Legends of the Middle Ages, Narrated with Special Reference to Literature
CORONATION OF CHARLEMAGNE.— L^vy. Legends of the middle ages NARRATED WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO LITERATURE AND ART BY AUTHOR OF "myths OF GREECE AND ROME,'' " MYTHS OF NORTHERN LANDS," "CONTES ET LEGENDES." " Saddle the Hippogriffs, ye Muses nine. And straight ua^U ride to the land ofold Romance.*' WiEI-AND. NEW YORK • : • CINCINNATI • : • CHICAGO AMERICAN BOOK COMPANY Copyright, 1896, by American Book Company. LEGENDS OF THE MIDDLE AGES. B—P2 <J^ DEDICATED TO MY SISTER, ADfiLE E. GUERBER, ;; ; " Men lykyn jestis for to here, And romans rede in diuers manere " Of Brute that baron bold of hond, The first conqueroure of Englond Of kyng Artour that was so riche, Was non in his tyme him Uche. " How kyng CharUs and Rowlond fawght With sarzyns nold they be cawght Of Tristrem and of Ysoude the swete, How tney with love first gan mete; " Stories of diuerce thynggis, Of pryncis, prelatis, and of kynggis Many songgis of diuers ryme, As english, frensh, and latyne." Cursor Mundi. PREFACE. THE object of this work is to familiarize young students with the legends which form the staple of mediaeval literature. While they may owe more than is apparent at first sight to the classical writings of the palmy days of Greece and Rome, these legends are very characteristic of the people who told them, and they are the best exponents of the customs, manners, and beliefs of the time to which they belong. They have been repeated in poetry and prose with endless variations, and some of our greatest modem writers have deemed them worthy of a new dress, as is seen in Tennyson's " Idyls of the King," Goethe's " Reineke Fuchs," Tegn6r's " Frithiof Saga," Wieland's " Oberon," Morris's " Story of Sigurd," and many shorter works by these and less noted writers.
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