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Middle Ages: Myths and Legends

In the castles, inns and homes of medieval Europe, there can have been few more welcome guests than the minstrels, troubadours and jongleurs. Their songs and tales were both popular and familiar; and they were enjoyed by the rich and poor alike.

Between the fall of the Roman Empire and the Renaissance, the classic culture of Greece and Rome, with its gods and legends, were forgotten; and from among the many races and tribes that had spread over Western Europe following that collapse there emerged new legends, indigenous to the newcomers. The collection in this book brings together the most famous of the European stories, some with roots dating back to pagan times, others extolling the virtues of more recent heroes.

Most recent is Beowolf, the first major European poem in a vernacular language, which relates the story of a Danish hero's adventures and his battles with monsters and dragons. More valiant swordplay features in Gudrun, set in Holland; in the Langobardian cycle, set in Hungary; and in Tristan and Iseult, which was translated into every European language. The mythology of knighthood evolved in the traditions of these heroic tales, and many centre upon the great medieval warriors - King Arthur, Charlemagne and The Cid, Spain's greatest hero. Of all the romances of Chivalry, the most mystical and spiritual is the legend of the Holy Grail, a version of man's eternal quest for the earthly paradise that once was his, but now has been lost.

Many of the tales have so frequently been remodelled and adorned by the fancy of the medieval bards as to be beyond historical interpretation or chronological comprehension. They nevertheless retain a compelling vivacity and variety, and in Myths and Legends of the Middle Ages modern readers can enjoy , as did their medieval ancestors, the old, traditional stories of Europe. The author has presented them in an especially clear and readable form, there are 60 full page illustrations to depict the characters and events.  

A facsimile of the original edition. 

213 x 135 mm; 482 pages, including 60 pages of plates; Hardback.

£4.99 + £3.00 p&p U.K. (Ref: b0391) Few copies remaining of this out of print title.