The Invention of Tradition
The Invention of Tradition is quite old, but I'd say still a good introduction to the subject - that a lot of the things we think of as having gone on for time immemorial are either recent innovations, or recastings of old traditions.
I particularly liked the quote about the preservation/innovation of the Welsh language, which could well be applied to other traditions:
"In a way Pughe and the others were like Victorian church restorers through whom so many ugly churches were built, but without whom the old buildings would have crumbled to dust"
It is though rather spoiled by the essay by Hugh Trevor-Roper. He writes about the Highland traditions of Scotland, and it's made completely clear that at some point he had a terrible holiday in the Highlands and has never quite forgiven them. He says that the Highlands had no traditions independent of Ireland, were "culturally depressed" and their literature was "a crude echo of Irish literature". He doesn't say a single positive, or even neutral thing about the area for the entire essay.
I particularly liked the quote about the preservation/innovation of the Welsh language, which could well be applied to other traditions:
"In a way Pughe and the others were like Victorian church restorers through whom so many ugly churches were built, but without whom the old buildings would have crumbled to dust"
It is though rather spoiled by the essay by Hugh Trevor-Roper. He writes about the Highland traditions of Scotland, and it's made completely clear that at some point he had a terrible holiday in the Highlands and has never quite forgiven them. He says that the Highlands had no traditions independent of Ireland, were "culturally depressed" and their literature was "a crude echo of Irish literature". He doesn't say a single positive, or even neutral thing about the area for the entire essay.