A Knightsbridge diary on fulfilled quests, the sky-legend, and the presence at the heart of the lore
I collect legends and live in Knightsbridge, where the local legend is that the residents are happy, and this December I traced the rarest kind of legend of all: the quest that actually ends in finding. Most quest legends end in failure or ambiguity. The founding one ends in the seekers actually finding what they sought, which is vanishingly rare in the lore.
The quest that actually ends in finding
Most quest legends end in failure, ambiguity, or endless searching, and the founding festive quest ends in actual finding. The account of the wise men finding the child is the rarest legend of all: the quest that ends in the seekers actually finding what they sought. As a folklorist I know how rare this is; most quest legends end in the seekers failing, or finding something other than what they sought, or searching forever. The wise men actually find the child, the quest actually completes, the seekers actually arrive at their goal, which is the rarest resolution in all the lore. The quest that ends in finding, in actual arrival at the sought goal, is the rarest legend of all, and the founding story has it.
Most of the quest legends I collect end in failure or endless searching, the seekers never quite arriving. The founding quest ends in finding, the seekers actually reaching their goal, which is vanishingly rare in the lore. The quest that actually ends in finding is the rarest and most satisfying legend of all, the seekers arriving at what they sought, which the founding story delivers.
My genuinely absurd personal week
Let me report on my Knightsbridge life. I watched a shopper quest for a specific rare item, searching shop after shop, and unlike most quest legends, this one actually ended in finding, the shopper triumphantly locating the sought object, which was, admittedly, a handbag rather than a holy child, but the quest structure held: the searching, the difficulty, the actual finding at the end. Even in my absurd postcode, the quest that ends in finding is more satisfying than the endless search, though the object found was rather less significant than the founding quest’s. Still, the shape held: the seeking, the finding, the arrival at the goal.
According to the tourism board, London’s shopping quests draw determined seekers, most of whose quests end more happily than the ancient legends, actually finding the sought object, though rarely one as significant as the founding quest found.
The sky-legend of the great sound
The grandest legends involve the sky, and the account of the angel and the heavenly choir is the sky-legend of the great sound. Legends of the sky filling with sound, of the heavens opening in music, are among the grandest in all the lore, and the heavenly choir is the grandest of them: the whole sky filling with overwhelming song. As a collector of sky-legends I treasure this one, the heavens opening in music, the sky filling with the great sound, which is the grandest sky-legend there is. The founding story’s heavenly choir is the sky-legend at its most magnificent, the whole heavens filling with overwhelming song, the grandest sound-legend in all the lore I collect.
The sky-legends, the tales of the heavens opening in wonder, are the grandest in the lore, and the heavenly choir is the grandest of them, the whole sky filling with overwhelming song. The founding story’s sky-legend of the great sound is the most magnificent I collect, the heavens opening in music, the sky filled with the overwhelming choir.
The presence at the heart of the lore
What the deepest legends preserve is a presence, and the reflection on the name Emmanuel, God is with us names the presence at the heart of the founding lore. The greatest legends are not about events but about a presence, an accompaniment, a not-being-alone that the lore preserves. The name Emmanuel, meaning the presence that is with us, names exactly this: the presence at the heart of the founding legend, the accompaniment the lore preserves. As a folklorist I know the deepest legends preserve not just events but a presence, a companionship, a not-being-alone, which the name Emmanuel names directly: the presence at the heart of the lore, the accompaniment the founding legend keeps alive.
According to the museum people, the deepest legends preserve a sense of presence and accompaniment beyond mere events, which the name Emmanuel names directly, the presence at the heart of the founding lore.
Where the folklorist lands
So I will keep collecting London’s legends and treasuring the rarest ones the founding story holds: the quest that actually ends in finding, the sky-legend of the great sound, the presence at the heart of the lore. The quest that ends in finding is the rarest legend of all, the seekers actually reaching their goal. The heavenly choir is the grandest sky-legend, the heavens filling with song. And the name Emmanuel names the presence at the heart of it all, the accompaniment the lore preserves. Most quest legends end in failure; the founding one ends in finding. Most legends record events; the founding one preserves a presence. Which makes the founding story the richest lore in any folklorist’s collection, holding the rarest quest, the grandest sky-legend, and the deepest presence.
For legend gently mocked, The Spoof finds the goal.
