The 10 characteristics of the Legends (with explanations and examples)

The legend is one of the best-known and oldest forms of transmission of stories, and for this reason they are part of the cultures of thousands of ethnic groups and nations.

Next We will see what are the characteristics of the legend, what defines it as a type of narration belonging to the epic genre, and what is its purpose.

• Related article: "The 5 differences between myth and legend"

What is a Legend?

Let's start with the most basic: the definition of the term "legend". This is a subgenre of epic (category in which we also find myths, epics, epic poems, sagas, etc.) in which through narrations transmitted from generation to generation explain important events that occurred in the past, which are totally or partially fantastic.

That is to say, that in the legends it is very difficult to know which elements of the narrated story occurred in truth or not, since there is an overlap between real events and characters, on the one hand, and fantastic or supernatural, for the other.

However, one of the characteristics of legends is that they serve to transmit values ​​and concepts to understand the origins of the social organization of a group. (normally, considered nation or ethnicity), so that traditionally the veracity of its more general aspects is not questioned, since they are used to educate and unite socially.

The main characteristics of the Legends

Now that we have seen a summary of what this epic subgenre is like, let's see in more detail what are the characteristics of the legend and how it plays an important role in the traditions of social groups humans.

1. fantastic elements

One of the most characteristic features of legends is that in them there are many fantastical elements, including magical occurrences and supernatural entities. This is so for two fundamental reasons.

On the one hand, legends are part of the tradition and culture of social groups, and that It means that they appeared before the scientific conception of reality had as much force as the it has now. Generally speaking, for thousands of years people did not have a way to clearly differentiate between what can happen and what cannot happen according to the natural laws that we know today in day. For this reason, it is very easy for fantastic elements to be added to the story unintentionally.

On the other hand, and partly as a consequence of the above, when imagining the legends, it was not a priority to offer an accurate description of how the world works, but they try to convey concepts and ideas. In other words, the legends obey the logic of the relationships between abstract ideas (loyalty, virtue, fear, anger, etc.) and not the logic of realism.

2. It tries to explain facts of history

The legends, originally, were intended to explain things that hypothetically happened in the past and that serve to better understand some aspect of the here and now. We have already seen that a large part of these narratives (or even all of them) did not actually occur, and therefore they are often interpreted with a mixture of credulity. faced with facts for which there is no evidence, on the one hand, and the belief that the events of the past that are explained are captured in the legend through metaphors.

In any case, usually today the legends are not seen as a valid source of exact knowledge about the events that occurred, but as a cultural reality appreciated precisely for being part of the History of a society regardless of the veracity of its contents.

There are only some very specific cases in which there is debate about whether legends can give clues to real historical events, Normally when its origins are very old and refer to events that occurred before the use of the word began. writing. For example, the legends of the Hadza tribe.

3. The story takes place in a specific place.

At first glance, this characteristic may seem anodyne, because after all, in current times we are used to having most of the stories we read or hear have to do with specific characters performing actions in specific places. However, it must be taken into account that in the epic genre it is very frequent deal with topics and events of such an abstract nature that we are barely able to imagine where the events occur.

For example, in narratives in which the origin of the cosmos or the world is explained from the perspective of myths (a type of narrative known as cosmogonies), it is very frequent that it is not even intended to describe the environment in which the leading entities of the history, because these are of a supernatural nature and supposedly existed before the concept of space as we understand it today it made sense.

However, one of the characteristics of the legend that serve to distinguish it from the rest of epic narratives is that the action does have place in a specific location, regardless of whether the world in which the events occur is fictional or actually exists in our cosmos.

4. Very clear use of archetypes

Archetypes are recurring roles embodied by most characters in stories. that have traversed the history of humanity.

Carl Jung and followers of his school of thought, such as Joseph Campbell (best known for his book The Hero with a Thousand Faces), developed this concept to show that the different societies, ethnicities and cultures that have existed use very similar characters to shape their myths, legends and narratives in general. Some of these archetypes are the wise old man, the rogue, the child, the hero, etc.

in the legends The hero archetype is especially important, who is the protagonist of the story to be told, and who is used as an example to follow and a model of virtue and honorable and courageous behavior.

Thus, the legends are used to not contain individuals of very ambiguous morality and full of nuances, but the The role that each one plays in the story is usually very clear from the moment each one of them is presented in the narration.

5. Evolution by oral transmission

Legends have existed both before and after the advent of writing systems, and at all times they have been relatively independent of being put on pages.

That is to say, that its existence is not reduced to the publication, copying and edition of books, but rather legends pass from one person to another both through reading and by word of mouth and the oral tradition. This, in turn, makes it easier for the legend to change over time, or for several different versions to emerge where before there was only one.

• You may be interested in: "The 10 best Spanish legends (former and current)"

6. Characters are human or demihuman

Since legends are accessible by all social substrata of a culture, their characters must have motivations and concerns understandable by all of them, and as a consequence most of them are human or partially human (psychologically speaking, although their physical appearance can vary a lot), so that express the most common ideas and feelings.

7. Inclusion of folklore content

The leyends they adopt as a frame of reference the symbols and images of local folklore, elements that are easily understood by everyone because they are part of the culture in which they live.

For example, if narrating a legend reaches a point where a demon appears, the listeners will not know instantly that his demon appears. presence poses danger or, at the very least, caution, and will possibly try to harm or deceive the good people included in that history. There will be a tendency not to use elements that are very difficult to understand within this frame of reference (for example, a demon that for no apparent reason has a kinder character than the hero).

8. No metafiction resources

Another of the characteristics of the legend is that its content is presented as separated from the time and space of the reader or listener, and does not recognize the existence of the hearing or appeal to their participation.

That is to say, that in the Legend of King Arthur, for example, there are no moments in which a character asks him questions to the audience, but in any case he asks himself or another character who is part of the facts narrated.

9. The end of the story is clear

Legends tend not to end in open endings, which leave room for many interpretations. At its closure, something happens that makes it clear that the narrative no longer has any further development., and if there is any unknown, it is what interpretation we should extract from the legend already told, and not what happened after that end.

10. The closing is instructive: there is a moral

In most cases, the closure offers a morally key interpretation of what actions have been good and what actions have been bad throughout the development of the story. The moral is one of the most important characteristics of the legend, which serves to transmit values ​​and behavior patterns, albeit indirectly and without directly appealing to listeners or readers (as we have seen).

Bibliographic references:

• Jansen, H.M.M. (2004). Epic Adventures: Heroic Narrative in the Oral Performance Traditions of Four Continents. LIT.
• Krapf, N. (1988). Beneath the Cherry Sapling: Legends from Franconia. New York: Fordham University Press.
• Neveleff, J. (1997). Classification of literary genres. Buenos Aires: Noveduc Books.
• Taranilla de la Varga, C.J. (2016). Great myths and legends of history. Cordoba: Almuzara.
• Tangherlini, T.R. (1990). 'It Happened Not Too Far from Here...': A Survey of Legend Theory and Characterization. Western Folklore, 49(4), pp. 371 - 390.