Charles Godfrey Leland
Born	1824 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
Died	1903

Charles Godfrey Leland (1824–1903) was an American humorist and folklorist, born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and educated at Princeton University, and in Europe. ImageMetadata File history File links Download high resolution version (1058x2000, 574 KB) TITLE: Chas. ... 1824 was a leap year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... Independence Hall, as it appears today. ... State nickname: The Keystone State Other U.S. States Capital Harrisburg Largest city Philadelphia Governor Ed Rendell (D) Senators Arlen Specter (R) Rick Santorum (R) Official language(s) None Area 119,283 km² (33rd)  - Land 116,074 km²  - Water 3,208 km² (2. ... 1903 has the latest occurring solstices and equinoxes for 400 years, because the Gregorian calendar hasnt had a leap year for seven years or a century leap year since 1600. ... 1824 was a leap year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... 1903 has the latest occurring solstices and equinoxes for 400 years, because the Gregorian calendar hasnt had a leap year for seven years or a century leap year since 1600. ... A humorist is an author who specializes in short, humorous articles or essays. ... Folkloristics is the formal academic study of folklore and mythology. ... Independence Hall, as it appears today. ... Princeton University, located in Princeton, New Jersey, is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States. ...

In his travels, he made a study of the gypsies, on whom he wrote more than one book. His fame during his lifetime rested chiefly on his comic Hans Breitmann Ballads (1871), written in a combination of broken English and German (not to be confused, as it often has been, with Pennsylvania German)^[1]. His writings on Algonquin and gypsy culture were part of the contemporary interest in pagan and Aryan traditions. He erroneously claimed to have discovered Cant, spoken among Irish Travellers, as 'the fifth Celtic tongue.' He named it Shelta. In more recent times his writings on pagan and Aryan traditions have eclipsed the now largely forgotten Breitmann ballads, influencing the development of Wicca and modern Neo-paganism. The Rroma people (pronounced rahma, singular Rrom) along with the closely related Sinti people are commonly known as Gypsies. ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... Pennsylvania German, or Pennsylvania Dutch (Pennsilfaanisch-Deitsch, Pennsilfaani-Deitsch), is a High German language spoken by 150,000 to 250,000 people in North America as well as the Amish. ... The Algonquins or Algonkins are an aboriginal North American people speaking Algonquin, an Algonquian language. ... Pagan may refer to: A believer in Paganism or Neopaganism. ... Aryan is an English word derived from the Indo-Aryan Vedic Sanskrit and Iranian Avestan terms ari-, arya-, ārya-, and/or the extended form aryāna-. The Old Persian (Iranian) ariya- is a cognate as well. ... The word cant can mean more than one thing: Cant is insincere speech, similar to hypocrisy. ... Irish Travellers are a nomadic or itinerant people of Irish origin living in Ireland, Great Britain and the United States. ... Shelta is a language spoken by parts of the Irish Traveller people. ... A Neo-Pagan pentagram (circumscribed): a symbol used by many Wiccans. ... Neopaganism (sometimes Neo-Paganism, meaning New Paganism) is a heterogeneous group of religions which attempt to revive ancient, mainly European pre-Christian religions. ...

The most influential of these books is Aradia, or the Gospel of the Witches, purportedly containing the traditional beliefs of Italian witchcraft, as conveyed to Leland in a manuscript provided to his assistant, Maddalena, by an Italian witch^[2]. Its accuracy has been disputed. Cover from a 1990 printing of Aradia. ... This article is part of the Witchcraft series. ...

Other books of his are Meister Karl's Sketch-book (1855), Legends of Birds (1864), The Gypsies (1882), Algonquin Legends (1884), Legends of Florence (1895), and Flaxius, or Leaves from the Life of an Immortal.

Leland was also an important influence on the Arts and Crafts Movement. The Home Arts and Industries Association was founded in imitation of an intitiative of his that had been praised by Oscar Wilde. He had established a school to teach crafts to disadvantaged children in Philadelphia. Artichoke wallpaper, by John Henry Dearle for William Morris & Co. ... The Home Arts and Industries Association was an organisation that functioned as a precursor to the Art Workers Guild in the development of the Arts and Crafts Movement in Britain. ... Oscar Wilde Oscar Fingal OFlahertie Wills Wilde (October 16, 1854 – November 30, 1900) was an Anglo-Irish playwright, novelist, poet, and short story writer. ... Philadelphia is a village located in Jefferson County, New York. ...

Further reading

• Varesano, A.M.J. (1979). Charles Godfrey Leland: The Eclectic Folklorist, Ph.D Dissertation, University of Pensylvania.
• Parkhill, Thomas (1997). Weaving Ourselves into the Land: Charles Godfrey Leland, "Indians" and the Study of Native American Religions, State University of New York Press.

Notes and references

Wikisource has original works written by or about:

Charles Godfrey Leland

1. ^  W. P. Trent, J. Erskine, S. P. Sherman & C. Van Doren (Eds.) (1907). Cambridge History of English and American Literature, Vol. XVIII Part III, Cambridge University. 1-58734-073-9.
2. ^  Leland, Charles Godfrey (1899). Aradia, or the Gospel of the Witches, David Nutt. See Leland's description in the appendix.