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For other senses of this word, see Legend (disambiguation).
A legend (Latin, legenda, "things to be read") is a narrative of human actions that are perceived both by teller and listeners to take place within human history and to possess certain qualities that give the tale verisimilitude. Legend, for its active and passive participants, includes no happenings that are outside the realm of "possibility", defined by a highly flexible set of parameters, which may include miracles that are perceived as actually having happened, within the specific tradition of indoctrination where the legend arises, and within which it may be transformed over time, in order to keep it fresh and vital, and realistic.

Etymology and origin


The word "legend" appeared in the English language circa 1340, transmitted from medieval Latin language through French. Its first blurred extended (and essentially Protestant) sense of a non-historical narrative or myth was first recorded in 1613. By emphasizing the unrealistic character of "legends" of the saints, English-speaking Protestants were able to introduce a note of contrast to the "real" saints and martyrs of the Reformation, whose authentic narratives could be found in Foxe's Book of Martyrs. Thus "legend" gained its modern connotations of "undocumented" and "spurious".

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Alternative :: Archaeology
Fabulous Creatures :: Tales

 
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The only amazing performance of the Latin Grammy: Alejandro Sanz and @aliciakeys ... They're both amazingly talented music legends ;)
xx_aleja_xx (Alejandra Mora) Fri, 06 Nov 2009 03:47:48 -0000
The only amazing performance of the Latin Grammy: Alejandro Sanz and @aliciakeys ... They're both amazingly talented music legends ;)
This. RT @Dollofwar: I wish Halo Legends wasn't anime.
Xav (Xav de Matos) Fri, 06 Nov 2009 03:47:45 -0000
This. RT @Dollofwar: I wish Halo Legends wasn't anime.
I just won a race against Schlaeppi in Nitto 1320 Legends! http://bit.ly/14QJDs #nittolegends
roassiD (Antonio Mendez) Fri, 06 Nov 2009 03:47:01 -0000
I just won a race against Schlaeppi in Nitto 1320 Legends! http://bit.ly/14QJDs #nittolegends
I just won a race against Volcom210 in Nitto 1320 Legends! http://bit.ly/14QJDs #nittolegends
roassiD (Antonio Mendez) Fri, 06 Nov 2009 03:45:58 -0000
I just won a race against Volcom210 in Nitto 1320 Legends! http://bit.ly/14QJDs #nittolegends
I just won a race against Bandit30 in Nitto 1320 Legends! http://bit.ly/14QJDs #nittolegends
volcom210 (Ruben Salinas) Fri, 06 Nov 2009 03:44:54 -0000
I just won a race against Bandit30 in Nitto 1320 Legends! http://bit.ly/14QJDs #nittolegends
I just won a race against delo619 in Nitto 1320 Legends! http://bit.ly/14QJDs #nittolegends
Sharensel (Sharensel) Fri, 06 Nov 2009 03:44:13 -0000
I just won a race against delo619 in Nitto 1320 Legends! http://bit.ly/14QJDs #nittolegends

 
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404 Legends - Exploring legend in history, folklore, literature, fiction, and the arts.
Meta Description: [ Legends Site Map. Exploring Legends in History, Folklore, Literature, Fiction, and the Arts. ]

Christ Legends - Eleven legends retold by Selma Lagerlöf (1908); e-text at the Baldwin Project.
Meta Description: [ Christ Legends by Selma Lagerlöf ]

Gunpowder Gertie - Pirate Queen of the Kootenays - Kootenay mountain legend of piracy on British Columbia's waterways.
Meta Description: [ Is there treasure buried on the shores of the Kootenay river system? Read this Kootenay mountain legend of piracy on BC, Canada's waterways. Who knows... maybe you can find the lost shipments of silver & gold. ]

Heroic Legends - European legends from the Middle Ages, by Agnes Grozier Herbertson (1908), e-text from Kellscraft Studio.

500 Legend of Semiramis - On the legendary queen of Assyria, said to have built Babylon with its hanging gardens.
Meta Description: [ Earth's ancient history from the earliest times untill 1000 BCE, Gods of Sumer, Akkad, Babylonia,, Nibiru ]

Legends of Florence - Collected and retold by Charles Godfrey Leland (1895), e-text from Making of America.

Legends of the Rhine - By Wilhelm Ruland (1906) with illustrations; e-text at Kellscraft Studio.

Luxembourg Legends - Five legends of Luxembourg presented by the Luxembourg Tourist Office in London.
Meta Description: [ Legends of Luxembourg presented by the Luxembourg Tourist Office in London ]

Mysteries of Rennes-le-Chateau - Manuscript images and details of the research of Gay Roberts on the mysterious treasure of Rennes-le-Chateau.

Project Sheba - Discussion of the source texts, legends, and theories on the Queen of Sheba, by Miri Hunter Haruach.

500 Rennes-Le-Chateau - Searching for the lost treasure of Rennes-le-Chateau.

Shine: The Concept of the World in Macedonian Folk Legends - Essay by Ermis Lafazanovski discussing pre-Christian and Christian ideas on the concept of the world as present in Macedonian legends.
Meta Description: [ macedonian literature, e-magazine, poetry, prose, essays, blesok, macedonia, skopje, literature in translation ]

The Book of Legends - Popular legends retold by Horace E. Scudder (1900); e-text at the Baldwin Project.

The Wise Men of Gotham - Humorous tales about the men of Gotham, who pretended to be madmen during the reign of King John of England.
Meta Description: [ Humorous Tales about the Men of Gotham. ]

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