The Haft Paykar: A Medieval Persian Romance
Oxford Universtiy Press, 1995

In addition to his Khamseh, Nizami also wrote the Haft Paykar. I didn't particularily care for this translation, but it's the only one I've found. I forget the frame story to it (I think it's Bahram Gur visiting five maidens in different coloured tents, but that may be an inner story) but in it Bahram Gur tells a different short story to each of the maidens he romances. [TbIaI]

The Hand of Poetry, Five Mystic Poets of Persia
Inayat Khan, Coleman Barks (Translator)

This is an excellent sampler of five of the primier Sufi poets. It has excerpts of Sanai, Attar, Rumi, Saadi, and Hafiz (ranging in time from the 12th to the 14th century). I don't read Farsi *sniff* so I cannot vouch for the accuracy of the translations, but I find them very powerful in comparison to the other translations I've read (primarily by Victorian poets) which I believe is more in keeping of the spirit of Sufi poetry even if some literalness is lost in the translation. Essays by Inayat Khan from a lecture series he gave in 1923 introduce each section. Obviously the essays are post-period, but they are beautiful and worth reading for the insight they give into Sufi philosophy and the poets work and life in general. Some of the essays and translator introductions also contain source material about the poet's lives. There is an appendix at the end of Source material which will allow anyone who falls as deeply in love with the poets as I did to track down more complete volumes of their works. [TbIaI]

Harlequin and the Gift of Many Colors
Remy Charlip and Burton Supree
Parents' Magazine Press, 1973
ISBN 0819304948

Harelquin is the French name for the commedia dell arte character, Arlecchino. Modern 'Harlequins' wear suits of multi-coloured diamond patches, but the original Arlecchino wore a suit of good clothing, patched and re-patched. This wasn't romantic enough for the French who created this charming story of generosity amongst friends during the Carnival that preceeds Lent. This book (a childrens' book, with wonderful illustrations) is based on an outline from Larousse's "Dictionnaire Unversel du XIX Siecle" (1865) but the character and the story are both much older. [AY]

The Heptameron
Paul A. Chilton (Translator)
Penguin Classics

The "Heptameron" is an incomplete French work. It was written by Margaret of Navarre, also known as Margaret of Angouleme (1492-1549), who was a sister of the French king Francis I. An important protector of John Calvin, the poet Clement Marot, and other early reformers of the church, she expressed her intensely felt religious views in poetry and plays.

The Heptameron was published in 1558. Modeled on Boccaccio's Decameron, it contains short stories told by fictional characters who probably represent Margaret and her circle. The stories, and especially the conversations between the characters, stress the frequent unhappiness of women and the joys of chaste love leading to the love of God. [AY]

Herodotus: The Histories
Herodutus, Aubrey De Selincourt (Translator)
Paperback
Penguin USA
ISBN: 0140446389

Our old friend Herodotus lived during the fifth century BC and that is considered to be the ancestor of all modern critical historical study -- don't ask me why, since Herodotus often mixes his history with myth--discussing, for example, the fabled race of Amazon warrior women alongside more factual records of Egyptian geography. Great for a storyteller, must be frustrating as hell for an historian. That being said, he did employ methods of inquiry not so unlike modern, inter-disciplinary scholarship. His histories recounted not only the human and political stories of human activities, but also included writings on geography, biology, and ethnography.

This is a *long* book (600+ pages in this edition), and story material is scattered throughout it's length. Go through it carefully -- it's well worth it. [AY]

Heroes, Monsters, and Other Worlds from Russian Mythology
Elizabeth Warner (Alexander Koshkin, illus.)
Douglas & MacIntyre, Toronto
ISBN: 0888944780

This is a wonderful book. I do not know if the others in the "World Mythology Series" are as good (Greek Myths; Viking Mythology; Chinese Mythology; Roman Mythology; Arab Mythology; and others), but I'd certainly encourage anyone interested in one of the cultures they cover to flip through these books. I had to order my copy from the publisher in Toronto.

This book is both a commentry on Russian mythology, discussing what differing creatures or places represent, but also a great source for storyt material. Each chapter deals with a differing mythological element: The Old Gods; Smiths and Ploughman; Witches and Wizards; Shape-changers; etc. There is also a good list of sources (almost all in Russian, I was pleased to see), and some intelligent history and description of Russian story types.

The book does not always cite the dates of stories (many are "traditional"), but if you are interested in Russian mythology, this is an easily read interesting work on the subject -- and a good source for stories. [AY]

The History of the Mohammedan Dynasties in Spain
extracted from the Nfahu-t-tib min ghosni-l-Andalusi-r-rattib wa tarikh Lisanu-d-din Ibn-l-Khattib by Ahmad ibn Muhammed al-Maqqari, a native of Telamsan
Pascual de Gayangos (Translator)
London printed for the Oriental translation fund of Great Britain and Ireland, New York,
Johnson Reprint Corp., 1964.

Al-Maqqari was a historian just a smidge post-period (this history was published mid-1600's I believe), however, he has two plus points which is why I'm posting an out of period source. He covers the entire history of Al-Andalus from the Moslem conquest to the end of the Almoravides (I believe to the reconquest of Granada but that's post my time-period so I didn't actually read that far) in a fashion which is chock-full of anecdotes about the various emirs, caliphs, wazirs, etc. of Al-Andalus. And he does this by being a very lazy historian and quoting from already-written histories which ARE in period (the introduction to the volumes states that it is more accurate to say al-Maqqari edited a History Collection rather than wrote a history and that's very true). Most of those excerpts are full of colourful descriptions and swaggering quotations.

This is a two-volume work, and the second volume is the one of value to the storyteller. The first volume is more of a description of the lands of al-Andalus--interesting for historical research, but not much material for tale-telling. The second volume is where he really gets into the lives of the rulers and the various battles against the Christians, the Almohads, the Almoravides etc.

His second plus point, again is the language thing. He's been translated into English. [TbIaI]

The Homeric Epics

The Homeric epics are known singularly as the Iliad and the Odyssey.

No one knows who the poem Homer was, or even if he composed the epics that are attributed to him. The latest research dates the poems to c. 750-725 BC (Iliad) and c. 743-713 BC (Odyssey).

Who ever composed them, when ever it was done, of this there is no doubt -- these are great stories.

The Iliad takes place during the 10th year of the Siege of Troy. The first line of the poem describes the content: "Sing, O Muse, of the rage of Achilles, son of Pelius". But besides the anger of Achilles (more like sulking, I always thought) this story contains great battle scenes and lots of death. My personal favorite is the Death of Hector (and Achilles dragging his body around the walls).

A warning: many people find the Iliad thorny to ready. It's tough going, even in English.

However, the second in the set, the Odyssey, is much more fun to read. As most of you probably know, it's the journey of Odysseus from Troy to Ithaca, his home, which takes about 10 years. He has many adventures, most of which can make good stand-alone stories, like his encounter with the Cyclops.

There are many translations available. I first read Robert Fitzgerald. Richard Lattimore is sort of classic -- if I remember correctly (it's been a while since I read this one) it's a poetic translation and the English is done in the same meter as the Greek (dactylic hexameter -- epic meter -- for those who are curious). The newest (and possibly the best) translation is done by Robert Fagles. This is the translation Sir Vissivald reads at Pennsic. All three translations are available from Amazon and you can get the Fagles on audiocassette, read by Derek Jacobi. [MW]

 
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