Robin Hood: The Shaping of the Legend (Contributions to the Study of World Literature)

Book Description

Among the narrative traditions of the Middle Ages, the Robin Hood legend holds a unique, important, and often overlooked position. Robin Hood's uniqueness and importance begins with his status as the only English contribution to world mythology. His is also the only lasting myth to arise from the High Middle Ages and the last Western legend to achieve a sustained international appeal. Several Robin Hood ballads survive from the Middle Ages, and from the 15th to the 17th centuries he figured prominently in folk drama. Since then, he has appeared in numerous proverbs, placenames, operas, novels, children's stories, films, and television series. A tale told so often must be profoundly significant to the society that retells it. Yet in spite of its importance and popularity, the legend of Robin Hood has received surprisingly little study. This book overviews the genesis and development of the Robin Hood legend from the Middle Ages to 1700. As is appropriate for a work that bridges the divide between the worlds of fiction and history, this volume incorporates the strengths of both historical and literary approaches, respecting both the circumstances of the historic setting and the legend's status as a fictive creation. The principal focus of the book is the interaction between the text and the social context in which the legend arose and developed. The first two chapters examine the early Robin Hood tradition, including the initial nondramatic manifestations of the legend and the later dramatic representations. The volume then looks at the transformation of the legend in the 16th and 17th centuries and considers how the various elements of the legend interacted with each other and with society as a whole.

Irish Fairy and Folk Tales (Modern Library Classics)

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From a World Long Forgotten
Enchanting!
Absolutely charming!
I loved this book!
A fascinating look at the tradition of folklore in Ireland.

Irish Fairy and Folk Tales (Modern Library Classics)

Manufacturer: Modern Library
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0812968557
Release Date: 2003-02-11

Book Description

Gathered by the renowned Irish poet, playwright, and essayist William Butler Yeats, the sixty-five tales and poems in this delightful collection uniquely capture the rich heritage of the Celtic imagination. Filled with legends of village ghosts, fairies, demons, witches, priests, and saints, these stories evoke both tender pathos and lighthearted mirth and embody what Yeats describes as “the very voice of the people, the very pulse of life.”

“The impact of these tales doesn’t stop with Yeats, or Joyce, or Oscar Wilde,” writes Paul Muldoon in his Foreword, “for generations of readers in Ireland and throughout the world have found them flourishing like those persistent fairy thorns.”

Customer Reviews:

From a World Long Forgotten.......2007-10-10

This is a new and expanded version of the original volume published by in 1892 under the title "Fairy and Folk Tales of the Irish Peasantry." It was subsequently re-titled, "Irish Fairy and Folk Tales," and has seen several editions from different publishers.
This edition, with an illuminating forward by Paul Muldoon, also has other additions that help the reader penetrate the sometimes dense and archaic language. If I had to choose between the original edition and this one, I would definitely choose this one. The main body of the book is identical to the original.
Both Yeats and Lady Gregory were especially concerned that the best of the tales from the Irish countryside be preserved before their main purveyors, the Shenaches (storytellers) vanished. Those collected here are a varied lot, and not all of them will appeal to every reader. That, however, does not affect their value at all, for here a way of life is preserved and we can look through a small window into the beliefs and habits of the Irish people in the days when the "Fairy Faith" was still common amongst them. It is probably best not to read the collection straight through, but rather peruse it, selecting from it that which most appeals.
Yeats's singular contribution is the dividing the denizens of the Irish Enchanted Countryside into categories: The Trooping Fairy, The Solitary Fairy, the Sociable Fairy, etc, together with Ghosts, Witches, Giants and the like. Within each "type" there are essays, songs, poems, hearsay, histories ... in short, something to appeal to every taste, as long as that taste has a goodly sampling of fancy about it.
These fairies are not the gossamer winged, luminous beings of Victorian paintings. These fairies are as likely to curse as to bless and it does not benefit the unwary or skeptical to offend them. Here are pookas, leprechauns, far darrig, Ban-Shees, and lanawn-shees.
These creatures were ever present to the Irish peasantry, and were forgotten with the industrialization of modern times. Fortunately, thanks to the efforts of Yeats and others like him, much of this world was preserved for us.
Some of the stories and poems retain their Irish intonation and syntax and may be difficult for some to follow, but patience will be rewarded; One can almost "hear" the storyteller and the bard.
This is a volume well worth going back to again and again.

Enchanting!.......2006-03-22

Of all fairy tales, Irish tales and legends are the most fascinating. They take you to the magical world of fairies, elves, giants, leprechauns, banshees, witches and you just want the magical journey to continue. Irish fairy tales are like no others, they are trully unique. This particular edition by William Butler Yates is one of the best, because it contains the most beautiful Irish tales and legends. But I would also reccomend Irish Folk Tales by Henry Glassie (which you can also find on Amazon.com), because this book contains some great tales that were not included in W.B.Yates' edition. I have them both and they are great books, great reading for children as well as adults.

Absolutely charming!.......2005-11-02

This absolutely charming collection of stories truly represents the best of "fairy" tales in which the fairy folk feature prominantly as well as a number of other folk beasties. WB Yeats has managed to capture all of the humor, fright, and love involved in the fairy world and it is a joy to follow him around in a world he seems to know so well.

I loved this book!.......2005-07-08

Yeats has long been one of my favorite poets; however, I did not expect his re-telling of Irish Fairy and Folk Tales to be up to his poetry standard. With that said, let me say he does an excellent job re-telling these old stories and if you have any interest whatsoever in fairy tales or Irish Mythology, read this book. "The Trooping Fairies" and "Witches, Fairy Doctors" were 2 of my favorite chapters but overall the whole book is a delight to read. It's an easy read, some stories are funny, some are scary, but most are just entertaining. Also there are some poems mixed in with the stories which add to the story-telling. I thoroughly enjoyed this book.

A fascinating look at the tradition of folklore in Ireland........2004-05-20

In this delightful volume, first published in 1892, William Butler Yeats has collected all manner of Irish folklore (mostly short stories, with a few poems) from a wide variety sources. He has divided the works into categories as follows: the "Trooping Fairies" (fairies, changelings, and the "merrow" or mermaids); the "Solitary Fairies" (the lepracaun, the pooka - an animal spirit, and the banshee); "Ghosts"; "Witches & Fairy Doctors"; "T'yeer-na-n-Oge" or "Tir-na-n-Og" (a legendary island said to appear and disappear); "Saints & Priests"; "The Devil"; "Giants"; and "Kings / Queens / Princesses / Earls / Robbers." Yeats introduces each section with background information on the creature the stories in that category will concern. He also includes numerous footnotes of interest, making this book a valuable resource for anyone seeking to learn about the tradition of Irish folklore.

While I have given this anthology a five-star rating based on it's value as a source of information on Irish mythology, it would probably be worth only four stars for entertainment value alone. Some of the stories are very short and/or don't have much of a point, and are less interesting. These tend to serve more as testimony to the nature of a particular mythical being rather than being an actual story with a plot and message for the reader. Nevertheless, the book as a whole offers a very comprehensive look at just what defines Irish folk culture. The stories that do have a point sometimes take the form of "how things came to be this way" tales, or provide a moral lesson, etc. Many of the stories are rather dark, as that tends to be the nature of lore from this region, but there are also some lighthearted and cheerful pieces.

Despite the book having been compiled more than one hundred years ago, most of the stories are quite easy to read. Yeats makes things even more simple for the reader by making footnotes where old Irish words or phrases are used, giving us their meaning. However, there are a few stories that have been left in a more archaic form, which is distracting and a bit harder to decipher. Take, for example, the following excerpt:

". . . the minit he puts his knife into the fish, there was a murtherin' screech, that you'd the life id lave you if you hurd it, and away jumps the throut out av the fryin'-pan into the middle o' the flure; and an the spot where it fell, up riz a lovely lady - the beautifullest crathur that eyes ever seen, dressed in white, and a band o' goold in her hair, and a sthrame o' blood runnin' down her arm" (pg. 46).

I should probably make note of the fact, for those whom it might interest, that although the title page says the book is "profusely illustrated," there are actually only a few pictures. I believe only six of the over seventy stories are illustrated, and these with simple (but nice), old-fashioned line drawings in black and white. However this is not really a criticism as I view it, since I like the book for its literary content and wouldn't really care if it had no pictures at all.

One of the things I enjoy most about literature is finding connections with other works I've read, and "Irish Fairy & Folk Tales" does not disappoint in this regard. Many of the pieces are derivations of other, more common fairy tales. For instance, "Smallhead and the King's Sons" (Ghosts / pg. 194) incorporates some elements from both "Cinderella" and "Hansel and Gretel," while "The Giant's Stairs" (Giants / pg. 355) has some similarities to the story of "Jack and the Beanstalk." There are more connections like this. On the whole I found this book to be very enjoyable, and also a valuable read from a literary / academic standpoint. I'd certainly recommend it to anyone interesting in the history of Irish culture, the study of fairy tales and folklore, or both.

Average customer rating:

Truly an unearthed treasure of Sicilian folk and fairy tales

Beautiful Angiola: The Lost Sicilian Folk and Fairy Tales of Laura Gonzenbach
Jack Zipes
Manufacturer: Routledge
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0415977223

Book Description

"The Sicilian tales in Beautiful Angiola are a revelation; not in their originality, because like all great collected folk and fairy tales they are universal. . . . What a wonderful collection for any folklorist, Italian and especially Sicilian! Strega Nona (who is Calabrese) approves!." -- Tomie dePaola

Here is the complete text of Beautiful Angiola and The Robber with the Witch's Head -- plus two never-before translated stories. In the late nineteenth century, Laura Gonzenbach collected these stories throughout her native Sicily. Jack Zipes's sparkling translations bring these stories to life for English-speaking readers. Witches and princes, magic and trickery, and a parade of lively characters make Beautiful Angiola the perfect book for anyone who loves folk and fairy tales.

Customer Reviews:

Truly an unearthed treasure of Sicilian folk and fairy tales.......2006-01-10

Beautiful Angiola: The Lost Sicilian Folk And Fairy Tales Of Laura Gonzenbach is truly an unearthed treasure of Sicilian folk and fairy tales. Originally compiled by a young Swiss-German woman named Laura Gonzenbach, who spoke with peasant women throughout Sicily, gathered their stories, and published a High German edition in 1870, Beautiful Angiola has since been rediscovered by children's literature expert Jack Zipes, who translated it into English for the first time. Zipes also contributed an introduction to this timeless collection of sometimes tongue-in- cheek, sometimes moralistic, sometimes sad, sometimes uproarious stories and legends. Beautiful Angiola is a "must-have" for personal, academic, and community library folktale and fairy tale collections.

Fairy and Folk Tales of the Irish Peasantry

Average customer rating:

Window to a Time Past
Excellent literary introduction to Irish folk tales
A fascinating look at the tradition of folklore in Ireland.
Pure Drivel
Even a mere mortal can wander in Yeats' Celtic Twilight....

Fairy and Folk Tales of the Irish Peasantry

Manufacturer: Dover Publications
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0486269418

Book Description

Treasury of 64 tales invites readers into the shadowy, twilight world of Celtic myth and legend. Mischievous fairy people, murderous giants, priests, devils, and druids star in such stories as "The Soul Cages," "The Black Lamb," "The Horned Women," "The Phantom Isle," and more. Introduction, Notes by W. B. Yeats.

Customer Reviews:

Window to a Time Past.......2007-10-10

This is a reprint of the original volume published by W.B. Yeats in 1892. There have been several other versions, under different titles, notably one published by Barnes & Noble, and another from Modern Library with a forward by Paul Muldoon. Both of the latter go under the title "Irish Fairy and Folk Tales." All three are collected and edited by William Butler Yeats, arguably the greatest poet the island ever produced. They are essentially the same collection, with the exception that the B&N version also contains an account of the Fate of the Children of Lir, together with beautiful engravings illustrating the entire volume.
Both Yeats and Lady Gregory were especially concerned that the best of the tales from the Irish countryside be preserved before their main purveyors, the Shenaches (storytellers) vanished. Those collected here are a varied lot, and not all of them will appeal to every reader. That, however, does not affect their value at all, for here a way of life is preserved and we can look through a small window into the beliefs and habits of the Irish people in the days when the "Fairy Faith" was still common amongst them. It is probably best not to read the collection straight through, but rather peruse it, selecting from it that which most appeals.
Yeats's singular contribution is the dividing the denizens of the Irish Enchanted Countryside into categories: The Trooping Fairy, The Solitary Fairy, the Sociable Fairy, etc, together with Ghosts, Witches, Giants and the like. Within each "type" there are essays, songs, poems, hearsay, histories ... in short, something to appeal to every taste, as long as that taste has a goodly sampling of fancy about it.
These fairies are not the gossamer winged, luminous beings of Victorian paintings. These fairies are as likely to curse as to bless and it does not benefit the unwary or skeptical to offend them. Here are pookas, leprechauns, far darrig, Ban-Shees, and lanawn-shees.
These creatures were ever present to the Irish peasantry, and were forgotten with the industrialization of modern times. Fortunately, thanks to the efforts of Yeats and others like him, much of this world was preserved for us.
Some of the stories and poems retain their Irish intonation and syntax and may be difficult for some to follow, but patience will be rewarded; One can almost "hear" the storyteller and the bard.
This is a volume well worth going back to again and again.

Excellent literary introduction to Irish folk tales.......2005-10-12

While Yeats relied on mostly 19th century literary versions of folktales, which often distorted the stories somewhat in the interest of catering to the Victorian English-speaking cities, the stories themselves are well chosen to represent a wide range of common Irish folk tales and mythical creatures. The stories themselves, moreover, are indeed more literary than perhaps more authentic collections, such as Kevin Danaher's, and are therefore a little more interesting to read. I plan to use this text in a course on Irish literature both because the tales are a good introduction to Irish folklore and because the tales demonstrate how the early-twentieth-century Irish Renaissance adopted, adapted, and remolded the Irish Gaelic tradition.

A fascinating look at the tradition of folklore in Ireland........2004-07-10

Pure Drivel.......2003-12-18

The road to hell... well that's what this is. Yeats wanted to create quaint traditions to revive a sense of nationalism and singlhandedly strip mined a culture. Read "In Search of Ancient Ireland" or other scholarly work. The truth of Ireland is as magical as Yeat's babble. Don't waste your time unless you need this book to write a report for school. And even then, use your library.

Even a mere mortal can wander in Yeats' Celtic Twilight...........1997-07-09

These stories that Yeats collected are as deeply moving as his poetry. You have the feeling that this collection is a part of the deep well that Yeats' created his earlier 'Celtic Twilight' poetry from. These stories are faery tales, but there is an element of realism to them for, as you read, you doubt not the truth of the tales, and immediately want to escape to Ireland and dance on the hills with the fey folk. Read this in the winter by the fire with a copy of Yeats' early poetry and prepare for a twilight wandering amongst shadowy woods, quiet country roads and green green hills. This is one of those books which you hold up to your heart upon completion, and sigh deeply from the experience of reading it - more of a journey than the act of turning pages and interpreting words...

The Magic Gifts: Classic Irish Fairytales

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The Magic Gifts: Classic Irish Fairytales
Sinead De Valera
Manufacturer: Crocodile Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0863278221

Book Description

For decades the magical fairytales of Sinéad De Valera have captivated generations of children. These stories have been selected, by her family, from the numerous books she had published over the decades. Included among the eighteen classic stories in this collection are The Emerald Ring, The Wishing Chair, The Well at the World's End, The Pooka, and The Disguised Princess.

Average customer rating:

bad beggar's best
Interesting..very adventureous

Billy Beg and His Bull: An Irish Tale
Ellin Greene
Manufacturer: Holiday House
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: School & Library Binding

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ASIN: 0823411001

Customer Reviews:

bad beggar's best.......2000-11-25

Best children's book available: "I got a piece of pie for telling a lie and then I came slithering home." I encountered this story in a Collier's collection in my youth, 45 years ago, and have never forgotten it. A wonderful story.

Interesting..very adventureous.......2000-03-27

Well i love this story because it is much like the cinderella story but it is with a boy this time. It shows his adventures and the friendship between Billy and the bull. It shows that good always prevails over evil. That is why i would really recommend this book to broaden your imagination and creativity.

Average customer rating:

not your typical "fairy story" book.

The Irish Fairy Book
Alfred Perceval Graves
Manufacturer: Dover Publications
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Folklore & Mythology | Social Sciences | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

Book Description

Rich and representative collection of 43 tales and poems brimming with leprechauns, fairies, and other mythical creatures. Includes "The Stolen Child," by William Butler Yeats, "The Ninepenny Fidil," by Joseph Campbell; as well as works by Lady Jane Wilde, Jeremiah Curtin, Douglas Hyde, and other distinguished writers.

Customer Reviews:

not your typical "fairy story" book........2007-08-29

I'm sure that some people think of this book as just being a Disney-esque storybook, but they're quite wrong. O'Farrell's book of lore and stories from Ireland is a great read for those who want to see what the _actual_ fairytales of the Celts were like.

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The first fairy tales I heard

Oscar Wilde--The Fairy Tales
Reinhard Gieselmann
Manufacturer: Edition Axel Menges
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Fairy Tales | Genre Fiction | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 3936681139

Book Description

In addition to writing numerous poems, plays and his famous novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray, he wrote his fairy-tale collections, The Happy Prince and Other Tales (1888) and A House of Pomegranates (1892). These two collections are included in this volume and are accompanied by colorful illustrations by Reinhard Gieselmann.

Customer Reviews:

The first fairy tales I heard.......2007-09-22

My father read them to me, when I was 4, sitting in the crook of his arm (I know I was 4, because at five, I was too BIG to sit in the crook of his arm, and besides, I could read). He must have read them to me a lot, because I still remember "the cold gray fingers of dawn were clutching at the fading stars," from "The Young King" (my favorite, then), and--in "The Selfish Giant," the words TRESSPASSERS WILL BE PROSECUTED were capitalized, and when he got to them, he'd make me "read" them aloud.
It is thus hard for me to say they aren't children's stories. Some children's stories are frightening; why shouldn't some be sad?

They are lovely, often very sad (though some end happily), socially conscious (Wilde seems to have had a strong sense of being surrounded by the poor --well, London is not a bad place to find them), and often filled with irony--but the kind children can understand. Some make reference to God, and one to Christ, indirectly (though the clergy aren't always so sharp!). Some take us on journeys to strange and foreign places. Some have a rather sophisticated sense of humor (I understood these well enough as a child, but did not like them very much).

It's nice to have them again, in a large-paged (and such white pages!), hardbacked
book. I find the intentionally primitive, brightly-colored illustrations hard to get used to. I expected something more realistic, or even pre-Raphaelite or Art Nouveau. Perhaps others will appreciate them.

Irish Fairy Tales (Children's Thrift Classics)

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Irish Fairy Tales (Children's Thrift Classics)

Manufacturer: Dover Publications
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0486275728

Book Description

Eight charming tales full of the whimsy and wordplay of Irish folklore. Newly reset in large, easy-to-read type are: "Hudden and Dudden and Donald O’Neary," "Conal and Donal and Taig," "The Old Hag’s Long Leather Bag," "The Field of Boliauns," "The Sprightly Tailor," and more. 6 new illustrations enhance the text.

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Really long, but worth it!

Irish Folk and Fairy Tales Omnibus
Scott
Manufacturer: Warner Futura
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0751508861

Book Description

Here, collected in one volume, are tales and legends that range from the misty dawn of Gaelic history and the triumph of St. Patrick to the Ireland of the present day—tales as beautiful, mystical, and enchanting as the ancient land itself.

Customer Reviews:

Really long, but worth it!.......2002-09-25

I've been reading this book in bits and pieces for about six months, and I still love it! There's a lot of wonderful stories in here. The book is divided into three volumes, and there are about twelve or so stories per volume. The first couple of stories in each volume are always the longest, and are a bit hard to get through. Later stories are less dense, and shorter. I'd reccomend this book to anyone who wants to learn more about the folklore of Ireland. It's hard to imagine many more stories than these, but I know there are more. Enjoy!

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