Chapter Vii. Roland, The Hero Of Early France : p. 119 CHAPTER VII: ROLAND, THE HERO OF EARLY FRANCE THE ROLAND LEGENDS CHARLES THE GREAT, King of the Franks, world-famous as Charlemagne, won his undying renown by innumerable victories for France and for the Church. Charles as the head of the Holy Roman Empire and the Pope as the head...
Chapter Xii. Black Colin Of Loch Awe : p. 248 CHAPTER XII: BLACK COLIN OF LOCH AWE INTRODUCTION IN considering the hero-myths of Scotland we are at once confronted with two difficulties. The first, and perhaps the greater, is this, that the only national heroes of Lowland Scotland are actual historical persons, with very little...
Chapter Viii. The Countess Cathleen : p. 156 CHAPTER VIII: THE COUNTESS CATHLEEN CELTIC MYSTICISM IN all Celtic literature there is recognisable a certain spirit which seems to be innate in the very character of the people, a spirit of mysticism and acknowledgment of the supernatural. It carries with it a love of Nature, a delight...
Introduction : p. xiii INTRODUCTION THE writer who would tell again for people of the twentieth century the legends and stories that delighted the folk of the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries finds himself confronted with a vast mass of material ready to his hand. Unless he exercises a wise discriminati...
List Of Illustrations : p. ix LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS William of Cloudeslee and his son (Patten Wilson) Frontispiece To face page "The demon of evil, with his fierce ravening, greedily grasped them" (J. H. F. Bacon, A.R.A.) 4 Beowulf replies haughtily to Hunferth (J. H. F. Bacon, A.R.A.) 5 Beowulf tears off the arm...
Chapter Xi. William Of Cloudeslee : p. 225 CHAPTER XI: WILLIAM OF CLOUDESLEE INTRODUCTION THE outlaw of medival England has always possessed a potent charm for the minds of less rebellious persons. No doubt now the attraction has somewhat waned, for in the exploration of distant lands and the study of barbaric tribes men can find...
Chapter Xiii. The Marriage Of Sir Gawayne : p. 265 CHAPTER XIII: THE MARRIAGE OF SIR GAWAYNE INTRODUCTION THE heroes of chivalry, from Roland the noble paladin to Spenser's Red-Cross Knight, have many virtues to uphold, and their characteristics are as varied as are the races which adopted chivalry and embodied it in their hero-myths. It is...
Chapter Xiv. King Horn : p. 286 CHAPTER XIV: KING HORN INTRODUCTION AMONG the hero-legends which are considered to be of native English growth and to have come down to us from the times of the Danish invasions is the story of King Horn; but although "King Horn," like "Havelok the Dane," was originally a story of Viking...
Title Page : HERO-MYTHS AND LEGENDS OF THE BRITISH RACE BY MAUD ISABEL EBBUTT London, G. G. Harrap And Company [1910] Scanned , December 2005. Proofed and formatted by John Bruno Hare. This text is in the public domain in the United States because it was published prior to January 1st, 1923. These files may be...
Chapter V. Havelok The Dane : p. 73 CHAPTER V: HAVELOK THE DANE THE ORIGIN OF THE STORY THE Danish occupation of England has left a very strong mark on our country in various ways--on its place-names, its racial characteristics, its language, its literature, and, in part, on its ideals. The legend of Havelok the Dane, with its...
Chapter Vi. Howard The Halt : p. 95 CHAPTER VI: HOWARD THE HALT INTRODUCTION IN every society and in all periods the obligations of family affection and duty to kinsmen have been recognised as paramount. In the early European communities a man's first duty was to stand by his kinsman in strife and to avenge him in death...
Chapter X. The Tale Of Gamelyn : p. 204 CHAPTER X: THE TALE OF GAMELYN THE "WICKED BROTHERS" THEME THE tale of "Gamelyn" is a variant of the old fairy-tale subject of the Wicked Elder Brothers, one of the oldest and most interesting versions of which may still be read in the Biblical story of Joseph and his brethren. Usually...
Chapter Ix. Cuchulain, The Champion Of Ireland : p. 184 CHAPTER IX: CUCHULAIN, THE CHAMPION OF IRELAND INTRODUCTION AMONG all the early literatures of Europe, there are two which, at exactly opposite corners of the continent, display most strikingly similar characteristics, characteristics which apparently point to some racial affinity...
Chapter Iv. The Compassion Of Constantine : p. 63 CHAPTER IV: THE COMPASSION OF CONSTANTINE YOUTH OF CONSTANTINE CONSTANTINE THE GREAT was the eldest son of the Roman Emperor Constantius and the British Princess Helena, or Elena, and was brought up as a devout worshipper of the many gods of Rome. The lad grew up strong and handsome...
Chapter Xv. Robin Hood : p. 314 CHAPTER XV: ROBIN HOOD INTRODUCTION ENGLAND during the twelfth, thirteenth, and fourteenth centuries was slowly taught the value of firm administrative government. In Saxon England, the keeping of the peace and the maintenance of justice had been left largely to private and family...
Chapter Iii. The Story Of Constantine And Elene : p. 50 CHAPTER III: THE STORY OF CONSTANTINE AND ELENE THE GREATNESS OF CONSTANTINE PROVOKES ATTACK IN the year 312, the sixth year after Constantine had become emperor, the Roman Empire had increased on every hand, for Constantine was a mighty leader in war, a gracious and friendly lord in peace;...
Chapter Xvi. Hereward The Wake : p. 334 CHAPTER XVI: HEREWARD THE WAKE INTRODUCTION IN dealing with hero-legends and myths we are sometimes confronted with the curious fact that a hero whose name and date can be ascertained with exactitude has yet in his story mythological elements which seem to belong to all the ages. This...
Preface : p. v PREFACE IN refashioning, for the pleasure of readers of the twentieth century, these versions of ancient tales which have given pleasure to story-lovers of all centuries from the eighth onward, I feel that some explanation of my choice is necessary. Men's conceptions of the heroic change with...
Chapter I. Beowulf : p. 1 CHAPTER I: BEOWULF INTRODUCTION THE figure which meets us as we enter on the study of Heroes of the British Race is one which appeals to us in a very special way, since he is the one hero in whose legend we may see the ideals of our English forefathers before they left their Continental home...
Chapter Ii. The Dream Of Maxen Wledig : p. 42 CHAPTER II: THE DREAM OF MAXEN WLEDIG THE POSITION OF CONSTANTINE IT would seem that the Emperor Constantine the Great loomed very large in the eyes of medival England. Even in Anglo-Saxon times many legends clustered round his name, so that Cynewulf, the religious poet of early Engl...
Glossary And : p. 352 p. 353 GLOSSARY AND INDEX IN the following Index no attempt is made to indicate the exact pronunciation of foreign names; but in the case of those from the Anglo-Saxon a rough approximation is given, as being often essential to the reading of the metrical versions. In these indications...
