Hero Tales and Legends of the Rhine (Paperback)

~ (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Rich collection of tales inspired by the mystery and romance of one of the most storied rivers in Europe—arranged to illustrate a journey along the Rhine from sea to source. Includes the Niebelungenlied, the greatest of German national epics; as well as legends of Odin, Brunhild, Venus and Tannhauser, Lorelei, Siegfried, the Jester of Heidelburg, Lohengrin and many more. 24 illustrations.

About the Author

About the Author:

"James Lewis Thomas Chalmbers Spence (November 25, 1874 - March 3, 1955) was a Scottish journalist, folklorist, poet and occult scholar.

A prolific writer, Spence has been credited in reviving the study of Scottish folklore. After an early career in Scotland as a journalist, about 1906 he began to take a keen interest folklore and mythology. He wrote about Brythonic rites and traditions in The Mysteries of Britain (1905). In this book, Spence theorized that the original Britons were descendants of a people that migrated from Northwest Africa and were probably related to the Berbers and the Basques-this claim is being supported by recent DNA studies.

He then turned to ancient Mexican and Central American mythology. In 1908, he published The Popul Vuh, the sacred book of the Quiche Mayas. This was followed by A Dictionary of Mythology in 1910 and numerous additional volumes.

Spence's researches into the mythology and culture of the New World, together with his examination of the cultures of western Europe and north-west Africa, led him almost inevitably onto the question of Atlantis. During the 1920s he published a series of books which sought to rescue the topic from the occultists who had more or less brought it into disrepute. These works, amongst which were The Problem of Atlantis (1924) and History of Atlantis (1927), continued the line of research inaugurated by Ignatius Donnelly and looked at the lost island as a Bronze Age civilization, a civilization which formed a cultural link with the New World, and which was invoked by him (as also by Donnelly earlier) as an explanation for the striking parallels between the early civilizations of the Old and New Worlds. Spence's erudition and scholarship was impressive; yet the conclusions he reached have been almost universally rejected by mainstream scholarship. Nevertheless, he seems to have had some influence upon the ideas of controversial author Immanuel Velikovsky, whose work continues to cause intense argument and rancorous debate.

Spence's 1940 book Occult Causes of the Present War seems to have been the first book in the field of Nazi occultism.

Over his long career, he published more than forty books, many of which remain in print to this day. Spence was also the founder of the Scottish National..." (Quote from wikipedia.org) --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 416 pages
• Publisher: Dover Publications (February 1, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0486288706
• ISBN-13: 978-0486288703
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.4 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #2,163,948 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Rhineland Legends, February 9, 2002

By A Customer

Perhaps the reviewer below should learn his German well enough to find and read the German sources, rather than criticise that stuffy Brit who wrote this book. Let him also consider that the Brits are cousins of the Germans and that these legends are as much a part of British tradition as German. As for the stuffy British style, the author was writing in the early 20th century when such language was considered proper, rather than the modern American travesty of the English language. Lewis Spence deserves great respect as a scholar. He is a most interesting writer.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good book, April 9, 1999

By A Customer

Very good book of stories from the Rhine. It first came out in 1915 but the stories are time less, it not only deals with the German part of the Rhine but also the tales from France.

4.0 out of 5 stars Hero Tales from the Rhine, June 9, 2009

By	Gregory C. Gomon - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

My wife and I are planning a river cruise along the Rhine. This book is the perfect accompanyment for a romantic trip.