Hero Tales and Legends of the Rhine

Hero Tales and Legends of the
Rhine

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Title: Hero Tales and Legends of the Rhine
Author: Lewis Spence
Release Date: August 17, 2005 [EBook #16539]
Language: English
Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
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TALES OF THE RHINE ***

Produced by Steve Pond

HERO TALES AND LEGENDS OF THE RHINE
By Lewis Spence (1874-1955)
Originally published: Hero tales & legends of the Rhine.
London; New York:

George C. Harrap, 1915.

CONTENTS:
INTRODUCTION I TOPOGRAPHICAL AND HISTORICAL II THE
RHINE IN FOLKLORE AND LITERATURE III CLEVES TO THE
LÖWENBURG IV DRACHENFELS TO RHEINSTEIN V
FALKENBURG TO AUERBACH VI WORMS AND THE
NIBELUNGENLIED VII HEIDELBERG TO SÄCKINGEN

INTRODUCTION
An abundance of literature exists on the subject of the Rhine and its
legends, but with few exceptions the works on it which are accessible
to English-speaking peoples are antiquated in spirit and verbiage, and
their authors have been content to accept the first version of such
legends and traditions as came their way without submitting them to
any critical examination. It is claimed for this book that much of its
matter was collected on the spot, or that at least most of the tales here
presented were perused in other works at the scene of the occurrences
related. This volume is thus something more than a mere compilation,
and when it is further stated that only the most characteristic and
original versions and variants of the many tales here given have gained
admittance to the collection, its value will become apparent.
It is, of course, no easy task to infuse a spirit of originality into matter
which has already achieved such a measure of celebrity as have these
wild and wondrous tales of Rhineland. But it is hoped that the
treatment to which these stories have been subjected is not without a
novelty of its own. One circumstance may be alluded to as
characteristic of the manner of their treatment in this work. In most
English books on Rhine legend the tales themselves are presented in a
form so brief, succinct, and uninspiring as to rob them entirely of that
mysterious glamour lacking which they become mere material by
which to add to and illustrate the guide-book. The absence of the

romantic spirit in most English and American compilations dealing
with the Rhine legends is noteworthy, and in writing this book the
author’s intention has been to supply this striking defect by retaining as
much of the atmosphere of mystery so dear to the German heart as will
convey to the English-speaking reader a true conception of the spirit of
German legend.
But it is not contended that because greater space and freedom of
narrative scope than is usual has been taken by the author the volume
would not prove itself an acceptable companion upon a voyage on
Rhine waters undertaken in holiday times of peace. Indeed, every
attempt has been made so to arrange the legends that they will illustrate
a Rhine journey from sea to source--the manner in which the majority
of visitors to Germany will make the voyage--and to this end the tales
have been marshalled in such form that a reader sitting on the deck of a
Rhine steamer may be able to peruse the legends relating to the various
localities in their proper order as he passes them. There are included,
however, several tales relating to places which cannot be viewed from
the deck of a steamer, but which may be visited at the cost of a short
inland excursion. These are such as from their celebrity could not be
omitted from any work on the legends of Rhineland, but they are few in
number.
The historical development, folklore, poetry, and art of the
Rhine-country have been dealt with in a special introductory chapter.
The history of the Rhine basin is a complicated and uneven one, chiefly
consisting in the rapid and perplexing rise and fall of dynasties and the
alternate confiscation of one or both banks of the devoted stream to the
empires of France or Germany. But the evolution of a reasoned
narrative has been attempted from this chaotic material, and, so far as
the author is aware, it is the only one existing in English. The folklore
and romance elements in Rhine legend have been carefully examined,
and the best poetic material upon the storied river has been critically
collected and reviewed. To those who may one day visit the Rhine