Mituri și legende în Marea Britanie

The myths and legends have a charisma of their own. Early myths were written down by Irish Christian scribes, who had heard them from the filids (Irish storytellers).

Cu Chulainn and Finn MacCool, emerged as great heroes from Irish mythology. From the North, Cu Chulainn with his Red Branch Knights, compares to Arthur of England and Wales. His defence of his country continues to inspire the Irish people today. A statue commemorating Cu Chulainn stands in the General Post Office in Dublin.

Later, from the countryside of the South came Finn MacCool, whose legends are built of folklore and fairytale.

Fairies or the "Little People", are prolific in Ireland. Not content with living at the bottom of a garden , they may prefer to make their habitat outside a back door. Consideration from human householders helps, otherwise fairies can be dangerous if upset.

Ireland is a rich land, full of enchantment. No doubt you will encounter its charms and spells along the way. However, it is doubtful that in any other country you will have the opportunity to meet the cumbersome charm known only as the "Blink". A word of warning, if you come across a Fairy Thorn, DO NOT proceed in unearthing it.

A word of warning, if you come across a Fairy Thorn, DO NOT proceed in unearthing it.

Monsters and their counterparts, beasties, are frightening. Rest assured you will find plenty of them! It is unlikely that you will find a dragon, unless it has been imported - like the Dragon of Navan. This is because of St Patrick, who drove all the serpents out of Ireland.

If you miss the dragons, there are giants to fill this hole. Finn MacCool had the misfortune of being labelled a giant, hence the creation of the Giant's Causeway was attributed to him.

Chapter I Legend and Tales in Great Bretain

Legends and myths surrounding the story of King Arthur and his knights of the round table are endless. The most popular legend of King Arthur starts with Arthur as a child that was conceived out of wedlock and brought up away from his parents, British king Uther Pendragon and Igraine, wife of the Cornish duke Gorlois. Merlin the famous mystic mage managed to smuggle the young Arthur out of Tintagel Castle and brought him up in secrecy and safety knowing what his future destiny held for him. Merlin had already designed for Uther Pendragon a wonderful stronghold and placed in it the famous Round Table, at which one hundred and fifty knights could be seated.

When Uther Pendragon died, the knights of the Round Table were at a loss as to who should be the next king. They decided that Merlin should guide them. Merlin announced that Uthers successor would be the man that could draw the magic sword from the stone, which had mysteriously appeared in London. Many many knights tried to pull the magic sword from the stone but all of them failed.

After a number of years the young Arthur travelled to London to watch his first tournament. A knight who had been appointed by merlin to act as the boy's guardian was taking part, but finding he was without a sword, he sent Arthur to get one. Arthur saw a sword and went to retrieve it , he pulled the magic sword from the stone and gave it to the astounded knight. Arthur then became King.

With Merlin at his side Arthur could defeat his opponents and bring peace to Britain. It became obvious to Arthur early in his reign that much depended on magic. Having drawn his sword without cause against one of his knights, Arthur was dismayed to see the blade of the magic sword shatter into a million pieces. Merlin saved him by putting the knight to sleep, for Arthur was unarmed due to the shattering sword. Arthur wandered along the shore of a lake saddened by the loss of the magic sword when, to his amazement, he saw a hand and a white-clad arm rise out of the water, holding another magic sword. The famous Excalibur, his sure support according to the Lady of the Lake who handed it to him. The sword shone with the light of thirty torches, and would dazzle Arthurs enemies. The precious scabbard of the sword would prevent the loss of blood during battle.

Armed with the enchanted sword Arthur went on to become a great king. During his reign Arthur gave aid to King Leodegraunce of Scotland against the Irish. In return for the aid King Leodegraunce betrothed his daughter Guinevere to Arthur. Merlin was opposed to this marriage as he already knew that Guinevere was in love with Sir Lancelot, the handsomest Knight of the Round Table. He could later do nothing but bless the marriage and according to one version of the legend he gave Arthur the Round Table as a wedding gift.

Soon after the wedding Guinevere and Lancelot became lovers. Arthur discovered his wife's unfaithfulness and sentenced Guinevere to be burnt to death. She was saved by Lancelot and eventually retreated from the world to become a nun at Amesbury where she died.

Lancelot fled to Brittany where Arthur conducted an unsuccessful seige before returning to Britain to battle his nephew Sir Modred.

Chapter II Merlin and the king Arthur legend's

II. 1. Merlin