The functions of the most important legends are the teaching of religious and moral aspects, the transmission of knowledge, the promotion of behaviors in societies or even entertainment.
Legends are popular narratives of supernatural events embedded in a real historical setting, passed down orally or in writing through the generations.
Portrait of King Arthur by Charles Ernest Butler, one of the most popular legends of all time. Source:, via Wikimedia Commons
This type of story is contextualized in a precise historical moment, and is usually directly related to the customs and traditions of a particular community. Therefore, there is a certain character of veracity in its content.
Legends often include fantastic stories, such as: the appearance of deities, ghosts or mythological beings. They also contain elements of faith, or explanations of natural phenomena.
These elements tend to enter the collective imagination, and constitute an important part of the culture of a specific town.
Legends main functions
- They underline religious and spiritual aspects, as well as intentions associated with morality and good customs in a population.
- They demonstrate a particular event and detail its impact on the lives of the characters, and on the associated community.
- They adapt the message according to the social context and the time. Thanks to the dynamism of its content, the legends do not lose validity.
- They expose and protect culture. The main idea of the legends revolves around an iconic character or place, or a historical fact; therefore, they tend to highlight the daily life associated with it.
- Explain the etiological aspect of the plot; that is, they develop the origin and foundation of the events and the context that concerns them (places, characters, events, etc.), which helps to reinforce the story.
- They encourage the ability to remember stories, places, curiosities and specific incidents, favoring the individual and collective memory of the members of a community.
- They develop a taste for reading and an interest in preserving the cultural heritage.
- They reinforce aspects of language such as the breadth of vocabulary and the use of literary resources such as metaphors, the use of rhetorical figures and exaggerations.
- They foster interest and curiosity about the in-depth knowledge of popular stories, a fact that encourages, in turn, research work on the oral narrative tradition in certain geographical contexts.
Furthermore, in the case of the legend transmitted orally, it is narrated by a different person at each opportunity.
Consequently, the story changes each time it is told, which attributes a certain dynamism and validity to the legends.
There is no doubt about the importance of legends as a narrative form, given the symbiosis that exists between real aspects (historical-geographical framework) and fantastic aspects (appearance of mythical creatures, religious figures, eschatological elements).
Through legends, facts that have been an object of interest to man since ancient times, such as the value of religious beliefs and the relationship between life and death, remain in vogue.
Given the variety and versatility of the stories (and their narrators), the legends will continue to be present in the popular culture of each country or region, manifesting genuine representations of their most deeply rooted traditions and customs.
References
- Carua, J. (2015). Legends and their function. Recovered from: literatureleyendas.blogspot.com
- Martos, E. (2007). Traditional tales and legends: theory, texts and didactics. Editions of the University of Castilla - La Mancha. Ciudad Real, Spain.
- Morote, P. (2001). The legends and their didactic value. University of Valencia, Spain. Recovered from: cvc.cervantes.es
- Pérez, J., and Merino, M. (2008). Definition of Legend. Recovered from: definicion.de
- Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia (2017). Legend. Recovered from: es.wikipedia.org