Oak Tree. Folklore, mythology and symbolism of the oak tree (Duir)

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Part of a series of videos on the folklore, symbolism and Mythology of various flowers, plants, herbs and trees of Britain, Ireland and Northern Europe.
The Oak tree. The door tree. Tree of Kingship. Tree of Druids; of magic, knowledge and wisdom.
Protection, love and honour.
Tree of Zeus, of Jove of Thor
of the Dagda, of the good gods.
Duir in the Ogham. Door.
The Oak; tree of kings, tree of Fionn, tree of the Green Man waxing.
All hail summers King!
All hail the gates of life and death.
Through the oak portal my friends!
Deeper into the forest.

Пікірлер: 113

  • @150moonlightshadow
    @150moonlightshadow Жыл бұрын

    It’s remarkable how much the symbol for “door” and “knowledge” resembles a key!

  • @TheStoryCrow

    @TheStoryCrow

    Жыл бұрын

    That’s very true, I hadn’t thought of that! Although most of the ogham letters are quite key like - but none so much as Duir 🌳

  • @_bambi_420_za_
    @_bambi_420_za_13 күн бұрын

    I'm part of a conservation effort for the longest continuous oak avenue in the souther hemisphere here in my home town of Potchefstroom, Northwest ,South-africa I spent today cataloging and inspecting 103 oak trees, out of 913 They are really amazing trees

  • @TheStoryCrow

    @TheStoryCrow

    13 күн бұрын

    Sounds like really good work, thank you for doing it 🌳♥️🙏

  • @clairehughes6280

    @clairehughes6280

    7 күн бұрын

    I love trees & saw & pull off ivy plus any holly thats up to no good 💙

  • @irenerosique521
    @irenerosique5219 күн бұрын

    I didn’t know my birthday is the same day as the oak day, how wonderful to find out😊😊

  • @brittanynebula5664
    @brittanynebula56642 күн бұрын

    It makes me happy to hear you tell the story of an oak. ❤ i have a huge beautiful oak in my yard here in alabama, us!😀

  • @janinegriffiths8281
    @janinegriffiths8281 Жыл бұрын

    All hail the Oak King! Thanks for your educational video. Lovely location. I too have an Oak tree in my yard in tropical Southeast Florida, his name is King Henry the 7th - at least that's what he told me!😊 I always honor the Oak and Holly Kings at Summer Solstice, and the faeries join in the revelry, of course! King Henry has lots of animals that live in his branches and he helps keep my house and yard cool. I truly appreciate him.

  • @TheStoryCrow

    @TheStoryCrow

    Жыл бұрын

    Woah! An oak can manage in tropical Florida? That blows my mind. What a regal visitor! Also, what a fantastic name. He seems like quite a character. All hail king Henry the 7th! 🌳 👑

  • @janinegriffiths8281

    @janinegriffiths8281

    Жыл бұрын

    @@TheStoryCrow yes there are many species of Oak. Ours here in sunny Ft Lauderdale is Quercus virginiana, Southern Live Oak. I'm a native landscaper and am lucky enough to be able to play with the plants all the time.

  • @TheStoryCrow

    @TheStoryCrow

    Жыл бұрын

    @@janinegriffiths8281 Googling that tree immediately. What a great job you have 👍🌳

  • @KarlKarsnark

    @KarlKarsnark

    6 ай бұрын

    @@TheStoryCrow Indeed, there are many species of Oak that thrive all over Florida and the East Coast of the US. As another poster mentioned, the "Live Oak" is the quintessential symbol of the Deep South. They can become absolutely massive and several hundred years old. The wood is incredibly durable, as well. The USS Constitution was a frigate clad in Live Oak and nicknamed "Old Ironsides" because British cannon balls would literally just bounce off the hull during the War of 1812. It also grows in twisty/serpentine shapes which has made it prized by wooden boat builders for centuries, dating back to the early Spanish settlers, then later the English. It's also quite rot resistant, as well. The trouble is that it's very difficult to mill to uniforms sizes and shapes, at an industrial level, which has been its saving grace from being over harvested. Just found your channel and getting caught up, now. Cheers!

  • @_.stargazer._
    @_.stargazer._5 ай бұрын

    13:35 Pole here, and yes, oak is the world tree in slavic mythologies. Also it's the tree of Perun, who is a god of thunder and in many cases is considered the king of the gods.

  • @TheStoryCrow

    @TheStoryCrow

    5 ай бұрын

    Ah, great, thanks for confirming that 👍

  • @timnizle1
    @timnizle19 күн бұрын

    Haha inadvertently watchd this today!!!🎉🌳

  • @frankieberry
    @frankieberry Жыл бұрын

    I enjoy these videos so much. Oak was one of the first trees I learned about as a kid. Intereating fact about oak. You can use older oak leaves to dye fabric. I made my neice a deer doll using them with alittle bit of alum ( I found it in the spice section of the grocery store.) if you were to add nails to it, You get a pretty dark color. Also, you can make bread from the acorns. You just have let them soak in water until the tannins wash away. Some will put them in the river, Some will even put them in the back of their toilet tanks for a few weeks😅. When they lose their color, you can process it into a flour. Thank you for the video. ❤

  • @TheStoryCrow

    @TheStoryCrow

    Жыл бұрын

    I’m so glad to hear this. I love that you dyed a deer with oak bark tannin. I meant to talk about oak bread. Probably the most important foodstuff in Europe before farming. Not sure about putting it in the toilet tank though 😅

  • @morbikaimi
    @morbikaimi7 ай бұрын

    I got a very large smile on my face seeing you talk of your friendship with this Oak. It is always a delight to see others who form friendships with the trees. I would love to see you do the Hawthorn!

  • @TheStoryCrow

    @TheStoryCrow

    7 ай бұрын

    I will my friend, probably when the blossom is out in spring. Thank you for your words, and for stopping by here 🌳😊

  • @salviadorrii
    @salviadorrii Жыл бұрын

    What took the algorithm so long!?!?! You are amazing!!! I'm systematically watching it all. I had been looking at equinox and solstice traditions and having a hard time pinning down the history and folklore. I really appreciate your eclectic storytelling style as it gives me many different avenues to research for more connections. I'm a botany nerd so love hearing about the plant histories.

  • @TheStoryCrow

    @TheStoryCrow

    Жыл бұрын

    Botany nerds of the world unite! 🌳🌲😀 honestly that means a lot. Thanks for watching 😊

  • @benmiller5303
    @benmiller53039 ай бұрын

    Loving the nightingale's contribution as well.

  • @TheStoryCrow

    @TheStoryCrow

    9 ай бұрын

    🐦☺️

  • @michelewhite36
    @michelewhite36 Жыл бұрын

    I am so enjoying your videos! Of particular interest are the folklore and myth talks about plants and trees. I have shared your videos with friends here in Canada.

  • @TheStoryCrow

    @TheStoryCrow

    Жыл бұрын

    Thank you for spreading the word. I’m very fond of Canadians. Such a beautiful country. I’ll keep making more videos about tree and plant lore alongside myth and story. ☺️🌳🌲🙏

  • @michelewhite36

    @michelewhite36

    Жыл бұрын

    Wonderful. Thank you so much! England is also very beautiful and the people are so friendly and welcoming.

  • @angelafeather1301
    @angelafeather130115 күн бұрын

    I really enjoyed that thank you so much

  • @TheStoryCrow

    @TheStoryCrow

    15 күн бұрын

    Glad you enjoyed it ☺️

  • @michelewhite36
    @michelewhite36 Жыл бұрын

    For a beautiful song and video about the oak tree, I humbly suggest the Latvian folk song Ozolini as performed by Auli. The video is beautiful.

  • @TheStoryCrow

    @TheStoryCrow

    Жыл бұрын

    I know it! Beautiful. 🙏

  • @chuckbaird7748
    @chuckbaird77486 ай бұрын

    What a beautiful and noble tree that you have in your life. I appreciated everything you shared. Thank you

  • @TheStoryCrow

    @TheStoryCrow

    6 ай бұрын

    You are so welcome my friend 🌳🙏

  • @IainMcGirr
    @IainMcGirr Жыл бұрын

    So nice following many your stories elsewhere .. its good that English Irish Scots etc. can share without strife and nod to your being Pagan.. takes one to know one :) Bother na coillte Molaim duit

  • @TheStoryCrow

    @TheStoryCrow

    Жыл бұрын

    The way of the woods. I like that. Thank you for your comments my friend. I’ve always found there so much more to connect the people of these islands than divides them. The similarity of so many of the old ways being just one example. Humour probably being another.

  • @ungenbunyon5548
    @ungenbunyon5548Ай бұрын

    Story Crow. When you studied at bristol university did you ever get to see the jack in the green march? It starts near bristol universities main campus outside of a pub called the green man its utterly delightful

  • @TheStoryCrow

    @TheStoryCrow

    Ай бұрын

    Yes! 🌳

  • @ungenbunyon5548

    @ungenbunyon5548

    Ай бұрын

    @@TheStoryCrow yay, I'm really happy to hear that, did you go to balloon festival or/and harbour festival? Im bristolian if its not obvious xD

  • @TheStoryCrow

    @TheStoryCrow

    Ай бұрын

    Bristol I treat as my home city, even if I’m not a proper brizzle babber, love the place and the people. Plus I’ve generations of west county seamen standing behind me, so it feels like coming home whenever I visit. When I lived there though I was in my early twenties, so preferred space hacking to balloon festivals (lovely though that spectacle that is). I was probably a bit of a prat really. Exploring the tunnels under the docks was fun. Once I climbed up wills memorial building (when it was scaffolded) and crossed a plank onto the museum, and sat on one of the statues shoulders, so next time your walking by there imagine me sat on the middle one. Stupid thing to do really. It was 4 in the morning and I was intoxicated. 😂

  • @MrPaulstride
    @MrPaulstrideАй бұрын

    hearts of oak

  • @TheStoryCrow

    @TheStoryCrow

    Ай бұрын

    🌳

  • @jimmystarr9370
    @jimmystarr9370 Жыл бұрын

    I enjoy all your stories

  • @TheStoryCrow

    @TheStoryCrow

    Жыл бұрын

    🙏

  • @CraftingMyLife
    @CraftingMyLifeАй бұрын

    Fab love oak trees I planted one with my daughter when she was 3. She is now 7 it’s in a big pot. I’ve tried to give it to local forests but no reply. 😢 so for now it’s my duty to care for it and I love it x

  • @TheStoryCrow

    @TheStoryCrow

    Ай бұрын

    Bonsai it! 🌳👍

  • @CraftingMyLife

    @CraftingMyLife

    Ай бұрын

    Ok I will do that!

  • @TracyD2

    @TracyD2

    19 күн бұрын

    You can not keep it and plant it?

  • @CraftingMyLife

    @CraftingMyLife

    19 күн бұрын

    I live in a built up area where the roots would cause havoc! I would love to though x

  • @drowsyZot
    @drowsyZot Жыл бұрын

    Great video, like always! Also, I'm a little jealous that you got to grow up in such an amazing place. An iron age settlement? Wow! I'm thousands of miles away and that fires up my imagination all the way over here. I can't imagine how fantastic it would be to grow up right there!

  • @TheStoryCrow

    @TheStoryCrow

    11 ай бұрын

    The archaeologists are returning this year. Can’t wait to see what they uncover. I’m hoping for a roundhouse 😃

  • @rosallyify
    @rosallyify9 ай бұрын

    Very magical connection for me personally which is a brand new journey! Old world and new together now .I appreciate you

  • @TheStoryCrow

    @TheStoryCrow

    9 ай бұрын

    I’m very glad to hear it ☺️🌳 thanks for watching 🙏

  • @MrDanrn999
    @MrDanrn9994 ай бұрын

    Thank you, for making this video.

  • @TheStoryCrow

    @TheStoryCrow

    3 ай бұрын

    My pleasure 🌳🙏✨

  • @hArtyTruffle
    @hArtyTruffleАй бұрын

    He is truly magnificent 🌳👑

  • @louisebritton3009
    @louisebritton300911 ай бұрын

    Absolutely beautiful, thank you, love and light from Cornwall 🌱

  • @TheStoryCrow

    @TheStoryCrow

    11 ай бұрын

    Right back at you, from Scotland ✨ 🙏

  • @clairehughes6280
    @clairehughes62807 күн бұрын

    Great thanks. Oak I"m sure is the Christ mas Tree. I thought he represented the Sun but Jupiter sounds good 💙

  • @daynacockell542
    @daynacockell54222 күн бұрын

    I love this story telling its great ❤

  • @KarlKarsnark
    @KarlKarsnark6 ай бұрын

    The Greek "Dryads" also lived in Oak trees. I suspect the name may be related to this "Duir' variant, as well.

  • @TheStoryCrow

    @TheStoryCrow

    6 ай бұрын

    Probably. Thanks for bringing that up 🙏☺️🌳

  • @Elliepixie12
    @Elliepixie12Ай бұрын

    Oh my goodness, i am learning so much from your videos. You have really given me food for thought. Thank you 🙏 😀

  • @TheStoryCrow

    @TheStoryCrow

    Ай бұрын

    Glad to hear it Ellie 😊

  • @TheFost
    @TheFost Жыл бұрын

    Charles III recent coronation invite included symbolism of the green man.

  • @TheStoryCrow

    @TheStoryCrow

    Жыл бұрын

    Did it? That’s fascinating. I really like that. Always quite liked that man’s appreciation of folklore and ecology.

  • @gwilymthomas3699
    @gwilymthomas36997 ай бұрын

    Thank you - exactly what I was looking for! Off to see my local oaks.

  • @TheStoryCrow

    @TheStoryCrow

    7 ай бұрын

    Go well to thy grove 🌳 🚪 🧙‍♂️✨

  • @sarahoakes5843
    @sarahoakes58435 ай бұрын

    have always loved the oak tree, partly because it makes up my surname found this fascinating really enjoyed it.

  • @TheStoryCrow

    @TheStoryCrow

    5 ай бұрын

    Everyone loves a good oak 🌳✨🙏⚡️

  • @wendi4418
    @wendi44189 ай бұрын

    Very interesting,alot i never heard before. Keep it up, you are fasinating

  • @TheStoryCrow

    @TheStoryCrow

    9 ай бұрын

    Thank you, I will. Glad you’re enjoying the content 🙏

  • @elderwyrmstudio5133
    @elderwyrmstudio513311 ай бұрын

    Fantastic video

  • @TheStoryCrow

    @TheStoryCrow

    11 ай бұрын

    Thanks! 😃

  • @autumn111155551
    @autumn1111555516 ай бұрын

    Oaks are magnificent! I love learning about this stuff, as my ancestry is mostly Irish with some English

  • @TheStoryCrow

    @TheStoryCrow

    6 ай бұрын

    Glad you enjoyed it. Plenty of Irish and English myth and folklore on this channel 🙏✨☺️🌳

  • @casualviewing1096
    @casualviewing10966 ай бұрын

    Just found your channel, loving it. Thank you for all the research and knowledge 🙏

  • @TheStoryCrow

    @TheStoryCrow

    6 ай бұрын

    Glad you enjoy it!

  • @MrKFNeverGiveUp
    @MrKFNeverGiveUp Жыл бұрын

    Good stuff.

  • @TheStoryCrow

    @TheStoryCrow

    Жыл бұрын

    Glad you enjoyed it

  • @KarlKarsnark
    @KarlKarsnark6 ай бұрын

    "Sacred Oak Groves" abound all throughout Indo-European myths, and were still in regular use by the Native Peoples of Europe into the 8th century, at least. Boniface's destruction of the Anglo-Saxon, sacred oaks was seen as a formal end to Paganism in that part of Europe.

  • @TheStoryCrow

    @TheStoryCrow

    6 ай бұрын

    How did someone with such a silly name do so much wrong 🌳🔥😥

  • @h.m.mcgreevy7787
    @h.m.mcgreevy7787 Жыл бұрын

    Cromwell let you guys off easy.☘️😥☘️

  • @TheStoryCrow

    @TheStoryCrow

    Жыл бұрын

    Can’t argue with that I suppose. I mean. He burned quite a lot of people to death in England for .. being catholic, or female, or gobby, or wearing too extravagant a hat, but Ireland definitely came off worse…

  • @TreforTreforgan
    @TreforTreforgan5 ай бұрын

    A little note on the origin of Duir, as in Irish and Derw, as in Welsh: Proto Indo-European (PIE) suggests the word Daru as meaning ‘tree’. In Slavic languages we see this morpheme; derevo in Russian, dereva in Ukrainian etc. We know from history the Druids had a taboo on writing and looking at many of the words for the flora and fauna in Welsh I might suggest that an underlying and related belief informed their style of nomenclature as well. Names of flora and fauna are far less a label on a thing rather a description of them. Often quite poetic. A good example here is glöyn byw, meaning butterfly, translated word-for-word is ‘living light’ or ‘living ember’. They seemed to not want to merely label things. So my guess here is that the oak was so important and significant to them it’s name actually had the meaning of ‘the tree’; the tree of trees what have you.

  • @TheStoryCrow

    @TheStoryCrow

    5 ай бұрын

    Good insights, thank you. I’ve heard heard various etymologies for the word, and this one does make a lot of sense for precisely those reasons 🌳🙏 also, didn’t know the Welsh for butterfly, that is beautiful …

  • @TreforTreforgan

    @TreforTreforgan

    5 ай бұрын

    @@TheStoryCrow as a Welsh speaker my biggest motivation in the survival of the language is that it is born of a people who venerated nature. The explanation you give about the etymology of the word Druid is true, although it goes deeper still. The -uid element does indeed mean knowledge in Celtic languages, but is also means presence. We can easily see how there may be a double meaning here, as something of presence is something known, perhaps. Gwyddoniaeth (gwydd=knowledge) is the Welsh word for science. However when this morpheme or element is seen in place names it’s translates to meaning something present or obvious. The Welsh word for Snowdon is yr Wyddfa which would mean the present place translated directly. It’s un mutated form would be Gwyddfa (the G is dropped when you had yr=the before the name itself) So another etymology to consider as well as one who ‘knows the oak’ might be one who is ‘present with the tree’. Just a thought. This absolute reverence the people of Britain once had for their environment and nature is written into the dna of the Welsh language. A reminder our ancestors lived in an oak covered Eden

  • @imprivsoaugustinei1910
    @imprivsoaugustinei19109 ай бұрын

    ( excellent, oak )

  • @TheStoryCrow

    @TheStoryCrow

    9 ай бұрын

    🌳✨

  • @rachelrock2290
    @rachelrock229020 күн бұрын

    Im sorry did you mention how old your oak tree is? Its pretty big!

  • @TracyD2

    @TracyD2

    19 күн бұрын

    I’m curious myself

  • @TheStoryCrow

    @TheStoryCrow

    18 күн бұрын

    I did measure it’s girth once to get an estimate of its age. It came in at a little under 200 years. I thought it would have been older tbh - but then I could have done it wrong, and it’s not an exact science 🌳

  • @Mommy27nikki
    @Mommy27nikkiАй бұрын

    So is willow oak included?

  • @TheStoryCrow

    @TheStoryCrow

    Ай бұрын

    I don’t see why not, it’s more of an oak then a willow I think 😊

  • @disideratum
    @disideratum11 ай бұрын

    Please do Rowan!! Cheers!

  • @TheStoryCrow

    @TheStoryCrow

    11 ай бұрын

    Either Ash or Roman are next on my list 👍🌳 Thanks for watching 🙏☺️

  • @TheStoryCrow

    @TheStoryCrow

    11 ай бұрын

    Rowan 😅

  • @SomeshValentinoCurti
    @SomeshValentinoCurti9 ай бұрын

    Hi, anyone can recommend a book that collects the legends, myths and stories about world folklore or European about oak trees? Thanks

  • @TheStoryCrow

    @TheStoryCrow

    9 ай бұрын

    Hi Somesh. World folklore is a pretty big subject, but Alan Garner is a brilliant compiler and editor of European and world folklore. I don’t know a book specifically dedicated to the oak, but Max Adam’s ‘the wisdom of trees’ is a great book about European tree folklore, including oak. Good luck! 🌳

  • @SomeshValentinoCurti

    @SomeshValentinoCurti

    8 ай бұрын

    ​@@TheStoryCrowthanks I appreciate the tip. Do you know also a good book about Runes? Thanks

  • @TheStoryCrow

    @TheStoryCrow

    8 ай бұрын

    I do actually! He’s not for everyone, and takes very much a pragmatic (and chaos) approach to the runes - Jan fries’ Helrunar is excellent if you want to work with runes practically. If you’re after something more academic on Viking age mind and magic generally then ‘the Viking way’ by Neil price is dynamite.

  • @XxST4RINTHEHOODxX
    @XxST4RINTHEHOODxX5 ай бұрын

    Professor oak

  • @TheStoryCrow

    @TheStoryCrow

    5 ай бұрын

    🌳✨🧙‍♂️

  • @pauljordan7465
    @pauljordan74654 ай бұрын

    Holly King

  • @TheStoryCrow

    @TheStoryCrow

    4 ай бұрын

    Holly king.

  • @forbesmeek6304
    @forbesmeek63046 ай бұрын

    The Irish oak is a different species from the English oak Quercus Robur and probably hardier and tolerates poorer soils.

  • @TheStoryCrow

    @TheStoryCrow

    6 ай бұрын

    Probably. A bit like how the English oak is tougher and stouter then the French oak. I hear the shillelagh was traditionally made from Irish oak, given its toughness, but due to its scarcity, blackthorn is used most commonly. I certainly didn’t see much oak last time I was in Ireland. But then I practically live in an oak forest 🌳

  • @forbesmeek6304

    @forbesmeek6304

    6 ай бұрын

    Apart from Ireland it grows from Wester Ross down the west coast. Warwickshire so Shakespeares oak? Leafage beats the English oak. The iron works in NW Scotland greatly depleted the Highland woods burnt for charcoal. Saved by the switch to coal/coke.

  • @scottphillips7108
    @scottphillips710811 ай бұрын

    So the Puritans [Christians] were whipped with nettles for not showing loyalty to Saturn/Green Man/Odin/Charles over and above the true Oak King Zeus/Thor...

  • @TheStoryCrow

    @TheStoryCrow

    11 ай бұрын

    😂 well technically they were all Christians. It was the 1700s. The non puritanical variety still had a lot of the old ways running through it, that’s all. Like a wild garden. The puritans did a hell of a lot of weeding. And burning.

  • @scottphillips7108

    @scottphillips7108

    11 ай бұрын

    @@TheStoryCrow Weeding and burning nettles so they couldn't be used to whip Puritans with?

  • @TheStoryCrow

    @TheStoryCrow

    11 ай бұрын

    @@scottphillips7108 not nettles, no my friend. Humans. 🧙🔥😔

  • @scottphillips7108

    @scottphillips7108

    11 ай бұрын

    @@TheStoryCrow Oh I see now you mean like the pagans who take/took lives of humans in their rituals... Thanks for clarifying... Appreciated...

  • @TheStoryCrow

    @TheStoryCrow

    11 ай бұрын

    @@scottphillips7108 Well, that was a tad earlier… not really the same practices and beliefs in Iron Age Europe 😅 But yeah. Humans do some strange things in the name of God(s) don’t they? And the wounds can run deep. Generation deep. And we all feel the repercussion don’t we? To be honest mate, I sit here reading your comments and I have nothing but love to you brother, wherever you are. Let’s heal old wounds. Swords into ploughs. Go well on on your path. It would be lovely to meet you someday. Peace 🙏 ✨