Customer Reviews

Medieval Folklore: A Guide to Myths, Legends, Tales, Beliefs, and Customs

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
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This is an exceptionally well written and well constructed book. The articles are substantive and beautifully written, yet extremely concise. In fact it is a marvel that so much helpful information is provided with such conciseness. All material is thoroughly researched with helpful references in the text to primary source material from the Middle Ages or earlier. Though very readable and in fact downright entertaining, this provides quick but deep reference for any student of folklore, and is of invaluable help, surely, for novelists interesting in writing folklorish novels about angels, devils, wild men, elves, fairies, witches and the like. ---- The book is quite comprehensive. The article on Angels is excellent; so is the article on the Wild Man;and the articles on the Wild Woman, and on Fairies. I've read enough to trust the entire book. This would make an excellent gift for a high school or college student, or any writer of fantasy fiction, or any student of literature --- and it will remain on my shelf right next to Sir James Frazier's The Golden Bough. At a time when I am selling or giving away thousands of books from my old libraries, I actually just ordered the hardcover version of this text to keep here permanently in my overcrowded little study. The paperback edition is quite attractive, with its tasteful cover, and double column pages. Just excellent. Really excellent. Highly recommended.

This is a great reference book for anyone interested in folklore and/or medieval social history. It includes biographical sketches, famous literary figures, regional traditions, holidays, and much more. This compendium covers an impressive range, while remaining manageable - the full index and copious "See also:" cross-references are commendable. It's a pleasure to thumb through and provides a solid introduction to topics as diverse as "Robin Hood", "Samhain", "memento mori" and "skis and skiing".

The huge success of recent movies like the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy, the Harry Potter movies, and the Narnia series shows that dwarves, knights, and magic have never been cooler than they are now. But just as interesting than those works of fiction is the folklore that they draw upon.

"Medieval Folklore" gives short articles about all sorts of topics, from specific folkloric characters (such as Prester John, the Wandering Jew, the Seven Sleepers), traditions (like Jewish, Italian, and Irish medieval folklore), motifs, works ("The Decameron," "The Seven Wise Masters"), authors (Dante Alighieri, Geoffery Chaucer), and more.

Although formatted as an encyclopedia, the writing stays lively thanks to high quality editing. Almost every page will yield an article that is interesting to the layman and the expert.

I'd recommend this book to anyone with a potential interest in medieval life, history, or literature. It would be a welcomed addition to their library.

The medieval, mythological and folklore historian has been waiting a long time for a book like this. Have you ever read a little bit of medieval story or folklore and wondered exactly what its origin was, whether it was Irish, Welsh or English, Scandinavian or Eastern European? This compendium has all this in a Norton anthology font-size that is simply jam-packed with details and information. In encyclopedic form, it is a necessary reference tool for any historian, as well a compelling read for anyone interested in the subject matter. It's all here in one concise book that deserve a place on any shelf; fortunately it doesn't take up too much space!

Originally published on March 17th, 2003.

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A good resource for the amatuer historian or someone who enlys reading encyclopedic books, but too concise. While no book or even series of books might cover a given subject, I think maybe the two volume set would be more in-depth and contain more entries.