Folkloristics is the study of folklore in the generic sense, by folklorists (as linguistics is the study of language in the generic sense, by linguists). In studying Folklore, Folklorists usually write-down (transcribe) the Oral Traditions they study. However, the writing-down of Oral Traditions starts the O.T.s off on an entirely different track, and this point must be kept in mind constantly. Folklore is the traditional oral stories & sayings preserved orally in any / all societies. Folklore is a generic term which includes several specific categories of Oral Traditions, some of which are defined below. Myths are sacred oral narratives explaining the actions of deities and the nature of rituals. Often, another people's religion is contemptuously called myths - i.e., myths are what other peoples have, while we ourselves have (written) scripture and (written) history. Legends are secular oral narratives explaining folk-beliefs, usually set in regional place & traditional time contexts. Legends are told as true, and by unquestioned repetition get accepted as factual, often to become a group's folk-history (both oral and written). Folktales are CREATIVE oral narratives recognized as fiction. Folktales often are short stories primarily for entertainment, but frequently teach important values too. FAKELORE (usually only WRITTEN) has intentionally intruded into the FOLKTALE category, yet there always are LEGITIMATE new ORAL folktales being added to any society's repertory through ongoing incremental cultural processes. FOLKTALES often are altered, either naively or maliciously, to appear to be LEGENDS; then repetition eventually "launders" them enough to seem "true" enough to become FOLK-HISTORY (both oral and written). Epics are long oral narratives, sometimes in poetry or rhythmic prose, recounting the glorious events in the life of a factual, or legendary, or fictitious person. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's (1855) The Song Of Hiawatha is a written Epic Poem about a fictitious Native American Noble-Savage (see NOTE 8). Lore is, in the most general sense, the accumulated oral & written traditions of the customs & beliefs about any subject. A specific example is Camp-Lore, meaning the oral & written traditions passed from seniors to juniors at summer-camps for young people (which long have been numerous in the Lakes Region of Maine). Camp-Lore very often has been based on fictitious Native American variations on the Noble-Savage theme (see NOTE 8). Euhemerism is named after a Greek mythographer, Euhemerus (fl.c.300BC), who theorized that the Greek gods originated from the elaboration of earlier traditions about distinguished historical humans. Simply stated, euhemerism is the story-telling process of developing a sand-grain of fact into a pearl of fancy / fantasy. Euhemerism easily can taint earlier Oral Traditions to the point of spoiling their original integrity, and produce misleading oral & written neotraditions too.