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British Myths & Legends
Introduction, selection and adaptation by Richard Barber.
The origins; The early history of Britain; Marvels and magic; Heroes and saints; History and Romance.
The origins; The early history of Britain; Marvels and magic; Heroes and saints; History and Romance.
708 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1998
About the author
Richard Barber
166 books32 followersLibrarian 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.
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.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
August 6, 2020
As a man who absolutely loves mythology, I was really looking forward to finally reading the myths and legends of my own country. However, and I hate to say it, our myths just aren't that interesting. Sure it was nice to read a (somewhat) real account of Hamlet, but for every few pages of interesting writing there's a lot of bloat and repetitive passages which are similar to the way the old testament bible is written. Funnily enough, I had to stop reading that around a quarter way in because of just how boring it is to read. I don't know if people in the old times liked hearing about everyone's exact linage, but for today's reader I just found it incredibly taxing. In a strange way, perhaps with my experience in reading the Greek, Norse and Egyptian myths I was spoiled by the epicness and magic of those tales. Sadly, Britain's mythology is not so wonderful. It takes a lot for me to stop reading a book, but here I felt like I had no choice. Perhaps it's just a product of its times.
June 17, 2026
This is the first volume of a trilogy published by the Folio Society, though the entire book is also available as a single volume. I used to belong to the Folio Society some years ago, and this was one of their offers at the time. It is essentially, a condensation of the works of many early ‘historians’ and storytellers who wanted to record life and events, myths and legends, as these occurred in a Britain without written language at the time. But, as Barber says, in the Introduction at the start of this volume, ‘These are tales of gods and heroes and marvel, the antithesis of sober history…’
That is followed by a Prologue: The Island at the Edge of the World. Here we are given a short passage written by Procopius, a historian of the Byzantine empire, and an even shorter piece explaining how the Roman historian, Plutarch, came upon some of the stories contained herein.
The book is then spilt into three parts, each with a number of different myths and legends. ‘The Origins’ holds mythical explanations relating to the early inhabitants of Britain’s many islands. ‘The Early History Of Britain’ contains myths and stories about Brutus, King Lear, Lludd and Llefelys, Maxen Wledig, Hengist and Horsa, and Hamlet. ‘Marvels And Magic’ presents tales on the Marvels of Britain, Culhwch and Olwen, Merlin, Taliesin, and ends with the Wild Hunt.
It’s a scholarly work, introducing many characters of whom I knew nothing and others I’d come across in various other works during a life where I calculate I’ve read at least 10,000 books. For me, the most surprising element of the many tales is the almost complete lack of credibility concerning the heroes, villains, and monsters portrayed. These are fairy tales in a very real sense of the implications of such stories. It would take a profound ignorance of history, possible physical performance, and simple geographical and topographical structure for anyone to believe any of these tales.
They depict a world dominated by men of extreme violence, selfishness, prejudice, superstition, and the early casual misogyny of the emerging Christian faith. There are, in some of the stories, lengthy lists of participants provided for no apparent reason. Many of the stories introduce new characters with no reference points to enable the reader to understand who these people actually are or, more accurately, were. There are, however, names with which many readers will be familiar from history lessons, Shakespeare plays, and more recent re-telling of these ancient stories. But there are many individuals for whom no context exists, no explanation of their place in the world described.
The book is a hard, demanding read that I found produced no real reward and that had the effect of hardening my sceptical stance relating to religion and to previously encountered myths and legends of daring and so-called adventure.
This is volume one of a trilogy. I won’t be reading volume two, ‘Heroes And Saints’ or volume three, ‘History And Romance’ as life is too short for such unrewarding endeavour, and there are many other books I’d rather explore. Also, I’m busy writing another novel of my own, which absorbs much of my limited free time.
That is followed by a Prologue: The Island at the Edge of the World. Here we are given a short passage written by Procopius, a historian of the Byzantine empire, and an even shorter piece explaining how the Roman historian, Plutarch, came upon some of the stories contained herein.
The book is then spilt into three parts, each with a number of different myths and legends. ‘The Origins’ holds mythical explanations relating to the early inhabitants of Britain’s many islands. ‘The Early History Of Britain’ contains myths and stories about Brutus, King Lear, Lludd and Llefelys, Maxen Wledig, Hengist and Horsa, and Hamlet. ‘Marvels And Magic’ presents tales on the Marvels of Britain, Culhwch and Olwen, Merlin, Taliesin, and ends with the Wild Hunt.
It’s a scholarly work, introducing many characters of whom I knew nothing and others I’d come across in various other works during a life where I calculate I’ve read at least 10,000 books. For me, the most surprising element of the many tales is the almost complete lack of credibility concerning the heroes, villains, and monsters portrayed. These are fairy tales in a very real sense of the implications of such stories. It would take a profound ignorance of history, possible physical performance, and simple geographical and topographical structure for anyone to believe any of these tales.
They depict a world dominated by men of extreme violence, selfishness, prejudice, superstition, and the early casual misogyny of the emerging Christian faith. There are, in some of the stories, lengthy lists of participants provided for no apparent reason. Many of the stories introduce new characters with no reference points to enable the reader to understand who these people actually are or, more accurately, were. There are, however, names with which many readers will be familiar from history lessons, Shakespeare plays, and more recent re-telling of these ancient stories. But there are many individuals for whom no context exists, no explanation of their place in the world described.
The book is a hard, demanding read that I found produced no real reward and that had the effect of hardening my sceptical stance relating to religion and to previously encountered myths and legends of daring and so-called adventure.
This is volume one of a trilogy. I won’t be reading volume two, ‘Heroes And Saints’ or volume three, ‘History And Romance’ as life is too short for such unrewarding endeavour, and there are many other books I’d rather explore. Also, I’m busy writing another novel of my own, which absorbs much of my limited free time.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews