Lord of the Rings
Buy Books: Legends and Sagas
Legends and Sagas
This section of sacred-texts archives the rich literature of Sagas and Legends.
These are mostly (but not all) from Northern Europe,
and primarily
Lord of the Rings
Buy Books: Legends and Sagas
Legends and Sagas
This section of sacred-texts archives the rich literature of Sagas and Legends.
These are mostly (but not all) from Northern Europe,
and primarily based on legendary events and people from the Middle Ages.
Many of these narratives are based on archetypal stories that date even
further back in time.
The Myth of the Birth of the Hero
by Otto Rank 
A groundbreaking application of psychoanalysis to comparative mythology.
The Lang Fairy Books
by Andrew Lang [1889-1910]
Full text of the classic folk-lore series, written for children of all ages
The Works of Lord Dunsany
by Edward Plunkett, Lord Dunsany [1905-22]
Lord Dunsany paved the way for Tolkien with his delightful internally consistent fantasy worlds.
Teutonic Myth and Legend
The 1001 Arabian Nights
by Donald Mackenzie 
An able retelling of the Northern mythological cycle.
tr. by Sir Richard Burton 
An 'unexpurgated' version of the Arabian Nights,
translated from the Arabic by the Orientalist Sir Richard Burton.
The Arabian Nights' Entertainments
tr. by Andrew Lang, Illustrations by H. J. Ford 
A version of the Arabian Nights suitable for Victorian children.
Translated and abridged from the French version of Galland
by the folklorist Andrew Lang.
1001 Arabian Nights
A full etext of the 16 volume Sir Richard Burton translation.
Highly recommended. [External Site]
The Hero of Esthonia
by W. F. Kirby  (2 vols)
A extensive 'prose outline' of the Estonian national epic,
the Kalevipoeg, and some Estonian folklore.
by Frances Jenkins Olcott 
A diverse collection of Baltic folklore, retold for young readers,
including lore of Finland.
In order to deal properly with this extensive subject, all of
the Celtic texts and books now have their own page. Topics include:
The Tale of the Armament of Igor
by Leonard A. Magnus 
The first masterpiece of Russian literature, from the time of transition between Slavic Paganism and Christianity.
The Songs of the Russian People
by W.R.S. Ralston 
A treasure trove of Russian and Slavic folklore, mythology and tradition.
Covers pre-Christian Slavic Paganism.
Roumanian Fairy Tales and Legends
by E.B. Mawr 
A small collection of Romanian folk tales and historical legends.
Sixty Folk-Tales from Exclusively Slavonic Sources
by A. H. Wratisalw 
An excellent (and long out of print) collection of Slavic folktales, with hints of some very ancient lore.
Folk Tales From the Russian
by Verra Xenophontovna Kalamatiano de Blumenthal 
Heroic Ballads of Servia
by George Rapnall Noyes and Leonard Bacon 
Translations of Serbian oral poetry.
Old Peter's Russian Tales
by Arthur Ransome 
Russian folklore retold, including tales of Baba Yaga.
Stories of Russian Folk-Life
by Donald A. Mackenzie 
The Key of Gold: 23 Czech Folk Tales
By Josef Baudis.
The Man in the Panther's Skin
by Shota Rustaveli, tr. by Marjory Scott Wardrop 
The Georgian National Epic.
Armenian Legends and Poems
by Zabelle C. Boyajian 
A sampler of Armenian literature, legends and history.
All of the texts and books about England also now have their own page.
The Kalevala is the national saga of Finland.
Pieced together (and embellished) by Elias Lönnrot
from traditional storytellers in the late 19th Century,
the tales which constitute the Kalevala show signs of great antiquity.
The Kalevala (English)
John Martin Crawford, tr. 
The Finnish national epic, the wars of wizards and heroes to control a mystical artifact.
This etext was the first English version of the
Kalevala available on the Internet; it
was scanned at sacred-texts, and
is the source of the Project Gutenberg text of this book.
The Kalevala (Finnish)
Collected by Elias Lönnrot.
This etext of the Kalevala in Finnish is from the Runeberg project.