Romania: National Songs and Legends

Blending history, folklore, and poetic imagination, Romania: National Songs and Legends by E. C. Greenville Murray offers one of the earliest English-language portraits of Romania’s folk spirit and national identity. First published in the nineteenth century, this collection gathers together ballads, songs, and heroic legends that had long circulated through the Carpathian villages and borderlands, capturing the voice of a people bound by memory, faith, and resilience.

Murray presents tales of love, valor, and sacrifice, interwoven with the rhythms of nature and the echoes of ancient Dacian and medieval traditions. His translations and commentaries reveal not only the beauty of Romanian oral poetry but also its deep connection to freedom, spirituality, and the land itself.

Richly evocative and steeped in national feeling, this work remains a rare bridge between Western readers and the mythic heart of Eastern Europe, preserving the lyrical soul of a culture whose legends still speak to endurance and hope.

Complete edition of E. C. Greenville Murray’s nineteenth-century collection of Romanian folklore and songs

Includes traditional ballads, legends, and poetic commentary

A vital document of Romania’s cultural and national heritage

Essential for readers of folklore, European history, and literary translation