Bulfinch's Mythology: Includes The Age of Fable, The Age of Chivalry & Legends of Charlemagne

Thomas Bulfinch

Random House Publishing Group, Aug 11, 1998 - Literary Collections - 896 pages

For almost a century and a half, Bulfinch's Mythology has been the text by which the great tales of the gods and goddesses, Greek and Roman antiquity; Scandinavian, Celtic, and Oriental fables and myths; and the age of chivalry have been known.

The stories are divided into three sections: The Age of Fable or Stories of Gods and Heroes (first published in 1855); The Age of Chivalry (1858), which contains King Arthur and His Knights, The Mabinogeon, and The Knights of English History; and Legends of Charlemagne or Romance of the Middle Ages (1863). For the Greek myths, Bulfinch drew on Ovid and Virgil, and for the sagas of the north, from Mallet's Northern Antiquities. He provides lively versions of the myths of Zeus and Hera, Venus and Adonis, Daphne and Apollo, and their cohorts on Mount Olympus; the love story of Pygmalion and Galatea; the legends of the Trojan War and the epic wanderings of Ulysses and Aeneas; the joys of Valhalla and the furies of Thor; and the tales of Beowulf and Robin Hood.

The tales are eminently readable. As Bulfinch wrote, "Without a knowledge of mythology much of the elegant literature of our own language cannot be understood and appreciated. . . . Our book is an attempt to solve this problem, by telling the stories of mythology in such a manner as to make them a source of amusement."

Contents

• Preface: 3
• Introduction: 7
• Prometheus and Pandora: 16
• Apollo and DaphnePyramus and Thisbe Cephalus and Procris: 23
• Juno and Her Rivals Io and CallistoDiana and ActæonLatona and the Rustics: 31
• Phaëton VI MidasBaucis and Philemon: 40
• ProserpineGlaucus and Scylla: 52
• PygmalionDryopeVenus and Adonis Apollo and Hyacinthus: 61
• Ceyx and Halcyone: 67
• Vertumnus and Pomona: 73
• Cupid and Psyche: 77
• CadmusThe Myrmidons: 87
• Nisus and ScyllaEcho and NarcissusClytie Hero and Leander: 93
• MinervaNiobe: 101
• The Grææ and GorgonsPerseus and Medusa AtlasAndromeda: 109
• GiantsSphinxPegasus and ChimæraCentaursPygmiesGriffin: 115
• The Golden FleeceMedea and Æson: 122
• BacchusAriadne: 149
• The Rural DeitiesErisichthonRhœcus: 155
• Achelous and HerculesAdmetus and Alcestis: 165
• Orpheus and EurydiceAristæus Amphion: 173
• ArionIbycusSimonidesSappho: 182
• EnymionOrionAurora and TithonusAcis: 190
• The Trojan War: 196
• The Fall of TroyReturn of the Greeks: 210
• Adventures of UlyssesThe LotusEaters: 219
• The Phæacians Fate of the Suitors: 228
• Adventures of ÆneasThe HarpiesDido: 238
• The Infernal regionsThe Sibyl: 245
• CamillaEvanderNisus: 253
• PythagorasEgyptian DeitiesOracles: 264
• Origin of MythologyStatues of Gods: 276
• Modern MonstersThe PhoenixBasilisk: 286
• Eastern MythologyZoroasterHindu Myth: 293
• Northern MythologyValhallaThe Valkyrior: 302
• Thors Visit to Jotunheim: 309
• The Death of BaldurThe ElvesRunic Letters SkaldsIceland: 315
• The DruidsIona: 322
• Beowulf: 329
• Proverbial Expressions: 333
• Index: 335
• THE AGE OF CHIVALRY: 343
• PART I: 345
• Introduction: 349
• The Mythical History of England: 361
• Arthur: 370
• Cardoc Briefbas: 392
• Sir Gawain: 398
• Launcelot of the Lake: 402
• The Story of LauncelotThe Adventure of the Cart: 411
• The Story of LauncelotThe Lady of Shalott: 418
• The Story of LauncelotQueen Guenevers Peril: 423
• The Story of Tristram of Lyonesse: 426
• Tristram and Isoude: 433
• The Story of Sir Tristram of Lyonesse: 439
• End of the Story of Sir Tristram of Lyonesse: 445
• The Story of Perceval: 451
• The Quest of the Sangreal: 458
• The End of the Quest: 467
• Sir Agrivains Treason: 479
• Morte dArthur: 486
• PART II: 495
• The Britons: 497
• The Lady of the Fountain: 501
• The Lady of the Fountain continued: 506
• The Lady of the Fountain continued: 512
• Geraint the Son of Erbin: 518
• Geraint the Son of Erbin continued: 526
• Geraint the Son of Erbin continued: 533
• Pwyll Prince of Dyved: 541
• Branwen the Daughter of Llyr: 546
• Manawyddan: 553
• Kilwich and Olwen: 562
• Kilwich and Olwen continued: 571
• Peredur the Son of Evrawc: 577
• Taliesin: 584
• PART III: 591
• King Richard and the Third Crusade: 593
• Robin Hood of Sherwood Forest: 612
• Robin Hood and His Adventures: 621
• Chevy Chase: 628
• The Battle of Otterbourne: 636
• Edward the Black Prince: 644
• Index: 661
• LEGENDS OF CHARLEMAGNE: 665
• Preface: 667
• Introduction: 669
• The Peers or Paladins: 676
• The Tournament: 683
• The Siege of Albracca: 690
• Adventures of Rinaldo and Orlando: 699
• The Invasion of France: 707
• The Invasion of France continued: 715
• Bradamante and Rogero: 723
• Astolpho and the Enchantress: 731
• The Orc: 740
• Astolphos Adventures Continued and Isabellas Begun: 746
• Medoro: 751
• Orlando Mad: 757
• Zerbino and Isabella: 764
• Astolpho in Abyssinia: 771
• The War in Africa: 777
• Rogero and Bradamante: 787
• The Battle of Roncesvalles: 797
• Rinaldo and Bayard: 808
• Death of Rinaldo: 812
• Huon of Bordeaux: 817
• Huon of Bordeaux continued: 823
• Huon of Bordeaux continued: 831
• Ogier the Dane: 837
• Ogier the Dane continued: 844
• Ogier the Dane continued: 849
• Index: 859

About the author

Thomas Bulfinch (1796–1867) was an American writer, Latinist, and banker who wrote and collected the first popular English-language retellings of Greek, Roman, Eastern, Scandinavian, Arthurian, and medieval myths in his famous three-volume compilation, Bulfinch’s Mythology. "Without a knowledge of mythology," he wrote, "much of the elegant literature of our own language cannot be understood or appreciated." He added: "We trust our young readers will find it a source of entertainment," and his trust seems to have been justified, judging from the many generations who have found his books an enthralling and loving introduction to the worlds of classical and medieval myth and legend.

Alberto Manguel is an internationally acclaimed anthologist, translator, editor, and bestselling writer of several award-winning books, including A Dictionary of Imaginary Places and A History of Reading. He was born in Buenos Aires, moved to Canada in 1982, and now lives in France, where he has been named an Officer of the Order of Arts and Letters.

Bibliographic information

• Title: Bulfinch's Mythology: Includes The Age of Fable, The Age of Chivalry & Legends of Charlemagne; Modern Library Classics; Modern Library Series
• Author: Thomas Bulfinch
• Contributor: Alberto Manguel
• Edition: reprint
• Publisher: Random House Publishing Group, 1998
• ISBN: 0375751475, 9780375751479
• Length: 896 pages
• Subjects: Literary Collections / Ancient & Classical; Literary Criticism / Fairy Tales, Folk Tales, Legends & Mythology; Social Science / Folklore & Mythology