Monstrous Myths: Terrible Tales of the Middle Ages

By Clare Hibbert

Step into a world of heroes, monsters and death-defying deeds! This book collects together rip-roaring adventure stories and larger-than-life myths from the Middle Ages. You'll discover:

• How Robin Hood took on a villainous king and his army, equipped with only a bow
• How Arthur drew a magical sword from a stone, and become a legendary king
• How George defeated a fearsome dragon and saved a famous princess
• And much more!

Perfect for all young history lovers, aged 8+.

ABOUT THE SERIES: Monstrous Myths retells traditional myths with a child-friendly emphasis on scary and weird elements. These humorous, cheeky and irreverent books are jam-packed with real facts about the beliefs of ancient cultures. Featuring witty, anarchic cartoons, this series makes history accessible and fun for young readers.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Arcturus Publishing
• Release date: Oct 1, 2019
• ISBN: 9781838578015

Clare Hibbert

Clare specializes in non-fiction books for children of pre- and primary school age. She has been shortlisted for the prestigious Aventis Junior Science Prize, and won a dozen Practical Pre-School Gold Awards.

Book preview

During the Middle Ages, people looked at the world in a way that would seem pretty strange to us today. Many ideas that we see as fantastical, they took very seriously. For them, witches, giants, curses and talismans were all very real!

In books about animals, creatures such as elephants and lions were listed alongside dragons and unicorns. Travellers’ guides described foreign lands populated by dog-headed people, or headless people with faces in their chests.

Medieval stories often featured menacing monsters – such as the Laidly Worm.

The Church was very powerful, but Christian beliefs were mixed with ideas that we would nowadays call superstition. There were very few books, as they were all hand-copied manuscripts. But hardly any people could read anyway! They learned Bible stories by listening to sermons.

Storytelling was a popular pastime. Everyone would gather to hear tales of mermaids and goblins, bloodthirsty wolves and man-eating giants. In these stories, things were not always as they seemed. For example, the famous Laidly Worm was really a princess under a spell.

Other legends tried to make sense of recent history. Across Europe, nobles were capturing land and creating new kingdoms. Real battles and power struggles were turned into exciting