This slim volume belies its appearance as a simple A to Z dictionary of European myth and legend because it encapsulates a remarkable amount of information in a small amount of space. It covers literary and historical figures, including kings and heroes, writers and scholars. It also covers tribes and peoples, real and imaginary places and animals, and objects. The author's primary emphasis is on legends of Slavonic, Baltic, Finno-Ugric, Norse, and Teutonic origin. Celtic, Arthurian, and Graeco-Roman legend are excluded; however, there are a few entries on topics related to these, such as Tacitus and Arthur. Dixon-Kennedy, a British author, has published similar dictionaries on Arthurian, Celtic, and Native American myth and legend, and heroes of the Round Table, and he plans to work on one on Robin Hood in the future.
The origin of each myth is italicized under the main entry. There are entries for individual countries, such as Finland, Denmark, and Scotland. Embedded within each entry are cross-references to related entries within the volume. Graphs that chart the lineage of various protagonists, such as the Norse hero Sigurdr, accompany the text. Some entries are four pages long, while many others are restricted to one or two sentences. There is more extensive treatment of familiar topics like Thor and Loki, and for individuals like Snorri Sturluson, an early-thirteenth-century Icelandic scholar who compiled the Prose Edda, from which many of legends in this volume derive. Some entries are divided into more than one part to illustrate variant treatments of common themes: dragons, for example, has subsections on Russian dragons, which are typical fire-breathing monsters, versus the Teutonic variety, which are more likely to be huge serpents guarding graves or treasures.
The value of the work lies in the concise recounting of many of the legends and myths, some never written down but passed from generation to generation through oral tradition. It does not replace, but owes much to, more scholarly works. A bibliography at the end of the volume includes the main sources consulted and lists many core texts in the original languages. Libraries serving students of myth and legend will benefit from the author's distillation of scholarship on eastern European legend and myth. Especially useful for high schools and public libraries.
