The Electric Legendarium

A series of authentic medieval texts read in the original language and accompanied with images and animation to aid in comprehension.

The Power of Medieval Storytelling

Medieval storytelling is both profound and multilayered, far moreso than many today realize. Modern language has changed greatly since the days of Charlemagne and William Wallace, so it is rare for modern listeners to appreciate the musicality and nuance of this tradition. The Electric Legendarium is a project resurrecting the sound of original texts drawn directly from medieval manuscripts and illustrating their meaning with art and animation.

Cú Chulainn from the Táin Bó Cuailgne, Beowulf and Hallgrim from Brennu Njals Saga

Behind the Name

A legendarium is a collection of compelling tales, the word coming from the Latin gerund legendum meaning ‘what must be read.’ Our modern word ‘legend’ comes from this as well, but the term legendarium is a collection where legends may be found. Many medieval manuscripts can be considered legendaria since they carry many such tales in them, many more than most realize, and the Electric Legendarium brings these into our modern digital world.

Legenda

  • Gawain & The Grene Knight

    The classic Arthurian tale of virtue, desire, and renewal set against the backdrop of the fourteenth century Welsh Marches.

    MIDDLE ENGLISH
    (rural, ca. 1370)

  • A Geste of Robyn Hode

    The classic tale of Robin Hood featuring disguises, comedy, romance and pitched battles replete with beheadings.

    LATE MIDDLE ENGLISH
    (ca. 15th century)

  • Battle of Brunanburh

    The battle that forged a national identity in the tenth century when Æthelstan, the king of Mercia, Wessex and York, defeated invaders from Scotland, Ireland and Strathclyde.

    OLD ENGLISH
    (10th century)

  • The Three Sons of Mac Luigdeach

    A tale from the Acallamh na Seanórach in which the three sons of the High King of Ireland entreat the Tuatha Dé Danann for the inheritance their father refuses them.

    CLASSICAL GAELIC
    (ca. 1200)

  • Lament of the Old Woman of Beare

    A poem that seamlessly melds biblical references with pre-Christian lore, placed in the mouth of one of Ireland’s famous sovereignty goddesses who later descends into folklore as a giant and witch.

    OLD IRISH
    (8th century)

  • Teach Maic ind Ócc

    This is a short little poem describing the house of one the most prominent and heroic of the Tuatha Dé Danann, the Mac in Óc who is the Irish analog to the Welsh Mabon.

    OLD IRISH
    (10th century - probably)

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