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Hero: A Study in Tradition, Myth and Drama Paperback – 17 February 2011

by LORD RAGLAN (Author)
4.4 out of 5 stars 36
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Heroic figures, all with the human desire for idealization in common, are the focus of this study - from Oedipus and King Arthur to heroes of the Trojan War and Robin Hood. His mother is a virgin and he's reputed to be the son of a god; he loses favor and is driven from his kingdom to a sorrowful death - sound familiar? In The Hero, Lord Raglan contends that the heroic figures from myth and legend are invested with a common pattern that satisfies the human desire for idealisation. Raglan outlines 22 characteristic themes or motifs from the heroic tales and illustrates his theory with events from the lives of characters from Oedipus (21 out of a possible 22 points) to Robin Hood (a modest 13). A fascinating study that relates details from world literature with a lively wit and style, it was acclaimed by literary critic Stanley Edgar Hyman as "a bold, speculative, and brilliantly convincing demonstration that myths are never historical but are fictional narratives derived from ritual dramas." This new edition of The Hero (which originally appeared some 13 years before Joseph Campbell's The Hero with a Thousand Faces) is assured of a lasting popularity. This book will appeal to scholars of folklore and mythology, history, literature, and general readers as well.
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  1. Print length
    336 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Dover Publications
  4. Publication date
    17 February 2011
  5. Dimensions
    13.72 x 1.78 x 21.34 cm
  6. ISBN-10
    0486427080
  7. ISBN-13
    978-0486427089
  8. See all details
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Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Dover Publications (17 February 2011)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 336 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0486427080
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0486427089
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 13.72 x 1.78 x 21.34 cm
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.4 out of 5 stars 36

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Baron Raglan

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InChristusAllein
4.0 out of 5 stars Still holds up.
Reviewed in Canada on 6 April 2017
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It's an interesting read, if you've enjoyed Joseph Campbell, and have a fondness for comparative mythology.
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busylizzie
5.0 out of 5 stars This excellent book is a forerunner of many studies
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 9 July 2014
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This excellent book is a forerunner of many studies. It is still very useful as a reference guide. I have it now and I would not be without it as it give understanding of the origins of many beliefs.
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Jimbo
5.0 out of 5 stars Better than Campbell
Reviewed in the United States on 2 February 2005
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Sacrilege, I know, but I found this book to be the most inciteful explanation of the hero mono-myth, at least in regards to western civilization, that I have ever read.

The basic premise is that the hero journey, which forms the basis for all western stories, myths and legends, is a remnant of an ancient ritual drama enacted at the coronation of a priest-king (probably in ancient Mesopotamia).

A definition: A ritual, according to Raglan, is an specific act performed for a magical purpose. A dramatic ritual is a ritual performed for an audience, and a ritual drama is a dramatic ritual where the participants play specific roles. In order to play roles a story/plot was needed and this story forms the myth. The myth of the priest-king outlived the ritual and became the many myths and folktales we are familiar with, from Hercules to Robin Hood to Luke Skywalker and Harry Potter (my additions).

Raglan argues that at one time kings were more than kings, they were priests, even gods, and replaced on a regular basis. The ritual surrounding this replacement involved sacrificing the old king (in reality or ritually) and raising up a suitable substitute. Raglan says there are at least twenty-two aspects to this mono-myth and the closer the legend fits these aspects the less likely the hero was a historical personage at all.

His argument is that all historical persons that we know of from actual evidence have differed greatly from these twenty-two points. However all purely legendary heros curiously share most of them.

(1)Born of a royal virgin.

(2)His father a King and

(3)Often a near relative of mother, but

(4)The circumsatnces of his conception are unusual and

(5)He is reputed to be the son of a god.

(6)An attempt is made to kill him at birth(often by father or father-figure) but

(7)He is spirited away and

(8)Raised by foster parents in a far country.

(9)We are told nothing of his childhood.

(10)On reaching manhood he journeys to his future kingdom.

(11)Faces trials and tests.

(12)Marries a princess and

(13)Becomes king.

(14)Rules uneventfully

(15)Prescribes laws

(16)Loses favor with the Gods or his subjects and

(17)Is driven away where

(18)He meets with a mysterious death

(19)Often at the top of a hill.

(20)His children, if any, do not succeed him.

(21)His body is not buried, however

(22)He has one or more holy resting places.

Curiously Raglan neglected, while covering several legendary figures who fit this prototype, to mention Jesus Christ. Perhaps it was the time he wrote in (the 1930s).

Lord Raglan makes an excellent argument for his thesis.

I can't believe I am the first to review this amazing book.

Highly reccomended.
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seskowi
4.0 out of 5 stars Interessante Studie über die Bausteine europäischer Mythen
Reviewed in Germany on 2 March 2005
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Dieses Buch wurde bereits 1936 veröffentlicht. Robert Segal (Myth - a very short introduction) erwähnt dieses Buch kurz im Abschnitt 'Myth and Ritual' (der König, der bereitwillig für die Gemeinschaft stirbt, repräsentiert ein Ritual des archetypischen Helden: den durch sein Opfer die Gemeinschaft sichernden Retter-König) und gibt eine recht ausführliche Zusammenfassung von entscheidenden Passagen aus Raglans Buch im Abschnitt 'Myth and Literature'. Hier werden dann auch die 22 Punkte zitiert, aus denen sich das Leben eines archetypischen Helden der Literatur zusammengesetzt ist. Dean Miller (The epic hero) sagt neben allen kritischen Anmerkungen zu dem Rest der Studie, dass der mittlere Teil des Buches von dauerndem Wert für die Theorien über Mythenbildung ist, was auch durch den Reprint dieses zweiten Teils in Otto Ranks 'In quest of the hero' belegt wird.
Raglan hat anhand von ausführlichen Vergleichen aus einer Vielzahl von Heldengeschichten 22 Lebensabschnitte herausgefiltert und in seinem Buch beschrieben (zweiter Teil des Buches: Myth). Dieses Muster des Heldenlebens stellt den König als exemplarischen mythischen Retter dar, der als Vorbild für die realen Führungspersönlichkeiten dienen soll. Die Selbstopferung des Königs gehört ebenso zu diesem Skript wie die einsamen Heldenkämpfe in seiner Jugendzeit und die durch Mordanschläge gefährdete Kindheit.
Auszugweise: (1) seine Mutter ist eine Jungfrau, (4) die Umstände seiner Zeugung sind ungewöhnlich, (5) er wird als Sohn eines Gottes angesehen, (6) bei seiner Geburt wird ein Anschlag auf sein Leben ausgeführt, (9) wir erfahren nichts aus seiner Kindheit, (10) beim Erreichen des Erwachsenenalters begibt er sich zu seinem künftigen Königreich, (12) er heiratet eine Prinzessin, oft die Tochter seines Vorgängers, (13) wird König, (18) findet einen mysteriösen Tod, (20) seine Kinder, wenn er überhaupt welche hatte, folgen ihm nicht auf den Thron, (21) sein Körper wird nicht begraben, (22) er hat eine oder mehrere heilige Grabstätten.
Für mich war das ganze Buch sehr interessant und spannend zu lesen. Auch war es für mich wichtig nachvollziehen zu können, wie wenig historische Wahrheit in den Mythen zu finden ist (erster Teil des Buches: Tradition). Allerdings erwähnt Raglan nicht Schliemanns Entdeckungen, die Schliemann im Vertrauen auf den Wahrheitsgehalt von Homers Ilias gemacht hat (über diesen geschichtlichen Inhalt siehe Latacz 'Troja und Homer'). Dieses Beispiel würde Raglans Schlüsse aus seinem Kompendium von Beispielen doch wieder etwas in Frage stellen. Dennoch, nirgendwo anders habe ich bisher eine solche Sammlung von überzeugenden Beispielen gelesen, wie aus Geschichte durch Hinzufügen von archetypischen Elementen Mythos wird. Eine sehr gute wissenschaftliche Abhandlung zu einem speziellen Mythos ist zu finden in N. Highams Buch über den Artus-Mythos 'King Arthur - Myth-making and history'. Bei Artus wie auch bei Raglans Beispiel Robin Hood geht die Mythenbildung soweit, dass eine Identifikationsfigur anhand eines Kristallisationspunktes erfunden wird.
Auf der anderen Seite werden erfundene Geschichten über historische Persönlichkeiten erzählt, die unser Bedürfnis nach beispielhaften Heldenbeschreibungen so sehr befriedigen, dass sie in unseren Köpfen die historische Persönlichkeit definieren und oft auch überlagern (ein Beispiel Raglans hierfür ist die Jugend von Henry V, dessen Bild u.a. von Shakespeare umgeformt wurde). Als Warnung, Mythen nur mit grosser Vorsicht zum Herausfiltern von Geschichte zu verwenden, war dieses Buch sicherlich einmal sehr aktuell gewesen, vor allem wenn man bedenkt, wie viel Mythos sogar in den frühen Geschichtssammlungen steckt.
Im dritten Teil des Buches (Drama) finden sich dann noch sehr interessante Beobachtungen (welche sich auch auf Filme übertragen lassen) dazu wie ein Drama funktioniert: z.B. keinerlei alltägliche Verrichtungen und nur eine Sprache, selbst wenn es sich um Protagonisten verschiedener Völker handelt, das Ende muss 'gerecht' sein (poetic justice), die Historizität der Ereignisse wird dem Drama untergeordnet, erfundene Dialoge ersetzen die Geschichte.
Das Buch enthält eine Bibliographie und einen umfangreichen Index.
Wegen des nachhaltigen Einflusses auf die Theorien über literarische Mythen, den dieses Buch hat, gebe ich 5 Sterne, ebenso wegen des klaren Stils und des nicht zu unterschätzenden Unterhaltungswertes. Nur wegen der eingeschränkten Wissenschaftlichkeit gebe ich einen Punkt Abzug.
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Magickal Merlin
5.0 out of 5 stars The Literary Evolution of Heroic Figures from Ritual Dramas
Reviewed in the United States on 5 May 2008
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If you are a fellow admirer of mythical legends and heroic dramas,then you will be captivated by this book.One of the literary questions,i ask from time to time,is whether Merlin or Jesus Christ,was the first true magician.Both performed miracles and feats that amazed watchers.Their accounts rippled outward through bardic narratives and recorded in countless legendary tales.But,this study glosses over the Jesus topic.Whether because of moral sensitivity or whether expurgated due to the mores of the day.This myth theory deals with the major classical epics from the European perspective.However,there are no tales from Afrika,India,the Americas or Asia.All heroic myths may have started from the first campfire rituals of Eastern Afrika.And as human migration spread,so did the retelling of the proto-myths.The myths evolved and the characters evolved.Yet,the root basis of our modern fictional legends derive from a wandering sole folk-teller's tongue on ancient ritual dramas.I think one of the greatest achievements of this complex exposition,is to convey, that all of mythical tales are patterned upon a single basic human desire to idealize the deeds of our heroic figures. I'm surprised that this book is not well-known today.I'm glad to have discovered this work on myth traditions.And would recommend it to anyone else interested in literary pursuits and drama studies.
8 people found this helpful
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