Man of my word. Race Life of the Aryan people and as for finishing off where we left off, here we go. Please note I intend to try limit my comments on the books for between one and two sentences as I could talk for hours on them and I don't wish to bore you or spoil them.

- Celtic folklore cont.

Finally onto the Welsh. Again, I reiterate, while there are some connections between the Welsh folklore and general Celtic folklore, Welsh does deviate a tad with a larger focus on hero figures. So to begin we will have a look at one of the most valuable yet overlooked pieces of Welsh history and folklore, the Red Book of Hergest (1911 release), one of what is known as the Four Ancient Books of Wales. It is a collection of Welsh poetry and literature from around the 15 century with the pieces supposedly reaching back as far as 9th century. A worthy read for any man of Welsh blood. I have included both the Welsh version and the English translation as a courtesy.

The second book of Welsh culture and lore I chose is not the Arthuriad (the tale of King Arthur, I've included a copy as well) but rather the Black Book of Carmarthen. Now don't let it's ominous name fool you, it refers to it's original binding, in an ironic twist it speaks of the ancient Heroes of Welsh folklore beyond the widely recognised Arthur and Merlin (although interestingly this book contains references to both that pre date the work of Jeffrey of Monmouth who is known as the man who bought them to public light in the Dark Ages). This again is another of the Four Ancient books of Wales, I merely narrowed down the two that I think will interest people the most. Version uploaded is a single version with both Welsh and English text, I could not locate language specific copies separately.

French Folklore;

Again, we have an odd situation akin to the British, that of Breton and Gaul folklore's differentiating although in a slightly different way, in this case the Gaul staying true to the Celtic tradition, the Breton to the Christian. There is also the Frankish which focuses around the legendary Charlemagne and the Normans who held the Viking traditions. For the sake of efficiency I shall include the French folklore under the Celtic due to the rich connections but also throw in a single curve ball of specific French folklore in the form of a French/Christian piece of importance.

Now sadly my knowledge on French Gaelic folklore is sadly lacking, I have some rudimentary knowledge of the songs of the Troubadours and quite enjoy their epic poetry but I fear much is lost in translation to me. With my knowledge lacking I none the less two pieces I am somewhat familiar with, if someone can attest to superior suggestions, as usual, please do not hesitate to offer. Firstly we have Folk Tales of Brittany by Lewis Spence (1917). As it's name suggests it speaks of the tales from the Brittany region. While an observant reader will note the similarity of some of the folk tales to those of the British Isles, it has two key differences. The first is the observation through a more continental lens, the second, some quite unique folklore with intriguing implications such as the "Ankou", a female death spirit. Intriguing indeed, a worthwhile read.

The second book I was torn on so I decided to hedge my bets and go for an epic tale, that of Legends of Charlemagne by Thomas Bulfinch (1863) which tells the saga of, you guessed it, Charlemagne. While yes this can be considered a Christian text to a degree it does not take the beauty and grandeur of this tale away. If you have a single drop of French blood I implore you to read and enjoy.