Stories, Sagas and Legends
I expect not long after humans began to speak, they took up the custom of telling stories to each other and about each other. These early stories were meant to relate events they or others had participated in or witnessed, as an attempt to explain how the natural world about them came to be or why certain things happened. In time these stories became more than a means of passing on information, evolving into the primary form of entertainment.
Oral tales have been divided into two broad categories; “Märchen” and “Sagen” which are German terms with no exact English translation.
“Märchen,” are fairy tales, what we would call fiction or science fiction today. They do no necessary have to involve fairies. Many did not. These are the “once-upon-a-time” stories that sometimes take place in imaginary worlds that are not intend to be taken as true. When magic and supernatural events occur in these stories, they do so in a rather matter of fact manner. These stories can also include great, terrible beasts or supernatural creatures that exist side by side with humans. When trying to picture a “Märchen,” think ‘Snow White,’ or ‘The Hobbit.’
“Sagen,” on the other hand, are stories about events that supposedly actually happened. In the age of oral story tellers and the beginning of written literature, they were called ‘sagas’ or ‘legends.’ Today they would be non-fiction, biographies, etc. Over time, as a story passed from one storyteller to another, or from one generation to another, the storyteller often embellished the saga in an effort to add to the drama or impact. Eventually, it became impossible to separate fact from fiction. ‘The Legend of King Arthur’ is a prime example of this. Historians agree today there is a modicum of truth to the legend. They cannot find evidence, however, to determine if some of the events attributed to Arthur were accomplished by one man or many or if there really were a Camelot, let alone where it was.
I am posting this here for two reasons. First, I have seen a number of blogs as of late in which people ask, ‘Why do I write?’ as if that were an option. We write here for the same reasons our ancestors told stories as the other members of their tribe gathered about the fire at night. We write to entertain, to educate, to pass on and keep alive the traditions of our tribe so that others can be inspired, forewarned, encouraged or, simply entertained. In doing so we, the writers, the storytellers also entertain ourselves by venturing out beyond the boundaries of the known or physical world in which we live, visiting places, times and realms we have been to in the past, or wish to go even if they have never or never will exist.
Stories and those who tell them is the glue that binds us to our collective past, that keeps us together and helps prepare us to go forward, as individuals and collectively into an unknown future. They are, in a round about way, an instruction manual for life.
The second reason I’m addressing this matter here and now is because another writer, a gifted pure blooded Saxon from the Mother country and I are cobbling together a story. Persephone, of ‘The Frozen Balance,’ fame and I are working on creating our own little saga, ‘The Legend of Alfhildr.’ The premise of the story is that of an old Norse sage that recounts the life of a Viking shieldmaiden. Side by side with this saga is the true story of how a young boy, abandoned by his own people, came to be honored and revered by both Saxon and Viking. Hopefully, our humble efforts will be worthy of your time and entertaining. I know both of us are having a hoot putting it together, though I imagine my pure-blooded Saxon friend wouldn’t describe her feelings for the project using that particular term.
Nancy Cole