Germanic Myths

German folklore, which flourished on the fertile soil of ancient Germanic paganism and medieval Christian culture, has captivated many generations of children and adults, inspiring composers and romantic poets such as Byron, Goethe, Zhukovsky, and writers from Mary Shelley to J.R.R. Tolkien. This magical book will take you through the fairy tale Germany, a land of ore-bearing mountains, where kobolds and the reclusive Rübezahl, the prototype of the Headless Horseman, dwell, and green forests, where mischievous not-so-bright elves and their Alder King play pranks, as well as heroic legends about knights without fear and reproach and cheerful tales of great scamps and deceivers. You will learn who the bilwicks and alraunes are, the curious methods of divination used by the ancient Germans, who the real doctor Faustus was, and who is doomed to ride in the Wild Hunt until the trumpets of the Last Judgment sound.