Katharine Mary Briggs (8 November 1898 – 15 October 1980) was a Britishfolklorist and writer, who wroteThe Anatomy of Puck, the four-volumeA Dictionary of British Folk-Tales in the English Language, and various other books onfairies andfolklore. From 1969 to 1972, she was president of theFolklore Society, which established an award in her name to commemorate her life and work.[1]
Katharine Briggs was born inHampstead,London, the eldest of three surviving daughters of Ernest Edward Briggs, who came fromYorkshire (his family had had great success incoal mining inHalifax andWakefield), and Mary Cooper. The other two sisters were named Winifred and Elspeth. Ernest was a watercolour artist with a specific interest inScottish scenery who often told his children stories, possibly sparking Katharine's lifelong interest in them. The family moved toPerthshire in 1911, where Ernest built a house, Dalbeathie House. Ernest died there two years later in 1913. Katharine began attendingLady Margaret Hall, Oxford in 1918, obtained aBA in 1922, and took herMA in 1926.
Returning home (because of the family coal legacy, and acolliery inNormantown, she did not need to seek work), she began writing and running plays – the entire family enjoyed theatrical productions, and it was a lifelong interest of Katharine's – while she studied folklore and17th-century English history. She gained herPhD with a thesis on Folklore in 17th-century literature (Folklore inJacobean Literature) after theSecond World War; during the war, she had been busy teaching in aPolish refugee school and working for the medical branch of theWAAF.
Briggs went on to become known as a folklorist. After her first book on British fairies,The Personnel of Fairyland, she went on to write many other books on fairies and folklore, includingThe Anatomy of Puck and its sequel,Pale Hecate's Team (1962),An Encyclopedia of Fairies (1976), as well as a number ofchildren's books such asThe Legend of Maiden-Hair (her first published book) and thefantasy novelsHobberdy Dick, andKate Crackernuts.[2]A Dictionary of British Folk-Tales in the English Language: Part A: Folk Narratives (1970) was re-published in three volumes in 2011 asFolk Tales of Britain, and is described byPhilip Pullman in its introduction as the fullest and the most authoritative collection of British folktales that exists.
In 1969 she was awarded the Doctorate in Literature, and made President of theFolklore Society, a post she held until 1972, and which named an award in her honour.[1]
Briggs lived the latter part of her life at Barn House inBurford in Oxfordshire,[3] and died aged 82 on 15 October 1980 inSt Margaret's at Cliffe.
TheKatharine Briggs Folklore Award is an annual book prize established by the Folklore Society to commemorate her life and work and to encourage the study of folklore.[1]
