Venosia... Days of Old

Venosia...The Land of Many Moons and Dreams

Days of Old

You are now in the Days of Old. Kings rule their realms, knights save the damsels in distress(well almost) and magic is loose in the land. Men leave their homes to fight the wars and make a difference. It is a man's world. ... Or is it? Through the years, legends and myths have emerged glorifying men and picturing women in a down-graded, if not evil, light. Don't get me wrong, the heroes are heroes in their own right but heroines should be recognized as well. It is a good thing that fantasy book authors like Marion Zimmer Bradley, Jennifer Roberson and Mercedes Lackey have been successful in giving both genders equal footing.

Anyway, I think I've said too much -- Off to the adventure!*v*

The Legends of King Arthur Mythology(Greek and Norse)

The Legends of King Arthur

Many of us have heard of the legends of the great King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table. We have read the stories of how he became king by pulling out the sword Excalibur from a large stone ... dreamt of sitting at the famous Round Table which symbolizes equality among the knights ... imagined living in Camelot -- a land of peace and justice ... listened to the romantic and destructive love story between Queen Gwynevere and Sir Launcelot du Lake which became Arthur's and thus Camelot's downfall. The legends are filled with adventure and chivalry, quite befitting the 15th century.

These tales about King Arthur and his knights were first put to paper by Sir Thomas Malory during the 1480's. This book was entitled Le Morte d'Arthur(The Death of Arthur). He used several Norman-French romances and an English epic as sources for his work.

Years later, researchers looked into the legends of King Arthur and discovered that it was based on a real man -- a British cavalry general named Arturius. He was quite heroic and was valiant,as well as victorious, in many battles against the Saxons. He died in 538 in Camlan, near Glastonbury. According to the legends, although King Arthur died, it is believed that he will rise again. King Arthur is hailed as the One Forever King and one day he will return with his knights and Camelot will be seen once more.

Le Morte d'Arthur doesn't focus solely on the lives of King Arthur and Queen Gwynevere. In fact, I find most of the book dedicated to the Knights of the Round Table -- their adventures, battles, courtly love .... But if you're looking for an adventure story with vivid details on battles, Malory's rendition of the legends is not the one your looking for. He barely describes what happens in a battle or a simple joust for that matter. In one paragraph the knights challenge each other and in the next one, the joust is over. There was even one part where you find in one paragraph about 5 to 10 knights being unmounted by enemies and then mounted again. All this in the span of less than three minutes reading time! But the storylines are good so I guess that makes up for the not well written fight scenes.

Today, numerous books have been written based on the Arthurian legends:

The Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley (one of my favorites) -- This novel tells the story of King Arthur through the point of view of the female characters of the legends. It's a new way of looking at the Arthurian legends and Bradley gives the characters more depth and dimension compared to the original versions of the legends.

The Forever King by Molly Cochran and Warren Murphy -- This is the story of a ten year old boy named Arthur who one day found an old ceramic cup and soon found himself being chased by a mysterious man who wants the cup for himself. Will Arthur and Camelot rise once more?

The Crystal Cave -- This book focuses on the life of Merlin the Magician/Sorcerer. Here he is depicted as a king's son and the rightful heir to the throne of England. Read this and you'll think twice about Merlin.

More books will be added as soon as I get to read them! =)

Mythology

Mythology is such a broad topic and encompasses the beliefs and cultures of numerous people or races. Here are two of the most popular types of myths.

Greek Mythology

Nowadays almost everyone knows about mythology, especially because of the television series Xena: Warrior Princess and Hercules: The Legendary Journeys. I'm sorry to say this but not all of the episodes are true to the real myths written thousands of years ago. But since it is a myth, people can have various interpretations for it. It is just so strange to see Hercules depicted as such a kind, caring, emotional and deep character when the Greek myths portray him as a muscle-bound man with the emotions of a child. It is true that Hera hated him but she did not throw downa fireball and burned Hercules' family. Hercules killed his own family and as punishment he had to undergo the "legendary journeys" or tasks.

Anyway, if you love reading mythology as much as I do, here are a few very good books:

Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes by Edith Hamilton -- Tells you all you need to know about Greek and Norse Gods in laymans terms. No flowery and hard to understand verses ... just straight to the point storylines.

Ancient Myths by Norma Lorre Goodrich -- This book contains well written stories featuring the myths from the Mediterranean region.

Norse Mythology

Norse Myths are very similar to Greek Mythology in that a god or goddess is responsible for a cerpart of nature or human work. But as for arguing with each other, Norse gods seem to find themselves more in affliction and wars with each than in cooperation.

According to Norsemen there are nine worlds in existent which are divided into three regions. Asgard, Vanaheim and Alfheim are found in the highest level; Midgard, Jotunheim, Nidavellir and Svartalkfheim are in the middle level; and Hel and Muspell at the lowest level. These nine worlds are held together by Yggdrasil, a giant ash-tree. Asgard and Vanaheim are the places were the gods and goddess live. Norse myths have two kinds of gods -- Aesir (The warrior gods who live in Asgard.) and Vanir (The fertility gods who live in Vanaheim.) Midgard also known as Earth is the land of the humans as well as the Giants. The Dwarfs lived in Nidavellir while the Dark Elves live in Svartalfheim. And ofcourse on the lowest level is Hel -- the land of the dead.

It is believed that there would come a time when darkness would cover the earth because all the gods would be involved in a war against the Giants, the servants of Hel, and the brood of Loki, the God of mischief.

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If you have any questions or want more information about any of these myths e-mail me. If I know the answer I'll tell you. If I don't! ... Well, I'll find out! =)

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King Arthur images were done by Louis Rhead taken from the book King Arthur and His Knights by Sir James Knowles. Copyright by Dilithium Press. Mythology images taken from Norse Myths and Legends by Cheryl Evans & Anne Millard, illustrated by Rodney Matthews.

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