Legends and Sagas Celtic Folklore
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This section has texts about the folklore and legends of England and other resources at sacred-texts about the British Isles.
Folklore
Some of the English folklore texts on this page were originally transcribed by Phillip Brown at his now-defunct belinus.co.uk website. These are indicated by [PB].
Hero-Myths and Legends of the British Raceby Maud Isabel Ebbutt [1910]
The English and Scottish Popular Balladsby Francis James Child [1882-1898].
This is the motherlode of ballad collections, including many variations on each ballad.
Robin Hoodby Paul Creswick, Illustrations by N.C. Wyeth [1902]
A Book of Old English BalladsIllustrations by George Wharton Edwards, Introduction by Hamilton W. Mabie [1896]
The Origins of Popular Superstitions and Customsby T. Sharper Knowlson [1910].
Includes many superstitions and customs of England.
Thanks to Eliza Yetter at sacredspiral.com.
Sports and Pastimes of the People of Englandby Joseph Strutt [2nd ed., 1903]
Sourcebook on the folklore and social history of leisure activities in 'Merrie Olde England.'
Popular Romances of the West of Englandby Robert Hunt [1903]. [PB]
English Fairy and Other Folk Talesby Edwin Sidney Hartland, Illustrated by C.E. Brock [1890] [PB]
English Fairy Talesby Joseph Jacobs, Illustrated by John D. Batten [1890] [PB]
More English Fairy Talesby Joseph Jacobs, Illustrated by John D. Batten [1894] [PB]
Chronicles
Bede's Ecclesiastical History of England (731)
by Bede, ed. by A.M. Sellar [1907]
Geoffrey of Monmouth
[Histories of the Kings of Britain] (1129)
tr. by Sebastian Evans [1904]
The legendary history of Britain from King Lear to Arthur; includes the mysterious 'Prophecies of Merlin.'
The Vita Merlini
by Geoffrey of Monmouth; tr. by John Jay Parry [1925]
Monmouth's account of the life of Merlin, in Latin and English translation.
William Morris
The Works of William MorrisThe works of the prominent English writer and artist, the founder of the Arts and Crafts movement.
Predecessor of Tolkien, and translator of Icelandic Sagas.
Fairies
The Coming of the Fairies
by Arthur Conan Doyle [1922]
A study of the famous Cottingley fairy photographs, by the creator of Sherlock Holmes.
Tales of the Dartmoor Pixies
by William Crossing [1890] [PB]
A Peep at the Pixies, or Legends of the West
by Anna Eliza Bray, Illustrated by Hablot K. Browne [1854] [BP]
Ley Lines
Early British Trackways, Moats, Mounds, Camps and Sitesby Alfred Watkins [1922]
The seminal book about Ley Lines.
Stonehenge
Stonehenge, A Temple Restor'd to the British Druids
by William Stukeley [1740]
A pioneering study of Stonehenge, with all of the classic illustrations.
Stonehenge and Other British Stone Monuments Astronomically Considered
by Norman Lockyer [1906]
One of the first scholars to ask if Stonehenge was a megalithic observatory?
Anglo Saxon
The Complete Corpus of Anglo-Saxon Poetry
Beowulf (Modern English)tr. by Francis B. Gummere [1910]
Beowulf (Anglo-Saxon)262,705 bytes
The archetypal monster story...
The Story of Beowulfby Strafford Riggs, illustrations by Henry Pitz [1933] [EY]
A long out-of-print prose retelling of the Beowulf saga.
Faerie Queene
Edmund Spenser's challenging epic poem has roots in Arthurian legend but additional overlays of Christian allegory. It is one of the roots of the modern fantasy narrative.
The Faerie Queeneby Edmund Spenser [1596]
The full text of Spenser's epic poem of Chivalry.
Stories from the Faerie Queeneby Mary Macleod [1916]
A retelling of Spenser's epic for modern readers.
Arthurian
The matter of Arthur is not one text but a series of layered retellings of the same story, which stretches in an unbroken chain from Malory to Monty Python. Here are some of the most important texts and interpretive works of the Arthurian canon.
Le Morte d'Arthurby Sir Thomas Malory
The MabinogionLady Charlotte Guest, tr. [1877]
The Mabinogion is a group of Welsh tales, many of which are set in the court of King Arthur.
Cligesby Chretien DeTroyes, tr. by W.W. Comfort [1914]
Erec et Enideby Chretien DeTroyes, tr. by W.W. Comfort [1914]
The High History of the Holy Graalbased on Chretien DeTroyes, tr. by Sebastian Evans [1898]
The Hidden Church of the Holy Graalby Arthur Edward Waite [1909]
A massive overview of the grail legend and its evolution.
From Ritual To Romanceby Jessie L. Weston [1920].
An academic study of the roots of the Grail legend in the ancient Mystery initiations, a classic in its own right.
The Idylls of the Kingby Alfred Lord Tennyson
King Arthur: Tales of the Round Tableby Andrew Lang; Illustrations by H.J. Ford. [1902]
An abridged version of the Arthur narrative by famous folklorist Andrew Lang; for 'children of all ages'.
The Champions of the Round TableWritten and Illustrated by Howard Pyle [1905]
The legends of Sir Lancelot, Sir Tristram, and Sir Percival.
An Arthurian MiscellanyA collection of post-canon Arthurian literature. See also Geoffrey of Monmouth (above).
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