Myths and Legends

Myths and Legends
by Morgan

Myths and legends were a big part of Medieval Times. People enjoyed telling scary stories about heroes and heroines. Robin Hood was a popular hero in Medieval Times. He appeared in many English stories and ballads. His stories were told from as far back as the 1300s! He stole from the rich, and gave to the poor. His most famous enemy was the Sheriff of Nottingham. He was known as "A right against might."

Robin lived in the woods with his band of followers. Little John was the most commonly known of all of his followers. His name was misleading, though. Little John was supposed to be 210 centimeters tall! That's over seven feet!

Anyway, Robin Hood was usually thought to be fictional, but some people think that he was real! They say his real name was Robert Fitzooth.

Real or not, Robin Hood really was a right against might.

Also, in Medieval times, the suspicion of the number thirteen was popular. Here's how the legend came to be:

One morning the god Balder told his mother of a horrible dream that he had that had proposed his death. His mother was worried, and made many things from nature promise not to hurt her son. Other gods passed time by throwing things at Balder and watching them bounce off!

Loki, another god, was jealous, and hatched an evil plan. He tricked Balder's mother into telling him that she had not gotten a promise from mistletoe, because she thought it was useless. Loki made a dart out of mistletoe, and attended a party as the 13th guest.

Everyone was hanging out, throwing things at Baulder. Loki saw that Hoder, Baulder's brother, was not participating. He asked him why, and Hoder answered that he was blind, and he didn't have anything to throw. So Loki gave him the mistletoe, and guided his hand. The mistletoe sailed through the air and pierced Baulder's heart. And that is how the legend of the number 13 came to be.

The biggest part of Medieval folklore was dragons. Medieval people liked to scare each other with dragons. Here are four dragon stories that will knock your socks off!!

Laidly Worm

There once was a king who had two children. Their names were Chyld Wynd and Margaret. One day, Chyld Wynd left to seek his fortune. Later, the queen died, and the king remarried. But the new queen had magical powers, and put an evil curse on Margaret. She turned into a giant laidly worm, until Chyld Wynd kissed her 3 times. The worm was banished. Long later, Chyld Wynd found her, and was about to slay her, when she asked him to kiss her 3 times. He recognized her voice, kissed her, and she turned normal again.

Grendel and his Mother

Grendel the dragon used to visit the Denmark Castle every night, but then Beowulf, a hero wounded him badly. Denmark was safe. Then Grendel's mother, who was half human and half dragon, came to get revenge. She kidnapped a noble man. Beowulf followed the trail of blood, and struck the mother with a sword, which did nothing, so he started wrestling her. She had won, and was about to chop off his head, when he saw her sword on the ground. He picked it up, and chopped off her head! He took the head back to the village where he became king!

Manuscript Dragon

This dragon is very special, pretty, and has jewels all over it. It is the hero of many, many, stories and legends. It frightened St. John, and then tricked St. Simon into taking a stake out of his eye. It changed into a serpant, and jokingly terrorized a city. It took St. Marsel miles away from his village, and made him promise never to return. It also, (tricking him) allowed Chevalier de Gonzo to remove a "precious" stone from it's head. Sometimes a trickster, sometimes an evil villain, the Manuscript dragon lives on.

St. George's Triumph

Saint George was born in the Middle Ages. His mother died giving birth, but then George was kidnapped by an enchanter. She raised him, then gave him some armor, and he set out into the world. One day, he came across a horrible dragon. It demanded to eat all the children in town, including the princess! The day he was going to eat her, George showed up and bravely slayed the dragon. He then married the princess.