Topics for My Project

I enjoyed looking throughout the topics for project ideas. I had a really hard time choosing between all of them because they were all very interesting! I am sure I will try to do more reading on them all if I have the time. However the four I picked are:

1. Dragons: I really liked all of the stories listed for the topic Dragons. I have always enjoyed reading Sci-fy and fairy tales with dragons involved. Seeing that some of the other stories available are based in history was also very cool, specifically the tale of the Polish dragon of Wawel Hill and Saint George and the Dragon. I would probably focus on Wawel's tale or a fairy tale though, from my own personal interests.
1.  Research: So far the research I've done is mainly on the Wikipedia sites made available. It was cool to learn about the Polish dragon on Wawel Hill and that it actually was related to Krakow and the royalty of Poland. It was also interesting to read that the legend still continues on today, with a metal sculpture in its honor and even a street named Dragon street! The story of Saint George and the Dragon is a little more fairy tale in nature, and includes a princess in need of rescue and a traveling Saint George who rescues her. On Wikipedia they discuss a lot of its relation to the Byzantine empire which is another interesting real world connection to the tale.
2.  Northern Europe: My heritage is German, so I liked the option to read more about the myths and folklore that came from my own country. There were several other countries that were very tempting that I might consider doing further research in, primarily Scandinavia and Iceland because I have not read much from those cultures. From the German and Netherlands section I would choose Legends of the Rhine because that is where my family is from. Reading specific tales from my homeland would be very cool and allow a new connection to that land. From the Scandinavia and Iceland section I would choose The Icelandic Fairy Tales because I have read very little literature on this part of the world's culture. 
1. Research: I've skimmed through both of the selections I mention and have enjoyed the stories I have read so far. Both of the books definitely follow the fairy tale idea and keep the cultural references, which I enjoy. I looked on Google for some quick references on both of the books which was very helpful. A lot of the references in Legends of the Rhine make sense to me because I have visited several of the cities mentioned. Whereas the Icelandic Fairy Tales were very new and had a lot to offer for new information.
3.  England: I love Robin Hood and King Arthur so being able to do a project on either of these famous legends would be a lot of fun. Particularly The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood by Howard Pyle and King Arthur: Tales of the Round Table by Andrew Lang.  I also enjoyed seeing the other options, particularly the ballads. These were interesting because of the different approaches they offered on England's history and culture. Lastly, the stories on Pixies were very interesting because they reminded me of when I was a little girl and had a 'fairy garden' in my backyard. I used to love watching for 'fairies' and seeing stories about pixies was a blast down memory lane!
1. Research: I did go through the Wikipedia pages on King Arthur and Robin Hood to refresh my memory on their stories. I loved the Disney stories of both of these characters and reading more on the historical aspects was very interesting. Looking at the history of pixies in England was very fascinating. In some legends they were thought to be the souls of children that died before being baptized, which is both a very sweet and sad thought!
4. Celtic Tales: One of my best friends is an Irish Histories minor and has indulged me in a lot of classic Irish tales, which piqued my interest on this topic. I really enjoyed the stories from Lady Wilde, particularly about Queen Maeve. I also liked some of the more paranormal stories in the Irish section which was a different twist than many of the other areas had for their cultural fables.
1. I searched for Queen Maeve, or Medb, on Wikipedia and it had some really cool information about her life and supposed husbands. It was also interesting that her enemy in all of the tales was her ex-husband, the king of Ulster, and that she tried to steal his prize stud bull.She also has a very sad beginning to her ruling by the hand of a cruel husband. The paranormal stories I did some basic research on to see what else would be out there if I decided to do something different.

A photo of Queen Maeve on her thrown by J.C. Leyendecker on Wikipedia