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Legend is a loanword from Old French that entered English usage c. 1340. The Old French noun legende derives from the Medieval Latin legenda. [7] In its early English-language usage, the word indicated a narrative of an event. The word legendary was originally a noun (introduced in the 1510s) meaning a collection or corpus of legends.
A creation myth (or creation story) is a cultural, religious or traditional myth which describes the earliest beginnings of the present world. Creation myths are the most common form of myth, usually developing first in oral traditions, and are found throughout human culture.
Myths and legends of Babylonia and Assyria (1916) Edith Hamilton's Mythology has been a major channel for English speakers to learn classical Greek and Roman mythology. The critical interpretation of myth began with the Presocratics. [93] Euhemerus was one of the most important pre-modern mythologists. He interpreted myths as accounts of actual ...
An origin myth is a type of myth that explains the beginnings of a natural or social aspect of the world. Creation myths are a type of origin myth narrating the formation of the universe. However, numerous cultures have stories that take place after the initial origin.
English folklore consists of the myths and legends of England, including the region's mythical creatures, traditional recipes, urban legends, proverbs, superstitions, dance, balladry, and folktales that have been passed down through generations, reflecting the cultural heritage of the country.
Legends presuppose an historical fact as basis or pretext. This historical fact may be modified by popular imagination. "Both elements maybe combined in very unequal proportions, and according as the preponderance is to be found on the side of fact or on that of fiction, the narrative may be classed as history or as legend." [2]
The resulting mythological "history of the world" may be divided into three or four broader periods: The myths of origin or age of gods (Theogonies, "births of gods"): myths about the origins of the world, the gods, and the human race. The age when gods and mortals mingled freely: stories of the early interactions between gods, demigods, and ...
He is absent from Bede's early-8th-century Ecclesiastical History of the English People, another major early source for post-Roman history that mentions Badon. [17] The historian David Dumville wrote: "I think we can dispose of him [Arthur] quite briefly. He owes his place in our history books to a 'no smoke without fire' school of thought ...