Today I decided to take notes on The Woman on her Death-Bed from The Heptameron of Margaret, Queen of Navarre by Walter M. Kelly . The story starts with a saddler named Brimbaudier who was married with children. One day, he found out his wife was sick. By the time he made it home, she was too far gone for even a doctor. She asked for a cross, which was brought to her. He calls out to a young servant in the room and said that seeing his wife suffer like this was worse than being dead. He asked her to take care of the children and the house. The servant begged him to not be so sad, because she didn't want to lose him along with his wife. He asked her to come closer and he put his hands on her chest. He threw her onto the bed. Then, his wife who hadn't spoken in 2 days cried out and said that she wasn't dead yet. She began to recover after that point, and the husband had to listen to her chastise him about what he had done often. ( Hinchliff's engraving of Mar...
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For this section, I chose the beginning of The Priest who Learned to be a Philosopher, found in The Chaucer Story Book by Eva March Tappan . The story begins with a priest who had no church, but instead would spend his time in singing masses for the dead. He stayed with a dame and was so helpful that she bought his food and clothes for him. Because of this, he always had a decent amount of money. One day, a man asked him for a loan for three days. The man thanked him and brought the priest his money back in a timely manner. The man then wanted to be generous back to the priest since he was generous to him. He said he would teach the priest how he works in philosophy. He begins to show the priest how he will turn quicksilver into malleable pure silver, and demands everyone else be sent away so as to not learn the secrets. ( Illustration of the Canterbury Tales Pilgrims )
I'm taking notes on the beginning of The Unknown Bride in the Canterbury Tales, found in the Chaucer Story Book by Eva March Tappan . It begins by describing a land of fairies and fairy rings long ago where the story takes place. A knight in King Arthur's court had disrespected a woman, and according to the law, should be put to death. However, the court ladies all liked him and begged that he may live. King Arthur finally said the matter would be left to the Queen. The Queen said he could live, but on one condition. In a year, he must tell her what women wish for most. The knight travelled and asked many women what they wished for most, but no two answers were the same. He had run out of time, so he decided to ask a group of women he saw at a distance. By the time he got there, only one elderly woman remained. She agreed to tell him the answer if he would do the first thing she asked of him, and he agreed. ( King Arthur )
I didn't get a chance to finish last week's reading, so I figured I'd do it now. This time I want to focus on The Arrival of the Dragon from Beowulf, written by Strafford Riggs . This part of the story comes after a gap in Beowulf's timeline, where we don't know much of what happens to him. He lives safely in Geatsland and his uncle, Hygelac, welcomed him in the court. However, Hygelac soon died in battle and his son became king. His son did not live long, and then Beowulf became king. Geatsland was prosperous in this time, and Beowulf aged well. He was famous among his people and feared by his rivals. One night, a dirty visitor entered the dining hall. They almost threw him out on appearance alone, but one man thought he should stay. He took the visitor to Beowulf. The visitor explained that he was an escaped slave who came across a dragon, and the dragon was surrounded by gold and jewels. When Beowulf angrily questioned him, the slave showed a golden je...
I am going to take notes on the beginning of Beowulf, the section titled King Hygelac of Geatsland, by Strafford Riggs . In Europe, Hygelac was the ruler of a country called Geatsland. The people who lived there were brave and warlike. The land was also surrounded by monsters. For the most part, people stayed away from the caves with monsters, preferring to keep to themselves unless they had to avenge a death. The king and queen had a great number of lords who had all proven themselves in battle. Despite their ferocity, they treated each other as brothers. Occasionally the queen would ask one of them to tell a war story, and the younger men would listen. Among these young warriors was Beowulf. I enjoyed this passage because it did a great job of worldbuilding in such a short amount of space, and also provided a good introduction to the main character. ( Illustration of the lords at war by Henry Pitz )
Today I'm taking notes on The Raven Myth: Raven's Creation from Myths and Legends of Alaska by Katharine Berry Judson . This is a creation story, where man comes out of a pod and wanders the earth for a bit. Eventually, Raven comes from the sky and turns into a human. He had planted the pea pod but did not expect man to come from it. Raven brought food, showed the man to water, and collaborated with him to keep creating aspects of life from clay. Eventually, Raven made a companion similar to man to accompany him, a girl. The aspect I like most about the story is the accidental creation, and then how the Raven is inspired by his creation to keep creating. (Illustration from Judson's book)
I never did Part B of the Chinese Fairytales unit because I was sick that week, so I decided to make it up this week! I'm focusing on How the River God's Wedding Was Broken Off from The Chinese Fairy Book by R. Wilhelm . For those who lived by the Yellow River, it was custom for the people to sacrifice a girl once a year to be a bride for the river god. When a girl would come of age in a wealthy family, sorcerers would claim it was her. Her parents would bribe them to spare her, and the sorcerers would accept the money. This continued until a family either would not or could not pay, and their daughter would be sacrificed. When a man named Si-Men Bau came into office, he was appalled by this, and said that the next year he wanted to be present for the ceremony. The day came and the girl was about to be thrown into the river with the bridal riches when Si-Men stopped them. He said that someone must first go to the river god and tell him to come get his bride himself. He fi...
Today my favorite story from this section is An Indian's Vow to the Thunder Gods, from Myths and Legends of the Pacific Northwest by Katharine Berry Judson . An Indian woman promised to give Thunder her first-born child. She forgot her promise until the first Thunder of spring came. She could not give up her son. It came the two years following and she still didn't give up her son. One day, the boy was playing out in the woods when a storm suddenly appeared and the boy was struck dead by lightning before his mother could get to him. The story ends with a mother singing a song each spring about Thunder and her loss. ( Lightning at Petrified Forest National Park )
The story I liked from this section was another origin story; this time it was How Silver-Fox Created the World, found in Myths and Legends of the Pacific Northwest by Katharine Berry Judson. In this story, nothing existed at first except Coyote and Silver-Fox, but Coyote did not want to create anything more. So, Silver-Fox kept sending Coyote away and created a hole and an island he one day escaped to. Coyote was sorry and went to join Silver-Fox on the island, but there was little space or food. Every day, Silver-Fox made the island a bit bigger and created things like sunflower seeds and a sweat house. Coyote would run around the island every day to see how it had grown. Coyote wanted a winter 10 moons long, but Silver-Fox said it was too long. They argued for a long time until Silver-Fox made winter 2 moons long, spring one moon, and autumn one moon. ( An adult silver fox )
The story that intrigued me most this section was The Lost Message from South African Folk-Tales by James Honey . It describes all the different kinds of ants and how disjointed they are. They wanted to form a council to decide how best to hide from predators, but the amount of ants and the amount of predators made this difficult. They didn't end up coming to an agreement, which meant each group was left to defend themselves against their primary predators. The Insect-King tried to send them the skill of cooperation, but he chose a beetle as his messenger and so the skill never arrived. I thought this part was most interesting and also most confusing. What is the insect king, and why was the beetle inadequate? The story doesn't answer these questions but it might be fun to explore. ( An anteater, one of the ants primary predators )
My favorite story from this unit was The Cave of Beasts by R. Wilhelm , mostly because of how many turns it takes. A father finds seven duck eggs and doesn't want to give any to his seven daughters. However, throughout the night, each ask for one and eat it after promising not to tell the others. The father was mad and decided to trick his children into going into the mountains to be eaten by wolves. The five oldest daughters said no but the two youngest said yes. The dad abandoned them and they soon found a cave full of precious stones owned by a fox and wolf. When the foc and wolf returned, they didn't find the daughters. The daughters trapped them in kettles in the cave and burned them alive. Eventually, the father returned for the daughters and was happy to find them alongside all of the jewels. (Cave paintings in China. Source .)
The reading I found most interesting from this section was the Death of Osiris, found in Egyptian Myth and Legend by Donald Mackenzie. In this story, Set tricks Osiris with an ornate chest. Osiris wants it and lays down in it, but then Set's followers trap him in it and throw him into the Nile. Isis went to look for his body, taking with her seven scorpions. She stays with a poor woman and tries to keep her scorpions outside, but one comes in and kills the woman's child. Isis feels guilty, and brings the child back to life, causing the woman to be grateful (even though it was Isis's fault to begin with? Lots to unpack there.) ( Isis mourning Osiris )
Notes from the story of David from Folklore of the Holy Land: Moslem, Christian, and Jewish by J. E. Hanauer. King David began to work creating chain mail so that his people wouldn't be paying for his living. David asked Allah to grant him the same favor as previous kings, and said he could overcome the same things they were tempted with. Allah agreed to try him in this way and gave him the date and hour that he would be tried. On that day, David locked himself away. Later in the day, he saw a gorgeous bird, and he tried to lure it inside with breadcrumbs. He could not seem to catch the bird. When it began to fly away, David lunged towards the window one last time, and that's when he laid eyes on Bathsheba. Two angels confronted David about his failure. He was extremely remorseful, so Allah said that he was forgiven in his eyes, but that he must also be pardoned in Uriah's eyes. So, he traveled to Uriah's tomb and confessed. Uriah's voice said that since hi...
Moslem Cosmogony (cont.) from Folk-lore of the Holy Land: Moslem, Christian, and Jewish by E. Hanauer When Allah was creating the world, he commanded a strong angel to support it. Then, Allah created a green emerald rock for the angel to stand on for support. Then, so that the rock had something to rest on, he created a massive bull. This is where earthquakes come from, and he is known as Behemoth. The bull stands on the back of a great whale which swims in an ocean created by Allah. This story explains eclipses by saying "the monster" (I'm not sure if the author is talking about the whale or the bull). The eclipses end more quickly if worshippers offer prayers to Allah, prompting him to make the monster release the moon. If the sun is eclipsed, it is because Allah is angry and is warning people against sin. A couple of points stood out to me from other stories in this unit, although were not the focus of their stories. I may want to come back to these when brains...
The story that captured my attention the most in this section is the Witch of Endor from the King James Bible . In this story, Saul is trying to figure out how to defeat the Philistines in battle. He has forbidden witchcraft in Israel but disguises himself and seeks out a witch to get advice. She summons the ghost of Samuel, and then she realizes that Saul is the king. The ghost of Samuel predicts that Saul will die with his army the next day. What really struck me about the story is that even though Saul forbade witchcraft and tricked this woman into seeking out a spirit for him in disguise, she takes pity on him and makes him a meal before he leaves. ( The Witch of Endor by Adam Elsheimer )
The story of Rebekah from Genesis 24 and 25 in the King James Bible In this story, Isaac sends a servant to find a wife for him. He waits by the well to see who will not only give him drink but his camels as well. Rebekah comes and does just this. She allows the servant and his camels to stay with her family for the night, and then returns with the servant the next day and marries Isaac. (Isaac's servant tying a bracelet on Rebekah's arm. Source .)
My favorite story from this half of the week's reading unit is The Rabbi's Bogey-Man from Jewish Fairy Tales and Legends by Gertrude Landa. At first I thought Rabbi Lion was an actual lion, so I was picturing the story wrong through half of it. He is a "magician," or in reality a chemist. He first created a woman servant who burned herself alive, so then he created a man. I liked the device of creation, self-destruction, and then improved creation with the stories of the golems. The ending speaks to the power-hungry nature of man; the desire to overtake the forces that dictate your life. (The bogey-man attempting to get into the cathedral. Source .)
Here are notes from two of the stories that stood out to me today: The Beggar King from Jewish Fairy Tales and Legends by Gertrude Landa This story reminded me a lot of Beauty and the Beast. The overall message was pretty generic–don't be heretical and don't be rude. However, I thought the genie taking his place was an interesting device. I think it's interesting that the holy priest who was originally slighted was not mentioned at the end of the story when the king is redeemed. It seems he never rectified that relationship but instead focused on the relationship between the king and the beggars. The Water-Babe from Jewish Fairy Tales and Legends by Gertrude Landa I thought this story was a lot of fun. It assumes prior knowledge of Moses's story. The foreshadowing of Moses defeating Pharaoh was very blatant, but it was interesting to read about the relationship between these two future foes. I also thought it was interesting that this story set up both the power...
I'm a sucker for origin stories. Creation is so open-ended: you can't prove or disprove how something came to be unless you were there. Starting with the end product creates some really interesting storytelling boundaries. I especially love origin stories because they often reflect the foundational values of a community. The Man in the Moon by Neville Fleeson I really love how concise this story is. The language is clear and the moral message of being content with yourself comes through. I also love that it's formatted as a conversation. The Hare that Was not Afraid by Marie L. Shedlock This one takes more of a journey. Although I like it, I liked the first one more. However, it has essentially the same elements: it has a very clear moral message and uses conversation as well. (The Man in the Moon is struct by a spacecraft in the 1902 fantasy film Le Voyage dans la Lune . Source .)
Choose from CLASSICAL and/or BIBLICAL units for Weeks 3 and 4. Week 3: Jewish Fairy Tales Week 4: Bible Women Choose from MIDDLE EASTERN and/or INDIAN units for Weeks 5 and 6. Week 5: Folklore of the Holy Land Week 6: Ancient Egyptian Myths Choose from ASIAN and/or AFRICAN units for Weeks 7 and 9. [Week 8 is review week.] Week 7: China Week 9: South African Folktales Choose from NATIVE AMERICAN units for Weeks 10 and 11. Week 10: Pacific Northwest Week 11: Alaska Choose from BRITISH and/or CELTIC units for Weeks 12 and 13. Week 12: Beowulf Week 13: Canterbury Tales Choose from EUROPEAN units for Weeks 14 and 15. Week 14: Heptameron Week 15: Dante's Inferno For some reason, my original post deleted the last two sections and my explanation of what I was looking forward to, so I will do my best to remember what I originally wrote. I'm most looking forward to the unit over China! Since I got to visit, I would love to learn more about i...