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Culture and folklore

In the Old English poem Beowulf, and in Norse mythology, Scyld Scefing (the second name meaning "with a sheaf ") and his son Beow ("Barley") are associated with the grain, or are possibly corn-gods; J. R. R. Tolkien wrote a poem "King Sheave" about them, and based a major element of his legendarium, the Old Straight Road from Middle-earth to the earthly paradise of Valinor, on their story. William of Malmesbury 's 12th century Chronicle tells the story of the related figure Sceafa as a sleeping child in a boat without oars with a sheaf of corn at his head. Axel Olrik identified Peko, a parallel "barley-figure" in Finnish culture, in turn connected by R.D. Fulk with the Eddaic Bergelmir.

In English folklore, the figure of John Barleycorn in the folksong of the same name is a personification of barley, and of the alcoholic beverages made from it: beer and whisky. In the song, John Barleycorn is represented as suffering attacks, death, and indignities that correspond to the various stages of barley cultivation, such as reaping and malting; but he is revenged by getting the men drunk: "And little Sir John and the nut-brown bowl / Proved the strongest man at last." The folksong " Elsie Marley " celebrates an alewife of County Durham with lines such as "And do you ken Elsie Marley, honey? / The wife that sells the barley, honey". The antiquary Cuthbert Sharp records that Elsie Marley was "a handsome, buxom, bustling landlady, and brought good custom to the house by her civility and attention."

English pub names such as The Barley Mow, John Barleycorn, Malt Shovel, and Mash Tun allude to barley's role in the production of beer.