"Mr. Patch first examines primitive, classical, Germanic, and Celtic mythologies to arrive at a general classification of the folklore motifs that appear in characteristic dexcriptions of the Other World. He then follows the reappearance of these motifs in medieval visions of journeys into the after-life and in legends of voyages in search of the Earthly Paradise. Finally, through extensive surveys of medieval allegory and romance, he shows that the same motifs are widely--if not always consciously--used in those fields also"--dust jacket.