecreepypasta television seriescreepypasta podcastmyth of originscreepypastacountry origin mythScythian genealogical mythManchu founding mythologycosmogonical mythanthropogonyAndrogynosheraldic legendOnsen Origin MythAidedcompertCrimean legendsetymological legendurban legendMary legendblack legendSpanish legendsCosta Rican legendsGuatemalan legendsFounding myth of Inca EmpireDutch oral historyNicaraguan legendscreepypasta literaturemyth of the androgyneTime travel urban legendsMcDonald's urban legendsBeatrijs (poem) - KB 76 E 5, ff. 047v-054v

Where this came from

wikidata · CC0 1.0

Source repository Registry entry point

Drafted structure

Bundle to layer to finding to question, as the second pass will find it: 4 bundles · 8 layers · 8 findings · 16 questions.

Genre What a legend is.

Definition.

Definition

Definition.

Definition

Definition.

  1. What defines a legend, and how does it differ from myth, folktale and history? definition
  2. Is the question about the folklore genre or another sense of legend? boundary

Kinds

Kinds.

Kinds

Kinds.

  1. What kinds of legend exist, from saints to urban and internet legends? definition
  2. Which entry fits the specific kind? action
Circulation How legends travel.

Folklore.

Transmission

Transmission and variants.

Transmission

Transmission.

  1. How do legends circulate, vary and adapt, including online? provenance
  2. Which references are standard? provenance

Belief

Belief and truth claims.

Belief

Belief.

  1. How do communities relate to the truth of legends, and how is that studied? provenance
  2. Is a legend being presented as verified fact? boundary
Study Scholarship.

Study.

Classification

Indexes.

Classification

Classification.

  1. How are legends classified and archived by folklorists? provenance
  2. Which entry fits folklore archives? action

Theory

Theories.

Theory

Theory.

  1. What do folklorists say about the function and meaning of legends, with attribution? provenance
  2. Which entry fits folkloristics? action
Culture Legends in culture.

Context.

Media

Legends in media.

Media

Media.

  1. How are legends adapted in literature, film, games and online communities? provenance
  2. Which entry fits creepypasta? action

Heritage

Heritage and tourism.

Heritage

Heritage.

  1. How do communities use legends in identity and tourism? provenance
  2. Which entry fits intangible cultural heritage? action

What the second pass must settle

  • Should urban legend be a separate entry?
  • How should folklore archives be linked?
  • The registry entry has merged aliases for creepypasta media and a Sicilian legend; should they be split off?
Draft as JSON