Book Description

One of the most beautiful and complete collections of stories, legends, myths, folktales, and traditions to ever emerge from Wales. Compiled by an American-the United States consul for Wales in the late nineteenth century-this volume was the work of several years' labor. Scouring the hills and valleys of Wales after falling in love with the land, the author wrote down the oral traditions, stories, myths, and legends related to him by the people he met on his travels. The result was a spectacular work, divided up into four sections: "Faerie Realm," the "Spirit-World," "Quaint Old Customs," and "Bells, Wells, Stones, and Dragons." In this book, the reader will not only learn of the greatest Welsh legends (including King Arthur, Iolo ap Hugh, the Green Lady of Caerphilly), but also of the local fairy stories and even the superstitions of ancient-and not so ancient-Wales. Rarely has a nation's mythos and essence been so elegantly captured as in this work. The legacy of Welsh mythology and folklore has entered the vocabulary of modern English, and spread around the world, being some of the oldest tales in all Europe. As the author states in his introduction: "In a certain sense Wales may be spoken of as the cradle of fairy legend. It is not now disputed that from the Welsh were borrowed many of the first subjects of composition in the literature of all the cultivated peoples of Europe." This edition has been completely reset, contains the full text and all the wonderful-and hand restored-illustrations of the original work. It is a literary treasure of the first class.