Mythology of the Middle Ages

European Medieval Ages is like a stained-glass window, made up of many colorful fragments. Here, elevated courtly love coexists with the coarse humor of fabliaux and Schwanks, while cunning tricksters become folk heroes alongside valiant knights and holy miracle workers. Welcome to a world where there is room for wonder and sorcery, mercy and cruelty, laughter and tears — a world of the Middle Ages, where anything is possible. This book invites you to embark on an exciting stroll through medieval popular culture and discover which heroes, images, and plots captivated the imagination and entertained the inhabitants of medieval Europe from Castile to Scandinavia, from Ireland to Tallinn. You will meet heroes of epic poems — Beowulf, Roland, El Cid, the brave knights of the Round Table, the irresistible tricksters Renart the Fox, Till Eulenspiegel, and Robin Hood, beautiful ladies — Queen Guinevere and Lady Godiva, beloved folk saints such as Saint Patrick and Saint Francis, and of course, fantastic creatures from medieval bestiaries.