



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 LOeWENBURG
     IV  DRACHENFELS TO RHEINSTEIN
     V   FALKENBURG TO AUERBACH
     VI  WORMS AND THE NIBELUNGENLIED
     VII HEIDELBERG TO SAeCKINGEN



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 it is hoped that the volume may afford a suitable introduction to
a fascinating field of travel, while to such as have already viewed
its glories it may serve to renew old associations and awaken cherished
memories of a river without peer or parallel in its wealth of story, its
boundless mystery, and the hold which it has exercised upon all who
have lingered by the hero-trodden paths that wind among its mysterious
