Project Gutenberg's Hero Tales and Legends of the Rhine, by Lewis Spence

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Title: Hero Tales and Legends of the Rhine

Author: Lewis Spence

Release Date: August 17, 2005 [EBook #16539]

Language: English

Character set encoding: ASCII

*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK HERO TALES OF THE RHINE ***

Produced by Steve Pond

HERO TALES AND LEGENDS OF THE RHINE

By Lewis Spence (1874-1955)

Originally published: Hero tales & legends of the Rhine.

London; New York:

George C. Harrap, 1915.

CONTENTS:

INTRODUCTION
I TOPOGRAPHICAL AND HISTORICAL
II THE RHINE IN FOLKLORE AND LITERATURE
III CLEVES TO THE LOeWENBURG
IV DRACHENFELS TO RHEINSTEIN
V FALKENBURG TO AUERBACH
VI WORMS AND THE NIBELUNGENLIED
VII HEIDELBERG TO SAeCKINGEN

INTRODUCTION

An abundance of literature exists on the subject of the Rhine and its
legends, but with few exceptions the works on it which are accessible
to English-speaking peoples are antiquated in spirit and verbiage, and
their authors have been content to accept the first version of such
legends and traditions as came their way without submitting them to
any critical examination. It is claimed for this book that much of its
matter was collected on the spot, or that at least most of the
tales here presented were perused in other works at the scene of the
occurrences related. This volume is thus something more than a
mere compilation, and when it is further stated that only the most
characteristic and original versions and variants of the many tales here
given have gained admittance to the collection, its value will become
apparent.

It is, of course, no easy task to infuse a spirit of originality into
matter which has already achieved such a measure of celebrity as have
these wild and wondrous tales of Rhineland. But it is hoped that the
treatment to which these stories have been subjected is not without a
novelty of its own. One circumstance may be alluded to as characteristic
of the manner of their treatment in this work. In most English books
on Rhine legend the tales themselves are presented in a form so brief,
succinct, and uninspiring as to