Myths and Legends of the British Isles

by Richard Barber

Tales from the dawn of Christianity to the age of the Plantagenets reveal a mythology in its time as potent as that of the classical world.

The British Isles have a long tradition of tales of gods, heroes and marvels, hinting at a mythology once as relevant to the races which settled the islands as the Greek and Roman gods were to the classical world. The tales drawntogether in this book, from a wide range of medieval sources, span the centuries from the dawn of Christianity to the age of the Plantagenets. The Norse gods which peopled the Anglo-Saxon past survive in Beowulf; Cuchulainn, Taliesin and the magician Merlin take shape from Celtic mythology; and saints include Helena who brought a piece of the True Cross to Britain, and Joseph of Arimathea whose staff grew into the Glastonbury thorn. Tales of the British Arthur are followed by legends of later heroes, including Harold, Hereward and Godiva. These figures and many others were part of a familiar national mythology on which Shakespeare drew for Lear, Macbeth and Hamlet, creating the famous versions that are known today. Here the original stories are presented.

RICHARD BARBER's other books include and The Knight and Chivalry.

Genres: Mythology, History, Nonfiction, Short Stories, Folklore, Religion, Reference

604 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1999

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name.

Richard William Barber is a prominent British historian who has been writing and publishing in the field of medieval history and literature ever since his student days. He has specialised in the Arthurian legend, beginning with a general survey, Arthur of Albion, in 1961, which is still in print in a revised edition. His other major interest is historical biography; he has published on Henry Plantagenet (1964) and among his other books is the standard biography of Edward the Black Prince, Edward Prince of Wales and Aquitaine. The interplay between history and literature was the theme of The Knight and Chivalry, for which he won the Somerset Maugham Prize in 1971 and he returned to this in The Holy Grail: Imagination and Belief (2004); this was widely praised in the UK press, and had major reviews in The New York Times and The Washington Post.

His other career has been as a publisher. In 1969 he helped to found The Boydell Press, which later became Boydell & Brewer Ltd, one of the leading publishers in medieval studies, and he is currently group managing director. In 1989, Boydell & Brewer Ltd, in association with the University of Rochester, started the University of Rochester Press in upstate New York. The group currently publishes over 200 titles a year.

Reviews

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

This splendid volume collects together nearly forty different stories from Britain and Ireland, from the Roman period to the Middle Ages. The first section includes origin tales of Scotland, Ireland and England built on a mythic history already developing long before the monk Nennius was busily compiling away in the early 9th century. Then follows a section on the Early History of Britain which includes the tales from Geoffrey of Monmouth plus Lludd and Llefelys and The Dream of Maxen Wledig' (from the Mabinogion) and, not so oddly, Saxo Grammaticus' version of the story of Amleth or Hamlet (translated by Peter Fisher).

The Marvels and Magic section includes bits from Nennius, the whole of the early Arthurian tale Culhwch and Olwen, Neil Wright's translation of Geoffrey of Monmouth's Life of Merlin and Lady Charlotte Guest's 'Taliesen. This if followed by the Heroes and Saints section with a Breton version of Arthur's career, the whole of Beowulf in Kevin Crossley-Holland's translation, The Deeds of Cuchulain adapted from Lady Gregory's retelling, and all four branches of the Mabinogi proper, together with a selection of saints' lives (Brendan, Cadog, Joseph of Arimathea, George and Helena) from early and later medieval sources. Finally History and Romance features less accessible tales of, for example, King Horn and Havelok the Dane as well as stories of more familiar figures such as Robin Hood, Macbeth and Lady Godiva.

I've given a fairly substantial list of the contents so as to illustrate the breadth and richness of this selection, so reminiscent of a medieval hall hung with detailed tapestries or even, as we discover, the cunning designs on Hamlet's shield! With Barber's own translations or adaptations, and with brief by authoritative introductions placeing each text in context, the whole volume is designed with the needs of the modern novel reader in mind--readability and stimulation--while awakening them to the wealth of material contained in the corpus of traditional national narratives. As a compendium of authentic British mythological and legendary material (as opposed to those Victorian and Edwardian re-tellings which were often bowdlerised and tinkered with) this volume is hard to beat.

[CJSilvie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great glimpse of the many tales surrounding Britain and its history. It gives enough historical information to give context while not weighing it down with over-factual explanations.Some of the translations are not the best for example Beowulf (in my opinion) but they are often the ones that will connect with the greater ammount of people, for example the phonetic, non-standardised versions of Robin Hood leave some in a fit of confusion.

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

This splendid volume collects together nearly forty different stories from Britain and Ireland, from the Roman period to the Middle Ages. The first section includes origin tales of Scotland, Ireland and England built on a mythic history already developing long before the monk Nennius was busily compiling away in the early 9th century. Then follows a section on the Early History of Britain which includes the tales from Geoffrey of Monmouth plus 'Lludd and Llefelys' and 'The Dream of Maxen Wledig' (from the Mabinogion) and, not so oddly, Saxo Grammaticus' version of the story of Amleth or Hamlet (translated by Peter Fisher).

The Marvels and Magic section includes bits from Nennius, the whole of the early Arthurian tale 'Culhwch and Olwen', Neil Wright's translation of Geoffrey of Monmouth's 'Life of Merlin' and Lady Charlotte Guest's 'Taliesen'. This is followed by the Heroes and Saints section with a Breton version of Arthur's career, the whole of 'Beowulf' in Kevin Crossley-Holland's translation, 'The Deeds of Cuchulain' adapted from Lady Gregory's retelling, and all four branches of the Mabinogi proper, together with a selection of saints' lives (Brendan, Cadog, Joseph of Arimathea, George and Helena) from early and later medieval sources. Finally History and Romance features less accessible tales of, for example, King Horn and Havelok the Dane as well as stories of more familiar figures such as Robin Hood, Macbeth and Lady Godiva.

I've given a fairly substantial list of the contents so as to illustrate the breadth and richness of this selection, so reminiscent of a medieval hall hung with detailed tapestries (or even the cunning designs on Hamlet's shield!). With Barber's own translations or adaptations, and with brief by authoritative introductions placeing each text in context, the whole volume is designed with the needs of the modern novel reader in mind--readability and stimulation--while awakening them to the wealth of material contained in the corpus of traditional national narratives.

[Anna C · Rating 5 out of 5]

All primary sources, all Medieval. LOVE!

[Erik · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good collection covering a period from the pre-Roman founding of Britain to the romantic adventures of actual historical figures. The better known stories I'd read before, so the lesser known stuff is more interesting. Unfortunately a lot of it is pretty similar so it gets repetitive reading the book straight through.

[Karl · Rating 2 out of 5]

Kind of a cool reference volume filled with primary sources, but a newbie like me could have used some more context/commentary on most entries.

My star rating is based on my enjoyment, not necessarily the quality of the book, which in all likelihood exceeds.

[Peter · Rating 1 out of 5]

An uninteresting, unexciting and bland book. There are far better versions of the stories than this. More shelf space.

[Whitney · Rating 5 out of 5]

This collection includes myths and legends from the history of the British Isles. Ranging from stories that include Greek and Roman gods to stories from the Middle Ages, there are almost forty different classic tales that have a significant place in British history. The tales are divided into five sections: The Origins, The Early History Of Britain, Marvels and Magic, Heroes and Saints, and History and Romance.

I really enjoyed reading Barber's The Knight And Chivalry, so I put some of his other books on my to read list. I was delighted with this collections of myths. It has a wide variety of tales. There are some that not as many people will have heard of such as: The Giants of the Island of Albion, Helena and the True Cross, The Wild Hunt, and Hengist and Horsa. But it also has some classics such as: King Arthur, Cuchulain, Lady Godiva, Robin Hood, and Beowulf. I really liked this collection of myths and legends, and it is one I will add to my personal library.

I also appreciated that before each story Barber had a brief explanation about the myth. He includes information about where the myth comes from, if it has been abridged for this book, the translation, and why it is important. I found this very interesting to read, and that it enriched the reading experience. I thought that he included just enough information to make it interesting, but it did not take over the stories.

[Lilla · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not a bad collection, though it covers a very wide range of years from the Roman occupation to Lady Godiva and Robin Hood in the Middle Ages.

Includes tales from Ireland, Wales, Scotland and, of course, England. Not sure it's garnered a space on my "to-keep" shelf though as I doubt I'd every need to refer to it.

[Jenn · Rating 2 out of 5]

Mr. Barber did a good job at putting the stories together and for that I give him 4 stars. Unfortunately I wound up hating most of the stories there in. Some were good but this was just not something I enjoyed it became a chore to read it. So the medieval bards for the most part get 1 star.

[Nicky · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting collection of all kinds of myths and legends, beginning from myths of the settling of Albion.

[Blizzard · Rating 3 out of 5]

A feast of legends from the British Isles. They are sourced from medieval manuscripts, but translated into modern English. From the familiar - Robin Hood, Beowulf - to the more obscure.