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Mythology & Folklore

It's easy to dismiss myths simply as lies. After all, did Apollo really pull the Sun around in a chariot? Did Coyote really create the Indian tribes by flinging a defeated monster in several directions? Did Onamuji really die twice and have to be rescued by his mother? Who on earth is Onamuji? As children of the Enlightenment we have little patience for such absurd stories, condescendingly studying them (if we pay attention at all) as artifacts of primitive societies, or simply transforming them into comic book adventures.

Which is probably exactly what most of the originators of the myths would have wanted, at least the comic book part. As the great Roman poet Ovid demonstrated in his masterful Metamorphoses, myths aren't about telling what actually happened or describing the physical realities of the world so much as they're concerned with renewal, transfiguration and change.

There is a sense in which myths are intended to explain some perplexing aspect of the known world, as when the Scandinavians attributed lightning and thunder to Thor charging around in his goat-drawn chariot. But there's another sense in which it didn't really matter if they believed the stories they told at religious gatherings or by the fire at night; the mythologies of the Greeks, Chinese, Sioux tribes, Congolese and Slavs were all intended to impart to their listeners particular ideas about the world, about justice, about life and death, and about themselves.

Postmodernists like to call this sort of thing metanarrative, a universal story that imparts meaning on the chaos of existence. Men like G.K. Chesterton and J.R.R. Tolkien preferred to call it a search for truth. It was in this sense that Chesterton called the Christian Gospel a Myth—not because it was in any sense not true; quite the opposite, because it is perfectly true. Old mythologies worked hard to discover truth, while the Christian myth (the only completely true myth, as C.S. Lewis would say) is truth.

This is not to undermine the Christian narrative as found in the Bible, nor is it to apotheosize the ancient myths. There's plenty the old mythologists got wrong, and nothing untrue in the Word of God. Not only that, whereas the old myths are complete fabrications, the narrative of Scripture presents real historical events that actually transpired.

What is also true, however, and what is often ignored, is that what the Bible does for real, the myth-writers were trying to do. They wanted understanding, and the often bizarre stories they conjured weren't weird for the sake of weirdness: they were attempts at building a framework that would make sense of everything they knew existed, its origins, and its ultimate destiny.

Folklore shares a similar goal, though it's generally less universal, more homespun and culture-specific. Zeus is a mythic figure; Paul Bunyan is a folk hero. The folk hero is generally a national symbol, a human distillation of the peoples' spirit, someone they can identify with while looking up to them at the same time. Mythology and folklore often merge, especially in places with a long and deep heritage. The United States has no mythology, but its people have developed a rich folklore to make up for it.

At its best, mythology promotes noble conduct, self-sacrifice, and peacefulness. At its worst, it depicts a universe at the hands of capricious deities with appetites only different from ours in that they're bigger, more depraved, more destructive. We don't suggest building a worldview out of ancient myths, but if you have any desire to understand how people of the past thought and what motivated them, we do suggest starting with their stories.

Review by C. Hollis Crossman
C. Hollis Crossman used to be a child. Now he's a husband and father who loves church, good food, and weird stuff. He might be a mythical creature, but he's definitely not a centaur. Read more of his reviews here.
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Active Filters: Legend & Romance
Arthurian Romances
by Chrétien de Troyes
from Penguin Classics
for 10th-Adult
in Clearance: Literature (Location: ZCLE-LIT)
Battle of Maldon together with The Homecoming of Beorhtnoth
by J.R.R. Tolkien, edited by Peter Grybauskas
from HarperCollins
for 10th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$30.00
Bulfinch's Medieval Mythology
by Thomas Bulfinch
from Dover Publications
for 6th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$10.00
Canterbury Tales
by Geoffrey Chaucer (edited by Peter Beidler)
from Bantam Books
for 10th-Adult
in Medieval Literature (Location: LIT2-MED)
$5.99
Chronicles
by Jean Froissart
from Penguin Classics
for 10th-Adult
in Medieval Literature (Location: LIT2-MED)
$18.00
Deirdre
by David Guard; illustrated by Gretchen Guard
2nd edition from Celestial Arts
for 4th-6th grade
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Elfin Knight
by Edmund Spenser & Toby Sumpter
from Canon Press
for 9th-Adult
in Renaissance & Reformation Literature (Location: LIT3-REN)
$20.00
Faerie Queene
Penguin Classics
by Edmund Spenser
from Penguin Classics
Allegory/Epic Poetry for 10th-Adult
in Renaissance & Reformation Literature (Location: LIT3-REN)
$22.00
Faerie Queene Book 1
by Edmund Spenser, edited with an introduction by Carol V. Kaske
from Hackett Publishing Company
Allegory/Epic Poetry for 10th-Adult
in Renaissance & Reformation Literature (Location: LIT3-REN)
$15.00
Faerie Queene Book 2
by Edmund Spenser
from Hackett Publishing Company
Allegory/Epic Poetry for 10th-Adult
in Renaissance & Reformation Literature (Location: LIT3-REN)
$14.00
Faerie Queene Book 3 & 4
by Edmund Spenser
from Hackett Publishing Company
Allegory/Epic Poetry for 10th-Adult
in Renaissance & Reformation Literature (Location: LIT3-REN)
$16.00
Faerie Queene Book 5
by Edmund Spenser
from Hackett Publishing Company
Allegory/Epic Poetry for 10th-Adult
in Renaissance & Reformation Literature (Location: LIT3-REN)
$14.00
Faerie Queene Book 6
by Edmund Spenser
from Hackett Publishing Company
Allegory/Epic Poetry for 10th-Adult
in Renaissance & Reformation Literature (Location: LIT3-REN)
$14.00
Faerie Queene Books 1-6
by Edmund Spenser
from Hackett Publishing Company
Allegory/Epic Poetry for 10th-Adult
in Renaissance & Reformation Literature (Location: LIT3-REN)
$68.40
Famous Legends Adapted for Children
by Emeline G. Crommelin
2022 Reprint from Living Book Press
for 5th-9th grade
$7.99
Fierce Wars and Faithful Loves
by Roy Maynard & Edmund Spenser
from Canon Press
Allegory/Epic Poetry for 10th-Adult
in Renaissance & Reformation Literature (Location: LIT3-REN)
$20.00 $9.00 (5 in stock)
Gilgamesh (retold)
by Bernarda Bryson
from CreateSpace
for 4th-8th grade
in Classics Retold (Location: FIC-RET)
$24.95
Glittering Plain
by William Morris
from Newcastle Publishing Co
for 7th-Adult
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
High Deeds of Finn Mac Cool
by Rosemary Sutcliff
from E.P. Dutton & Co.
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
History of the Kings of Britain
Penguin Classics
by Geoffrey of Monmouth
from Penguin Classics
Historical Fairy Tale for 10th-12th grade
in Medieval Literature (Location: LIT2-MED)
$19.00 $10.00 (1 in stock)
Howard Pyle King Arthur Series
by Howard Pyle
from Dover Publications
Fairy Tales, Fables, and Legends for 7th-10th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
Illustrated Bulfinch's Mythology: Age of Fable
by Thomas Bulfinch
from Macmillan
for 6th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
Illustrated Bulfinch's Mythology: Legends of Charlemagne
by Thomas Bulfinch
from Macmillan
for 6th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
Illustrated Bulfinch's Mythology: The Age of Chivalry
by Thomas Bulfinch, illustrated by Giovanni Caselli
from Macmillan
for 6th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
John Burnet of Barns
by John Buchan
1946 Reprint from Thomas Nelson and Sons Ltd
for 10th-Adult
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
King Arthur and His Noble Knights
by Mary MacLeod, illustrated by Henry C. Pitz
from J.B. Lippincott Co.
for 5th-8th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
King Arthur and the Round Table
Dent & Dutton Children's Illustrated Classics
by A. M. Hadfield, illustrated by Donald Seton Cammell
from J. M. Dent & Sons Ltd.
for 5th-8th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
King of Elfland's Daughter
by Lord Dunsany
Fourth Printing from Ballantine Books
for 7th-10th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
King of Ireland's Son
by Padraic Colum
from Yesterday's Classics
for 3rd-7th grade
$14.95
Le Morte d'Arthur
Signet Classics
by Sir Thomas Mallory
from Signet Classics
for 9th-Adult
in Medieval Literature (Location: LIT2-MED)
$7.95
Le Morte d'Arthur
by Sir Thomas Malory
from Modern Library
for 10th-Adult
in Medieval Literature (Location: LIT2-MED)
Le Morte d'Arthur
Signet Classics
by Sir Thomas Mallory
from Random House
for 9th-Adult
in Medieval Literature (Location: LIT2-MED)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Legend of Sigurd and Gudrun
by J.R.R Tolkien, Edited by Christopher Tolkien
Reprint from Mariner Books
for 11th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$16.95
Legends of the North
by Olivia Coolidge, illustrated by Edouard Sandoz
from Houghton Mifflin
Norse Myths for 5th-8th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Mabinogion
by Anonymous, Jeffrey Gantz
from Penguin Classics
for 10th-Adult
in Medieval Literature (Location: LIT2-MED)
$14.00
Mabinogion
by Anonymous, Translated by Sioned Davies
from Oxford University
for 10th-Adult
in Medieval Literature (Location: LIT2-MED)
Merry Adventures of Robin Hood
by Howard Pyle
from Dover Publications
Fairy Tales, Fables, and Legends for 7th-9th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$16.95
Merry Adventures of Robin Hood
Illustrated Junior Library Series 3
by Howard Pyle, illustrated by Lawrence Beall Smith
from Grosset & Dunlap
Fairy Tales, Fables, and Legends for 5th-8th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
Merry Adventures of Robin Hood
Illustrated Junior Library Series 2
by Howard Pyle, illustrated by Lawrence Beall Smith
from Grosset & Dunlap
Fairy Tales, Fables, and Legends for 5th-8th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
Merry Adventures of Robin Hood
by Howard Pyle
from Living Book Press
Fairy Tales, Fables, and Legends for 7th-9th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
Once and Future King
by T. H. White
from ACE Publishing
for 7th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$9.99
Once and Future King
by T. H. White
from ACE Publishing
for 7th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
Once and Future King / Book of Merlyn
by T. H. White
from ACE Publishing
for 7th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
Paradise Lost
by John Milton, illustrated by Gustave Dore
from Flame Tree Collections
for 10th-Adult
in 17th Century Literature (Location: LIT4-17)
Parzival and Titurel
by Wolfram Von Eschenbach, translated by Cecil Edwards
from Oxford University
for 10th-Adult
in Medieval Literature (Location: LIT2-MED)
Robin Hood
Scribner Illustrated Classics
by Paul Creswick, illustrated by N.C. Wyeth
from Atheneum
for 6th-10th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
Robin Hood
Scribner Illustrated Classics
by Paul Creswick, illustrated by N.C. Wyeth
Reissue from Atheneum
for 6th-10th grade
in Scribner Illustrated Classics (Location: FIC-SCRIB)
$24.99
Robin Hood
by Henry Gilbert, illustrated by Frances Brundage
from Saalfield Publishing Co.
for 5th-9th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Robin Hood and the Men of the Greenwood
by Henry Gilbert, illustrated by Walter Crane
from Bracken Books
for 5th-9th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
Romance of King Arthur and His Knights of the Round Table (abridged)
by Sir Thomas Mallory, illustrated by Arthur Rackham
from Weathervane Books
for 7th-12th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
Romance of Tristan and Iseult
by Hilaire Belloc
from Dover Publications
for 10th-Adult
in Medieval Literature (Location: LIT2-MED)
$6.95
Romance of Tristan and Iseult
by Joseph Bedier (reteller), translated by Hilaire Belloc and Paul Rosenfeld, introduction by Padraic Colum, illustrated by Serge Ivanoff
from Heritage Press
for 10th-Adult
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Saga of the Volsungs
by Anonymous, Jesse L. Byock
from Penguin Classics
for 10th-Adult
in Medieval Literature (Location: LIT2-MED)
$16.00
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight
by Anonymous, translated by Jessie Weston
2nd edition from Dover Publications
for 10th-Adult
in Medieval Literature (Location: LIT2-MED)
$4.95
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight
by Anonymous, translated by Marie Borroff and edited by Laura Howes
2nd edition from W. W. Norton and Co.
for 10th-Adult
in Medieval Literature (Location: LIT2-MED)
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight
by Anonymous, translated by W. S. Merwin
from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
for 10th-Adult
in Medieval Literature (Location: LIT2-MED)
$15.00
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight
by Anonymous, translated by Burton Raffel
Reprint from Signet Classics
for 9th-Adult
in Medieval Literature (Location: LIT2-MED)
$6.95
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight
by Anonymous, translated by Brian Stone
from Penguin Classics
for 8th-Adult
in Medieval Literature (Location: LIT2-MED)
$12.00
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight
by Anonymous, translated by Marie Borroff
from W. W. Norton and Co.
for 10th-Adult
in Medieval Literature (Location: LIT2-MED)
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight
by Anonymous, translated by Bernard O'Donoghue
Reissue from Penguin Classics
for 10th-Adult
in Medieval Literature (Location: LIT2-MED)
$12.00
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight
by Anonymous, translated by Jessie L. Weston
from Dover Publications
for 10th-Adult
in Medieval Literature (Location: LIT2-MED)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight / Pearl / Sir Orfeo
by Anonymous, J. R. R. Tolkien (Translator)
from Ballantine Books
Medieval Fairy Tale/Poetry for 8th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$8.99
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight / Pearl / Sir Orfeo
by Anonymous, J. R. R. Tolkien (Translator)
from Mariner Books
Medieval Fairy Tale/Poetry for 8th-Adult
in Medieval Literature (Location: LIT2-MED)
$16.99
Song of Hiawatha
by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, illustrated by Frederic Remington
from Bounty Books
for 7th-Adult
in Poetry (Location: POET-GEN)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Song of Roland
Penguin Classics
by Dorothy Sayers, translator
from Penguin Classics
Medieval Poetic Epic for 10th-Adult
in Medieval Literature (Location: LIT2-MED)
$14.00
Song of the Cid
by Anonymous
Dual Language from Penguin Classics
for 10th-Adult
in Medieval Literature (Location: LIT2-MED)
$19.00 $10.00 (1 in stock)
Stories of Robin Hood & His Merry Men
"In Days of Old" series
by Henry Gilbert, illustrated by Walter Crane
from T.C. & E.C. Jack
for 5th-9th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
Story of King Arthur and His Knights
Howard Pyle's King Arthur series book 1.
by Howard Pyle
from Dover Publications
Fairy Tales, Fables, and Legends for 7th-10tth grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$14.95
Story of Kullervo
by J.R.R. Tolkien
1st edition from Houghton Mifflin
for 9th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
Story of Kullervo
by J.R.R. Tolkien
from Houghton Mifflin
for 9th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
Story of Sir Launcelot and His Companions
Howard Pyle's King Arthur series book 3.
by Howard Pyle
from Dover Publications
Fairy Tales, Fables, and Legends for 7th-10th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
Story of the Champions of the Round Table
Howard Pyle's King Arthur series book 2
by Howard Pyle
from Dover Publications
Fairy Tales, Fables, and Legends for 7th-10th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
Story of the Grail and the Passing of Arthur
Howard Pyle's King Arthur series book 4
by Howard Pyle
from Dover Publications
Fairy Tales, Fables, and Legends for 7th-10th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$9.50
Tale of the Cid: and Other Stories of Knights and Chivalry
by Andrew Lang
from Dover Publications
for 6th-Adult
$9.95
Tales of Robin Hood Told For Children
Magna Children's Classics
by Rose Yeatman Woolf, illustrated by Howard Davie
from Magna Books
for 3rd-6th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
Voyagers, The
by Padraic Colum, illustrated by Wilfred Jones
from Smidgen Press
for 4th-8th grade
1926 Newbery Honor Book
Wagner's Ring of the Nibelung I: The Rhinegold
by Robert Lawrence, illustrated by Alexandre Serebriakoff
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 5th-Adult
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Wagner's Ring of the Nibelung II: The Valkyrie
by Robert Lawrence, illustrated by Alexandre Serebriakoff
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 5th-Adult
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Wagner's Ring of the Nibelung III: Siegfried
by Robert Lawrence, illustrated by Alexandre Serebriakoff
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 5th-Adult
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Wagner's Ring of the Nibelung IV: Twilight of the Gods
by Richard Wagner, adapted by Robert Lawrence, illustrated by Alexandre Serebriakoff
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 5th-Adult
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Warrior Princess
by Edmund Spenser, edited and annotated by Roy Maynard
from Canon Press
for 10th-Adult
in Renaissance & Reformation Literature (Location: LIT3-REN)
$20.00
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