Mythology and Folklore UN-Textbook: unitneedproof

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Myth-Folklore Unit: King Arthur

Overview. This collection of Arthur legends falls into two main categories: there are stories about Arthur (how he became king, how he obtained Excalibur and the Round Table, and his enmity with his own sister Morgan le Fay), and those Arthur stories are then followed by stories about Arthur's knights and their quest for the Holy Grail (focusing on Sir Galahad and Sir Lancelot). Then, at the very end of the unit, the focus shifts back to Arthur, and the tragic events that marked the end of his reign. The source is King Arthur: Tales of the Round Table by Andrew Lang. While Lang does use a rather lofty style of English to convey the grandeur of the legend, his writing is still very lively and readable. Especially if you are interested in the mystical and mysterious aspects of Arthurian legend, full of magic and dreams, I think you will enjoy these stories very much!

Language. Andrew Lang has retold the medieval Arthur materials in modern literary prose; it should not be too difficult to read.

Story Length. The unit consists of one continuous story, divided into separate episodes, with the second half focused on the search for the Holy Grail.

Navigation. You will find the table of contents below, and you can also use this link to see the story posts displayed on two pages total: King Arthur. Click "Older Posts" at the bottom of that page to see the second page.

READING A:

READING B:

Myth-Folklore Unit: Ballads of Robin Hood

Overview. The Robin Hood stories in this unit are in the form of ballads as found in The English and Scottish Popular Ballads collected by Francis James Child. The ballads are oldest sources for the Robin legends, some of them dating back to the Middle Ages. You will see Robin at the start of his outlaw career, a young man with a furious temper who murders fourteen of the king's foresters, leaving just one alive to tell the tale. In addition to his skill with the bow, Robin is a trickster too, often disguising himself as someone unexpected — a butcher, a beggar, a monk, and even an old woman. You will meet the Merry Men, such as Little John, Will Scarlett and Allen a Dale, and you will also meet Robin's sworn enemies, such as the Bishop of Hereford and the Sheriff of Nottingham. And yes, Maid Marian will make an appearance, as will King Richard. Plus, some of the ballads have YouTube recordings where you can listen to the song as well as reading the lyrics!

Language. All the readings in this unit are ballads. For some of the ballads you have just the lyrics; for some ballads, you can listen to a performance of the song at YouTube. The ballads are quite old, so the language is quite old-fashioned, but good for singing out loud!

Story Length. Each ballad is a single page in length.

Navigation. You will find the table of contents below, and you can also use this link to see the story posts displayed on two pages total: Robin Hood. Click "Older Posts" at the bottom of that page to see the second page.

READING A:

READING B:

(Robin Hood statue in Nottingham)

Myth-Folklore Unit: Canterbury Tales

Overview. Chaucer's Canterbury Tales are one of the most famous works of Middle English poetry, and this unit gives you a chance to enjoy the stories in modern English prose form, as retold in Eva March Tappan's The Chaucer Story Book. On a pilgrimage to Canterbury, a group of pilgrims decide to have a storytelling contest, and the "Canterbury Tales" are the stories that they tell. You will read stories from seven of the pilgrims, and the stories are as varied as the pilgrims themselves. The Wife of Bath tells a sort of fairy tale set in the court of King Arthur, while the Friar tells a story about the devil-as-trickster. From the Franklin you will hear a beautiful story of love and magic. From the Pardoner you will hear a parable about Death, while the Prioress tells a religious tale about the miracles of the Virgin Mary. The Nun's Priest story is a charming animal fable about Chauntecleer the Rooster, and the last story you will hear is a comical tale from the Canon's Yeoman about would-be alchemy. In the spirit of the original storytelling contest, you can decide who is the winner amongst these seven tales.

Language. This is a modern prose adaption of Chaucer's medieval poetry, and as such it should not be difficult to read.

Story Length. The stories in this unit vary in length, with some being a single page while others are two, three or four pages long.

Navigation. You will find the table of contents below, and you can also use this link to see the story posts displayed on a single page: Canterbury Tales.

READING A:

READING B:

Myth-Folklore Unit: Faerie Queen - Britomart

Overview. Edmund Spenser's The Faerie Queene is an epic poem of the English Renaissance that features knights and their adventures. In this unit, you will read about the adventures of a virtuous lady knight, Britomart, who has seen the face of her destined lover in Merlin's mirror and sets out on a quest to find him, all the while disguised as a man. Although Spenser's poetry is very beautiful, I have used a prose version for this unit — Stories from the Faerie Queene by Mary Macleod — so that you can enjoy Britomart's adventure as a story in its own right. You will find magical weapons here, like Britomart's own enchanted spear, and mysterious settings, such as the "Castle Joyous of the Lady of Delight" or the even more weird "Castle of the Enchanter." Britomart's male disguise leads to several gender-bending dilemmas and, to add to the confusion, her beloved Artegall has disguised himself beyond recognition as a wild man called the "Savage Knight." If you are a fan of Arthurian romance and/or Shakespearean comedies of mistaken identity, I think you will enjoy Britomart's story!

Language. This is a prose adaptation of Spenser's Renaissance poetry, and it should not be too difficult to read.

Story Length. This unit consists of one continuous story, divided into different episodes.

Navigation. You will find the table of contents below, and you can also use this link to see the story posts displayed on a single page: Britomart.

Free audiobook available!

READING A:

READING B:

Myth-Folklore Unit: Through the Looking-Glass

Overview. Lewis Carroll published Alice in Wonderland in 1865, and in 1871 he published a sequel: Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There. While the Wonderland novel was inspired by a pack of playing cards, this novel features chess pieces: you'll meet the Red Queen and Red King, along with the White King and White Queen, and also the gentle but lunatic inventor, the White Knight. In addition to the chess pieces, this novel features some of Carroll's best known characters, such as Tweedledee and Tweedledum, the Walrus and the Carpenter, and that most famous egg in all of world literature: Humpty Dumpty. Finally, this is the Alice novel which contains the epic nonsense rhyme, Jabberwocky. So, like Alice in Wonderland, this novel is full of delights, and there is a LibriVox audio recording available too, which means you can listen to the novel while you read.

Language. Carroll's novel is written in a delightful prose style, and it also contains some original poetry as well.

Story Length. This unit consists of one continuous story, divided up into separate episodes. You will be reading most, but not quite all, of the original novel.

Navigation. You will find the table of contents below, and you can also use this link to see the story posts displayed on two pages total: Through the Looking-Glass. Click "Older Posts" at the bottom of that page to see the second page.

Free audiobook available!

READING A:

READING B:

(illustration by John Tenniel)

Myth-Folklore Unit: Dante's Inferno

Overview. This journey though "Inferno" (Italian for "Hell") is part of Dante Alighieri's medieval epic poem, the "Divine Comedy." After Dante makes his way through Hell, he then travels to "Purgatorio" (Purgatory) and "Paradiso" (Paradise), and it is this happy conclusion in paradise that led Dante to label the epic a "comedy." The Inferno, however, is as far removed from Paradise as a place can be, and it is filled with sinners suffering torments which Dante describes in excruciating detail. In this selection of episodes (from Tony Kline's prose translation, Dante's Divine Comedy), you will see Dante encounter his Italian contemporaries, such as the adulterous lovers Paolo and Francesca, and he will also meet figures from ancient history, including his guide through hell: the Roman epic poet Virgil. While Dante's vision of hell is founded on Christian theology, it is populated with many figures from ancient mythology, and Dante's creative blending of Christian and Greco-Roman culture makes the Divine Comedy one of the most original and influential storytelling experiments in the history of world literature.

Language. This is a translation of Dante's Italian poem into modern English prose. Dante's story is dense and full of details, but the language itself should not prove difficult.

Story Length. This is one continuous story as Dante moves from one circle of hell to the next until his final encounter with Satan.

Navigation. You will find the table of contents below, and you can also use this link to see the story posts displayed on two pages total: Dante's Inferno. Click "Older Posts" at the bottom of that page to see the second page.

Additional Resources. If you would like to see an English verse translation that imitates Dante's poetic style, then see the Allen Mandelbaum translation which is available here: World of Dante: Inferno.

READING A:

READING B:

(Dante and Virgil, by Delacroix)

Myth-Folklore Unit: The Decameron by Boccaccio

Overview. Giovanni Boccaccio's Decameron ("The Ten Days") is a lively experiment in storytelling: seven young women and three young men have fled from Florence during the time of the Black Death around the year 1350. Each person tells one story for ten days in a row, resulting in one hundred stories; you will read eight of those stories here. Boccaccio delighted in stories that satirized the lascivious behavior of outwardly pious monks, and three of the stories explore that theme. There are also four love stories, all of them very dramatic... and very tragic. There is also a wisdom tale, a story about the Sultan Saladin and a wise Jew who ponder the relative merits of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, a topic that was of great interest in medieval Europe as it remains so even now, almost seven hundred years later. This translation, which is by J. M. Rigg, has a free audiobook version available too!

Language. This is a modern English translation of Boccaccio which stays very close to Boccaccio in the style and sentence structure. It might feel a bit old-fashioned, but it is also very lively and should not be too difficult to read.

Story Length. This unit contains stories of varying lengths, with single-page stories, along with stories that are two, three, or four pages long.

Navigation. You will find the table of contents below, and you can also use this link to see the story posts displayed on a single page: Decameron.

Free audiobook available!

READING A:

READING B:

(The Decameron, Waterhouse)

Myth-Folklore Unit: The Heptameron of Margaret, Queen of Navarre

Overview. The author of the French story collection known as The Heptameron is Margaret, Queen of Navarre, who was the sister Francis I, the King of France. From the time that her brother assumed the throne in 1515, Margaret was one of the most powerful women in France, as well as being a great patron of literature. In 1545, she commissioned a French translation of Boccaccio's Decameron, and that book inspired her own storytelling experiment in which travelers must halt their journey because of a washed-out bridge; to amuse themselves while they wait for the bridge to be repaired, they each tell one story a day, just as in Boccaccio's Decameron. The book was unfinished when Margaret died in 1547, so it contains only 72 stories (hence the title, Heptameron = "Seven Days"), and you will read twelve of those stories here. Unlike the folktales in Boccaccio, Margaret's stories here are more like urban legends — Renaissance urban legends — because they are all supposedly true, involving the romantic scandals of persons who are known to the storytellers... or so they claim!

Language This is a modern English translation, and it should not pose difficulties in reading.

Story Length. This unit consists of single-page stories and stories that are two pages long.

Navigation. You will find the table of contents below, and you can also use this link to see the story posts displayed on a single page: The Heptameron.

READING A:

READING B:

(Heptameron book cover)

Myth-Folklore Unit: Kalevala

Overview. This unit contains episodes from the Kalevala, an epic poem of the Finnish people which was compiled in the 19th century by Elias Lonnrot based on the oral poetry he collected from traditional epic singers in Finland and Lapland. The selections that you will read here focus on the exploits of the "first man," Väinämöinen, who is a culture hero and wizard. You will read about Väinämöinen's competition with the young man Joukahainen, his tragic love for Joukahainen's sister Aino, and also his role in the forging of the magical Sampo. The Kalevala singers used a trochaic tetrameter form, and the English translation follows the Finnish meter and style, allowing you to experience the use of "oral formulaic composition" in the songs. There is an audiobook version available, and I would strongly recommend that you listen to at least part of the story read out loud in order to get a sense of the dense and complex repetitions that this oral formulaic style of poetry relies on: the effect can be very powerful!

Language. This is translation of the Finnish epic poem into English verse that closely imitates the style of the Finnish original which is strongly oral epic verse. It's quite different from the sort of poetry you might have read in English class before, so take a look and see what you think: it is highly rhythmic and full of repetitions, as is typical of oral poetry.

Story Length. This is a continuous story, narrating Väinämöinen's adventures in a series of episodes where one episode leads to the next.

Navigation. You will find the table of contents below, and you can also use this link to see the story posts displayed on two pages total: Kalevala. Click "Older Posts" at the bottom of that page to see the second page.

Free audiobook available!

READING A:

READING B:

(Aino, by A. Gallen-Kallela)

Myth-Folklore Unit: Brothers Grimm (Ashliman)

Overview. There are four different Grimm units to choose from, each taken a different English-language version. This selection (from Dan Ashliman's Grimm Brothers' Children's and Household Tales) features both familiar and unfamiliar stories, although I am guessing these are mostly less familiar stories. If you want to read the Grimm versions of Little Red Riding Hood, Rumpelstiltskin, or The Elves and the Shoemaker, you will find those stories here, and you will also find some other fabulous stories: there is the mysterious murder mystery in The Singing Bone, along with lots of animal stories, including some great animal tricksters (Cat and Mouse in Partnership, The Hare and the Hedgehog), plus a classic fairy-tale story, The Seven Ravens. Finally, there is some Bible-based folklore here, with the story of Eve's Unequal Children, which is about the life of Adam and Eve after they are expelled from Paradise.

Language. This is a contemporary English prose translation of the Brothers Grimm, so it should not pose any real difficulties.

Story Length. The stories in this unit are all single-page stories.

Choosing Between Units. There are four different Grimm units: the Ashliman and LibriVox units contain shorter, less familiar stories (and the LibriVox one has audio recordings), while the Crane and Hunt units contain longer, more familiar stories.

Navigation. You will find the table of contents below, and you can also use this link to see the story posts displayed on two pages total: Grimm (Ashliman). Click "Older Posts" at the bottom of that page to see the second page.

Additional Resources. There is a Grimm Index page for all the fables in the four Grimm units in this course, and you can use this link to see the four different Grimm units listed on a single page.

READING A:

READING B:

(The Seven Ravens, by H. Vogel)

Myth-Folklore Unit: Brothers Grimm (Crane)

Overview. There are four different Grimm units taken from four different English-language sources. This selection (from Lucy and Walter Crane's Household Stories by the Brothers Grimm) features longer stories, like the famous tales of Cinderella (called Aschenputtel in German) and Snow-White and the Seven Dwarves. There are also two other classic fairy-tale type stories: The Six Swans, the tale of a woman who is on a quest to free her brothers who have been turned into swans, and King Thrushbeard, the story of a proud princess who thinks she is too good for all the men who are seeking her hand in marriage. In the "not safe for children" category is the horrifying tale of The Robber Bridegroom, and also for grown-up audiences is the hilarious story The Fisherman and His Wife, along with the humorous tale of The Three Spinsters.

Language. This is a contemporary English prose translation of the Brothers Grimm, so it should not pose any real difficulties.

Story Length. This unit contains longer stories that are either two, three or four pages in length.

Choosing Between Units. There are four different Grimm units: the Ashliman and LibriVox units contain shorter, less familiar stories (and the LibriVox one has audio recordings), while the Crane and Hunt units contain longer, more familiar stories.

Navigation. You will find the table of contents below, and you can also use this link to see the story posts displayed on two pages total: Brothers Grimm (Crane). Click "Older Posts" at the bottom of that page to see the second page.

READING A:

READING B:

Myth-Folklore Unit: Brothers Grimm (Hunt)

Overview. There are four different Grimm units taken from four different English-language sources. This selection (from Margaret Hunt's Household Tales by Jacob Grimm and Wilhelm Grimm) features some longer stories, including some very famous ones, such as Hansel and Grethel and the story of the two sisters Snow-White and Rose-Red. There are also other classic fairy tales like Allerleirauh, which is about a Cinderella-like heroine, and Bearskin, the marvelous tale of a man who makes a bizarre bargain with the Devil involving a bearskin and fabulous wealth. You will also find stories here about unusual heroes, like little Thumbling who, true to his name, is no bigger than your thumb, or Hans the Hedgehog, one of my favorite Grimm characters of all time: Hans is half-hedgehog and half-boy, plays the bagpipes, and is a seriously dangerous character!

Language. This is a contemporary English prose translation of the Brothers Grimm, so it should not pose any real difficulties.

Story Length. This unit consists of longer stories that are two, three or four pages in length.

Choosing Between Units. There are four different Grimm units: the Ashliman and LibriVox units contain shorter, less familiar stories (and the LibriVox one has audio recordings), while the Crane and Hunt units contain longer, more familiar stories.

Navigation. You will find the table of contents below, and you can also use this link to see the story posts displayed on two pages total: Brothers Grimm (Hunt). Click "Older Posts" at the bottom of that page to see the second page.

READING A:

READING B:

(Hansel and Grethel)

Myth-Folklore Unit: Grimm (LibriVox)

Overview. There are four different Grimm units taken from four different English-language sources. This selection is the one that has free audio recordings from LibriVox (Fairy Tales by the Brothers Grimm) for all of the stories. You will find some familiar stories here such as The Frog Prince and Rapunzel, along with Sleeping Beauty (called "Briar Rose" in this version), plus the marvelous Musicians of Bremen. There some classic fairy tales here too, such as the story of The Twelve Dancing Princesses, plus several comical tales, like the story of The Straw, The Coal, and the Bean who set out on a journey together, or The Mouse, The Bird and The Sausage who decide to set up house together as roommates. There are also animal tales featuring the trickster fox, as well as the story of the valiant willow-wrens and their tiny insect allies who fight a war against the bear and his animal army. The fox plays a role in that story too, but he is "outfoxed" by the birds and insects this time!

Language. This is a contemporary English prose translation of the Brothers Grimm, so it should not pose any real difficulties.

Story Length. This unit consists of single-page stories.

Choosing Between Units. There are four different Grimm units: the Ashliman and LibriVox units contain shorter, less familiar stories (and the LibriVox one has audio recordings), while the Crane and Hunt units contain longer, more familiar stories.

Navigation. You will find the table of contents below, and you can also use this link to see the story posts displayed on two pages total: Grimm (Librivox). Click "Older Posts" at the bottom of that page to see the second page.

Free audiobook available!

READING A:

READING B:

(illustration by R. Anning Bell)

Myth-Folklore Unit: Hans Christian Andersen

Overview. Hans Christian Andersen is famous as an author of literary fairy tales, and is probably Denmark's most famous author. You will encounter some familiar fairy tales in this selection from his Fairy Tales and Stories, such as "The Princess and the Pea," and also the "The Little Mermaid," a story whose plot and whose themes are about as UN-Disney as you can imagine. It's also quite a long story, full of beautiful details and background about the little mermaid, taking up half of the unit. In the other half, you will read some other, shorter Andersen fairy tales, ranging from the hilarious ("The Emperor's New Suit") to the tragic ("The Little Matchseller"). There are profoundly spiritual themes that run through Andersen's stories, as well as heartfelt drama and unforgettable characters. If your only encounter with Andersen's imaginary world has been the Disney film, you are in for a wonderful surprise with these stories!

Language. This is an English translation of Andersen's Danish tales which are highly literary in style.

Story Length. The first half of the unit consists of short stories that are just one or two pages in length, and the second half of the unit consists of Andersen's Little Mermaid.

Navigation. You will find the table of contents below, and you can also use this link to see the story posts displayed on a single page: Andersen Fairy Tales.

Free audiobook available!

READING A:

READING B:

(Illustration by W. Heath Robinson)

Myth-Folklore Unit: Lang's European Fairy Tales I

Overview. Andrew Lang's fairy books contain literally hundreds of stories from different European countries, and using Lang's books I have created two units for this Europe module which feature countries not represented in the other reading options. The tales in this unit come from all over Europe, including Denmark, France, Greece, Romania, and more besides! Plus, there are audio recordings available for all the Lang stories, which makes these units good options for those of you who like to listen to the stories read aloud. This unit features the famous story of "Puss in Boots," based on the French version by Perrault, along with another famous French fairy tale: "The Dirty Shepherdess," which is a Cinderella-type story. There are stories of magic and mystery here, plus tales of romance and adventure, along with supernatural creatures such as dragons, trolls, and giants.

Language. Lang tells the fairy tales in modern literary prose, so it is not difficult reading.

Story Length. This unit consists of stories that are one or two pages in length.

Navigation. You will find the table of contents below, and you can also use this link to see the story posts displayed on a single page: Lang's European Fairy Tales I.

Free audiobook available!

READING A:

READING B:

Myth-Folklore Unit: Lang's European Fairy Tales II

Overview. Andrew Lang's fairy books contain literally hundreds of stories from different European countries, and using Lang's books I have created two units for this Europe module which feature countries not represented in the other reading options. The tales in this unit come from all over Europe, including Spain and Portugal, Iceland and Lapland, Greece and Serbia, and more besides! Plus, there are audio recordings available for all the Lang stories, which makes these units good options for those of you who like to listen to the stories read aloud. This unit features the terrifying legend of "Blue Beard," based on the French version by Perrault, along with "Toads and Diamonds," also by Perrault. There are comical tales like "Peter Bull," plus stories of supernatural adventure, like "The Seven-Headed Serpent" or "Andras Baive," along with animal fables too, like the story of the little "Half-Chick."

Language. Lang tells the fairy tales in modern literary prose, so it is not difficult reading.

Story Length. The stories in this unit are one or two pages in length.

Navigation. You will find the table of contents below, and you can also use this link to see the story posts displayed on a single page: More European Fairy Tales from Lang.

Free audiobook available!

READING A:

READING B:

Pages