Legends

        A legend is a traditional story or a group of stories about a certain person or place.  The word legend use to mean a tale about a saint.  Legends are similar to folktales, and they may include supernatural beings or other elements of mythology, but they are about  a particular place or person.  They are also told as a matter of history.

        Some legends are the unique depending on who or where they are discussing, such as the story of young George Washington, who was the first president of the United States, when he confesses to chopping down the cherry tree. Many local legends are really well-known folktales that have become associated with some particular person or place.  For example, a widely known folktale about an excellent marksman who is forced to shoot an applet, or some other object from his son's head has become associated with the Swiss hero, William Tell.  Another popular tale, about a younger son whose only inheritance is a cat, which he later sells for a fortune in a land overrun with mice, has become associated with Richard Whittington,  lord mayor of London (three times in a row) in the early 15th century.  The story told about King Lear is essentially the folktale "Love Like Salt."

        The way local legends get known is by word of mouth from generation to generation. Though the Pied Piper of Hamelin is famous through literary treatment, many other European towns have a similar legend of a piper who lured their children away.

         One type of legend is a saga.  Sagas are very long stories about a heroic time, such as the saga of the medieval Icelanders.  Another type of legend is an epic legend, such as the Illiad and the Odyssy.  A third type of legend is a myhtological legend, Such as the Girl Who Married a Bear or the Legs of the Kangaroo.