HCDJ Medieval Myths & Legends Middle Ages Celtic Viking

Myths and Legends Series: Middle Ages by H.A. Guerber, with Illustrations from Drawings and Famous Paintings.

DESCRIPTION: Hardback with Dust Jacket: 404 pages. Publisher: Avenel Books; (1985). ISBN: 0517604426. There were never more welcome guests in the castles, inns, and homes of medieval Europe, than the minstrels, troubadours, and jongleurs. Their songs and tales were both popular and familiar. They were enjoyed by rich and poor alike. Between the fall of the Roman Empire and the Renaissance, the classic cultures of Greece and Rome, with their gods and legends, were forgotten. From among the many races and tribes that had spread over Western Europe following the collapse of the Empire 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, Christian paladins, kings, and emperors. Most ancient is “Beowulf”, 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 is featured 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 center 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 been frequently remodeled and embellished by the fancy of medieval bards, so much so that they are beyond historical interpretation or chronological comprehension. They nevertheless retain a compelling vivacity and variety, and in “The Middle Ages” modern readers can enjoy, as did their medieval ancestors, the old, traditional stories of Europe.

CONDITION: Light shelf wear, clean pages, in Very Good, almost Like New condition.

PLEASE SEE IMAGES BELOW FOR SAMPLE PAGES FROM INSIDE OF BOOK.

PLEASE SEE PUBLISHER, PROFESSIONAL, AND READER REVIEWS BELOW.

PUBLISHER REVIEW:

REVIEW: Between the fall of the Roman Empire and the Renaissance, the classic culture of Greece and Rome, with its gods and legends, was forgotten; and from among the many races and tribes that had spread over Western Europe following the collapse of the Empire 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, other extolling the virtues of more recent heroes; Christian paladins, kings, and emperors. Originally published in 1896, book presents the legends of Beowulf, Gudrun, Reynard the Fox, The Nibelungenlied, Charlemagne, Merlin, The Round Table, The Cid, Titurel, the Holy Grail, and others. This anthology introduced many young people in turn of the century America to these tales.

PROFESSIONAL REVIEWS:

REVIEW: After the fall of the Roman Empire, the peoples who spread across Western Europe brought with them new legends to replace the classic myths of Greece and Rome. The selection in this book includes the most famous of those European stories, some with roots dating back to pagan times, others chronicling the exploits of more recent, Christian heroes.

REVIEW: Medieval romance and other kinds of myth and legend from the Middle Ages offer a heady mix of Christian and pagan elements, reflecting both the passing of an ancient culture and the arrival of a new order. Not purely legend, not really history, these wonderful stories often involve pagan heroes reshaped to fit tales of knighthood and Christian endeavor. 60 illustrations.

REVIEW: Subsequent to the fall of the Roman Empire, the peoples who spread across Western Europe brought with them new legends to replace the classic myths of Greece and Rome. This selection includes the most famous of those European stories, some with roots dating back to pagan times, other chronicling the exploits of more recent, Christian heroes.

READER REVIEW:

REVIEW: This classic work presents sixteen key myths and legends of the Arthurian, Carolingian, Teutonic and Scandinavian cycles which embody the chivalric code and which inspired the greatest works of romance literature and art. The tales illuminate the mystical significance of knighthood and its ethos of self-purification and honor, decoding many allusions found in medieval art, literature and song. Highly recommended, this is one of the quintessential 20th century classics!

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