7Tristan & Iseult
This 12th-century tale tells the tragic love story of Tristan and Iseult. It is said that these two were heavily influenced by Lancelot and Guinevere since the plots are very similar. There is a French and a Celtic story but they are both extremely similar. In one of the most famous francophone myths and legends, Tristan has to bring back the beautiful Iseult to his uncle after defeating the Irish knight Morholt. Tristan and Iseult both drink a love potion so they both fall madly in love with each other. Since Iseult is promised to Tristan’s uncle, they become lovers but of course, he learns about their affair…
8Ankou
This henchman of Death, a man/skeleton wearing a cloak collects the dead and rides a black coach pulled by dark horses. Some say he was the first child of Adam and Eve. There are two main tales about Ankou. The first one is about three friends that threw stones at an old man. When they broke his cart, two of the friends fled the scene but the third one stayed to fix the old man’s cart. The next day, the two coward friends were found dead but the third was alive but now had a head of white hair. The second tale is about a cruel prince that challenged Death to see who could kill a black stag first. Of course, Death won and the prince was cursed to roam the earth for all eternity.
9Loup-Garou
The Loup-Garou or werewolf comes from Europe during the medieval period but it spread to the New World, especially in the French Canadian folklore. A human turns into the animal for many nights (sometimes up to 101 nights!). The spell can only be broken if another human recognizes the human trapped in the werewolf and needs to draw blood from their body. After the spell is broken, both people can never talk about what happened or else something worse can happen.
Do you know any other French or francophone myths and legends?
