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Legends and Sagas Celtic Folklore
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England |
This section has texts about the folklore and legends of England and other resources at sacred-texts about the British Isles.
Folklore
Some of the English folklore texts on this page were originally transcribed by Phillip Brown at his now-defunct belinus.co.uk website. These are indicated by [PB].
Hero-Myths and Legends of the British Raceby Maud Isabel Ebbutt [1910]
The English and Scottish Popular Ballads
by Francis James Child [1882-1898].
This is the motherlode of ballad collections, including many variations on each ballad.
Robin Hood
by Paul Creswick, Illustrations by N.C. Wyeth [1902]
A Book of Old English Ballads
Illustrations by George Wharton Edwards, Introduction by Hamilton W. Mabie [1896]
The Origins of Popular Superstitions and Customs
by T. Sharper Knowlson [1910].
This discusses mostly superstitions and customs of England. This text was contributed by Eliza Fegley at sacredspiral.com.
Sports and Pastimes of the People of England
by Joseph Strutt [2nd ed., 1903]
A fascinating sourcebook on the folklore and social history of leisure activities in 'Olde England.'
Popular Romances of the West of England
by Robert Hunt [1903]. [PB]
English Fairy and Other Folk Tales
by Edwin Sidney Hartland, Illustrated by C.E. Brock [1890] [PB]
English Fairy Tales
by Joseph Jacobs, Illustrated by John D. Batten [1890] [PB]
More English Fairy Tales
by Joseph Jacobs, Illustrated by John D. Batten [1894] [PB]
Chronicles
Bede's Ecclesiastical History of England (731)by Bede, ed. by A.M. Sellar [1907]
William Morris
The Works of William MorrisThe works of the prominent English writer and artist, the founder of the Arts and Crafts movement, predecessor of Tolkien, and translator of Icelandic Sagas.
Fairies
The Coming of the Fairies
by Arthur Conan Doyle [1922]
A study of the famous Cottingley fairy photographs,
by the creator of Sherlock Holmes.
Tales of the Dartmoor Pixies
by William Crossing [1890] [PB]
A Peep at the Pixies, or Legends of the West
by Anna Eliza Bray, Illustrated by Hablot K. Browne [1854] [BP]
Ley Lines
Early British Trackways, Moats, Mounds, Camps and Sitesby Alfred Watkins [1922]
The seminal book about Ley Lines.
Stonehenge
Stonehenge, A Temple Restor'd to the British Druids
by William Stukeley [1740]
A pioneering study of Stonehenge, with all of the classic illustrations.
Stonehenge and Other British Stone Monuments Astronomically Considered
by Norman Lockyer [1906]
Was Stonehenge a megalithic observatory?
Anglo Saxon
The Complete Corpus of Anglo-Saxon PoetryBeowulf (Modern English)
Translated by Francis B. Gummere [1910]
Beowulf (Anglo-Saxon)
262,705 bytes
The archetypal monster story...
The Story of Beowulf
by Strafford Riggs, illustrations by Henry Pitz [1933] [EY]
A long out of print prose retelling of the Beowulf saga
Faerie Queene
Edmund Spenser's challenging epic poem has roots in Arthurian legend but additional overlays of Christian allegory. It is one of the roots of the modern fantasy narrative.
The Faerie Queeneby Edmund Spenser [1596]
Stories from the Faerie Queene
by Mary Macleod [1916]
Arthurian
The matter of Arthur is not one text but a series of layered retellings of the same story, which stretches in an unbroken chain from Malory to Monty Python. Here are some of the most important texts and interpretive works of the Arthurian canon.
Le Morte d'Arthurby Sir Thomas Malory
The Mabinogion
Lady Charlotte Guest, tr. [1877]
The Mabinogion is a group of Welsh tales, many of which are set in the court of King Arthur.
Cliges
by Chretien DeTroyes, translated by W.W. Comfort [1914]
Erec et Enide
by Chretien DeTroyes, translated by W.W. Comfort [1914]
The High History of the Holy Graal
based on Chretien DeTroyes, translated by Sebastian Evans [1898]
The Hidden Church of the Holy Graal
by Arthur Edward Waite [1909]
A massive overview of the grail legend and its evolution.
From Ritual To Romance
by Jessie L. Weston [1920].
This academic study of the roots of the Grail legend in the ancient Mystery initiations is a classic in its own right.
The Idylls of the King
by Alfred Lord Tennyson
King Arthur: Tales of the Round Table
by Andrew Lang; Illustrations by H.J. Ford. [1902]
An abridged version of the Arthur narrative by famous folklorist Andrew Lang; for 'children of all ages'.
The Champions of the Round Table
Written and Illustrated by Howard Pyle [1905]
The legends of Sir Lancelot, Sir Tristram, and Sir Percival.
The Vita Merlini
by Geoffrey of Monmouth; translated by John Jay Parry [1925, copyright not renewed]
An Arthurian Miscellany A collection of post-canon Arthurian literature.