Recommended Website:
Legends
Today’s website is one woman’s creative endeavor to plot the historic trail of swashbucklers, dragon-slayers and other characters featured in ballads, fiction, fairy tales and film. Not only does it provide historic background for characters like Robin Hood and King Arthur, but it provides interactive access to primary source documents and current scholarly opinion through essays and reviews. The site is filled with thoughtful historic commentary about the tales that have intrigued humans for hundreds of years and you can even read the stories in multiple versions and interpretations for free online.
When you get to the website you will see a brief introduction. Use the menu to explore categories of interest including:
- Robin Hood
- King Arthur
- Beowulf
- Pirates & Privateers
- Ballads & Broadsides
- Swashbucklers & Fops
- Fairy Tales
- Shakespeare’s Stories
- Sagas & Sea-Kings
- Paladins & Princes
- Poets & Painters
- Erin & Alba
This is a truly remarkable archive. As always, parents should preview the site and the stories to determine suitability — remember, that even some fairy tales in their original form deal with potentially frightening issues of loss and death in addition to joyous and redemptive themes. While the tales will entertain older elementary and middle school students, the research is geared for high school ages and beyond. This site presents the history of legend and lore, and brings it alive with tales full of “romance, adventure and panache.”
