LEGEND OR MYTH?

A legend is a story or group of stories handed down through popular oral tradition, usually consisting of an exaggerated or unreliable account of some actually or possibly historical person—often a saint, monarch, or popular hero. Legends are sometimes distinguished from myths in that they concern human beings rather than gods, and sometimes in that they have some sort of historical basis whereas myths do not; but these distinctions are difficult to maintain consistently. The term was originally applied to accounts of saints' lives (e.g., hagiography, which is a worshipful or idealizing biography), but is now applied chiefly to fanciful tales of warriors (e.g. King Arthur and his knights), criminals (e.g. Faust, Robin Hood).


In folklore theory, a ‘legend’ is a short traditional oral narrative about a person, place, or object that really exists, existed, or is believed to have existed; even when it recounts a supernatural or highly unusual event, this is claimed to have occurred in real life. Unlike a fairytale or joke, it is presented (and generally accepted) as true; it offers information, moral judgments, or warnings. In practice, the status of legends is more complex, both as regards morality and perceived truthfulness. Many which were once purely oral have repeatedly appeared in books, local newspapers, and TV, from where they feed back into oral tellings; in some cases, the truth of the tradition is a matter for heated dispute (e.g. Robin Hood, Lady Godiva), while in others what was once regarded as true and important is now mere entertainment.

Following are three definitions for myth:

1. A traditional story or tale that has no proven factual basis.

2. A body of traditional beliefs and notions accumulated about a particular subject.

3. Any fictitious idea accepted as part of an ideology by an uncritical group; a received idea: creation, fantasy, fiction, figment, invention.