Those who delve into folklore looking for answers could very well be barking up the wrong tree. Folklore is more about questions than it is about answers. In an age of science where atoms are explained to school children and germs are readily understood especially well when examined under the beady eye of an electron microscope, there are some things that still abide in the realm of folklore.
Is folklore necessary? I think it is. There will always be something that we cannot explain, verify, examine or expound upon with any reasonable degree of certainty. Some of these things belong in the realm of folklore.
The wonderful thing about folklore is that it doesn't require answers especially for those who haven't yet been brainswashed by having the wonder of wondering washed out of their soul in this age of scientific scepticism.
Should you wish to learn about ancient civilizations study folklore as well as the writings of historians. There is more than one kind of truth. Folklore is one kind, history another. Both are riddled with doubt but in the case of folklore that is merely part of the fun. In the case of history, a lack of understanding may prove repetitive.
Some circumstances conceived of old can be read either as history or as folklore. In the case of King Arthur, historical proof is not exactly extant. That there is a dearth of hard facts and an abundance of speculation, a condition which causes historians to shudder and to shun goes with the territory. However, if one comes across such a situation, as in the case of King Arthur and his Round Table, one can step nimbly across an undeterminable line and enter the realm of folklore without missing a beat.
If we don't have historical proof, we still have stories that teach values, inspire adventure and inculcate a degree of wisdom through repetition over the ages.
One of the strangest of wedding tales is attributed to Efflam, who is said to have laid upon his bride on their wedding night, one of the strangest utterances ever spoken by a bridegroom however nervous, he might have been at broaching such a subject at such a late date.
Upon hearing what Efflam had to say to Enora, it is conceivable that she would have at least thought, so much for arranged marriages!
At any rate, Efflam escaped unscathed in the middle of the night.
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