Secular Charlotte Mason

I regularly get requests for the reading list I created for a tween Medieval Legends class I taught a while back. Rather than rewriting it every time someone asks I have decided to post my response here for easy access by us all. The photos are of some of the projects completed by the students. Feel free to email me offblog if you need recommendations for specific versions.

I purposely chose classics that had a variety of versions available. This way families with multiple ages could read the stories together. Many of these have also been made into movies which could be fun to add in.  I think there is a page on my website that discusses family literature studies and gives some specific recommendations for picture books, middle schooler level and adult/teen levels for some of these topics. You can also find versions online; esp. for the Ballad of Mulan and The Hungarian Version of the White Stag legend. Unfortunately I no longer have my links for any of them. Try googling the titles or looking over at Archive.org. 

As part of the class we did related map work and did one project reflective of the times the story was "written" or popularized. Before starting the reading list we discussed the differences between myths, legends, folk tales,fairy tales and general historical fiction so that the class knew the difference before we started. As we read each book we discussed what common plot elements of the Hero's Journey could be found within the story. In the class we did 5 books per term. I do have to confess that this list was inspired by the reading list for HO Middle Ages level 2, only we focused on the classics rather than all the historical fiction she recommended.

This list is not in chronological order but we tried to read them in that order as much as possible.

Journey to the West from the Monkey King (China--made Chinese opera masks since that is how the story was originally told, this is an ancient story that was popularized during the middle ages and is still popular today)

Finn MacCool (Irish--illuminated manuscripts)

Hound of Ulster (Irish-made salmon torc or broaches)

Ballad of Mulan (Northern China--write a ballad of some modern event)

Beowulf (Norse & Anglo Saxon--dragon soap carving)

King Arthur & the Knights of the Round Table (Norman England--tried our hand at basic weaving)

Robin Hood (watched the animated Bayeoux Tapestry online and then drew our own retelling the Robin Hood story)

Sindbad the Sailor from the Arabian Knights (Middle East--painted a scene from the story in the Persian style)

Song of Roland (France--scene from the story in "stained glass")

El Cid (Moorish Spain--moorish tiles)

Tales of the Heike (Feudal Japan--U-kiyo style prints since this is the very first story that first used that style of art and U-kiyo is the ancestor of modern anime)

Sundiata (Mali--we studied griots and made shakeres)

The White Stag (Magyars & Huns--don't remember the project)

Story of Sigurd (Icelandic Sagas--we made runestones)

I would also recommend adding the following if you have time:

Mabinogion (Welsh myth cycle)

Kalevala (Finnish myth cycle)

Ivanhoe (crusades?)

I have yet to find a classic from S. America for this time period.

I have a feeling I've forgotten one or two but this should get your started. It really doesn't matter which versions you use as long as they are decently written and not dumbed down. I do NOT recommend Robert Nye's version of Beowulf (which is the one we read) as it is written overly simply and doesn't include any of the drama of the original. Howard Pyle, Rosemary Sutcliff, Padraic Colum and Geraldine McCaughrean are all good authors to look for when it comes to ancient or medieval readings for middle schoolers. Kevin Crossley-Holland tends to illustrate a lot of well written legends so that is another good name to look for. Most of the adult versions include more sex and violence than you would want for middle schoolers.