Res Humanitariae

As information technology is becoming a huge part of people’s lives, various genres of folklore are moving online. Old folklore genres are adapting to the changes in people’s lives and are successfully spreading in the online space, while black humour genres on the Internet reflect society, current issues, stereotypes, scandals, and real-life situations. The aim of the article is not only to classify memes (comic units of cultural information), but also to show their relevance and popularity in contemporary society. The paper describes 15 different groups of memes collected from 13 online sources. The analysed works are grouped according to their popularity and the length of their dissemination in the virtual environment (popular, tendentious), and from the most popular examples of this genre, fan-made and political memetic works are distinguished.

The article deals with the issues related to the specifics of the incantation as a genre of oral folklore, history of collecting, publishing and the beginning of their studying in Russia. The main emphasis is put on the first monographic work dedicated to conspiracies. Scientific portrait of the author is represented, his work, translations and reprinting are analyzed. Features that have made the book classic are established.

Stones where mythical creatures carry out work connected with wearing apparel appear in publications on the mythological stones of Lithuania and Belarus. This theme is not so widely considered in Latvian research literature. The aim of this work is to show that in Latvian folklore, by natural (stone, tree, stump, water, cave, etc) and man-made objects of the cultural space (threshing barn, cemetery, hill-fort, etc), mythical creatures tailor, spin, knit and mend for people or for themselves.

Lake Sauka is the largest lake in the district of Augšzeme in Latvia. It features very often in tales and legends, which mostly relate the story of its flight and its settling down in its present location. The nearest place from where it might have flown is approximately 30 kilometres away, but the most distant place is about 70 kilometres away. The places of origin, flight routes and conditions of settling down mentioned in numerous tales, when confronted with modern knowledge about the layout of archaeological sites, allow us to see yet unknown connections between the mythical world reflected in tales, and the real world represented by the relief and by archaeological sites.

The article discusses the horse’s role as a building deposit in historical times. The focus is on Finland but a short overlook on the custom elsewhere in Europe (mainly Southern Scandinavia and the British Isles) is also given. The possible meanings attached to the horse in deposits are also presented.