Christ Legends

by Selma Lagerlöf

When I was five years old I had such a great sorrow! I hardly know if I have had a greater since then. It was then that my grandmother died. Up to that time, she used to sit every day on the corner sofa in her room, and tell stories. I remember grandmother told story after story from morning till night, and we children sat beside her, quite still, and listened. It was a glorious life! No other children had such happy times as we did. It isn't much that I recollect about my grandmother. I remember that she had very beautiful snow-white hair, and stooped when she walked, and that she always sat and knitted a stocking. And I even remember that when she had finished a story, she used to lay her hand on my head and say: "All this is as true, as true as that I see you and you see me." I also remember that she could sing songs, but this she did not do every day. One of the songs was about a knight and a sea-troll, and had this refrain: "It blows cold, cold weather at sea . . ."

Genres: Fiction, Classics, Religion, Short Stories, Childrens, Sweden, Nobel Prize

196 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1904

About the author

Selma Ottilia Lovisa Lagerlöf (1858-1940) was a Swedish author. In 1909 she became the first woman to ever receive the Nobel Prize in Literature, "in appreciation of the lofty idealism, vivid imagination and spiritual perception that characterize her writings". She later also became the first female member of the Swedish Academy.

Born in the forested countryside of Sweden she was told many of the classic Swedish fairytales, which she would later use as inspiration in her magic realist writings. Since she for some of her early years had problems with her legs (she was born with a faulty hip) she would also spend a lot of time reading books such as the Bible.

As a young woman she was a teacher in the southern parts of Sweden for ten years before her first novel Gösta Berling's Saga was published. As her writer career progressed she would keep up a correspondance with some of her former female collegues for almost her entire life.

Lagerlöf never married and was almost certainly a lesbian (she never officially stated that she was, but most later researchers believe this to be the case). For many years her constant companion was fellow writer Sophie Elkan, with whom she traveled to Italy and the Middle East. Her visit to Palestine and a colony of Christians there, would inspire her to write Jerusalem, her story of Swedish farmers converting into a evangelical Christian group and travelling to "The American Colony" in Jerusalem.

Lagerlöf was involved in both women issues as well as politics. She would among other things help the Jewish writer Nelly Sachs to come to Sweden and donated her Nobel medal to the Finnish war effort against the Soviet union.

Outside of Sweden she's perhaps most widely known for her children's book Nils Holgerssons underbara resa genom Sverige (The Wonderful Adventures of Nils).

Reviews

[Manuel Alfonseca · Rating 3 out of 5]

ENGLISH: 11 interesting legends about the time of Christ and the history of Christianity. I specially liked the last one about a crusader who travelled from Jerusalem to Florence with a lighted tallow.

The "legends" about the childhood of Jesus are similar to those in the Apocryphal Gospels. Personally, I prefer child Jesus as presented by the Canonical Gospels.

I found the legend with title "Our Lord and Saint Peter" unsatisfactory, especially when compared to the book by C.S. Lewis The Great Divorce. On the one hand, Lagerlöf locates in hell a person who really existed, although we know nothing about her. On the other hand, Lewis's presentation is better, for the damned themselves prefer to return to hell rather than going to heaven.

ESPAÑOL: 11 leyendas interesantes sobre la época de Cristo y la historia del cristianismo. Me gustó especialmente la última sobre un cruzado que viaja de Jerusalén a Florencia con una vela encendida.

Las "leyendas" sobre la infancia de Jesús se parecen a las de los evangelios apócrifos. Personalmente, prefiero al niño Jesús tal como lo presentan los Evangelios Canónicos.

La leyenda titulada "Nuestro Señor y San Pedro" me ha parecido poco satisfactoria, especialmente si se la compara con la obra de C.S. Lewis "El Gran Divorcio". Por un lado, Lagerlöf pone en el infierno a una persona que realmente existió, aunque no sepamos nada de ella. Por otra, la presentación de Lewis es mejor, porque son los mismos condenados los que prefieren volver al infierno antes que ir al cielo.

[Mariangel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Easy to read. 11 beautiful legends related to Jesus, his disciples, emperors Augustus and Tiberius, and a crusader.

[secret_place_of_books · Rating 2 out of 5]

Po meni je nepotrebno od Isusovoga rođenja i života stvarati ovakve apokrifne priče za djecu.

[Eva · Rating 5 out of 5]

Handlar nog mer om Lagerlöfs lust att skapa, än om kristen fromhet. Men som vanligt är hon en stor psykolog med siktet inställt på livgivande kreativitet och människokärlek.

Berättelserna är som magiska sagor, skulle väl idag passa in i Fantasy-genren. 'Fågel rödbröst' har jag älskat sedan småskolan, där den stod i vår läsebok. 'Vår Herre och Sankte Per' är väl den enda som avviker från kreativ kärlek, för där hamnar vi plötsligt i Dantes Himmel och Helvete. Längst är historien om 'Den heliga Veronikas svetteduk', som nog är helt hemsnickrad av Lagerlöf själv. Lång och annorlunda är också den avslutande 'Ljuslågan' om en korsriddare och effektsökande okänslig legosoldat, vars kamp för att hålla liv i en ljuslåga tänd vid den heliga graven, slutligen finner vägen till äkta medkänsla och kärlek.

[Holybooks.com · Rating 5 out of 5]

Selma Lagerlöf was the first woman to win the Nobel Price in literature. Here are her amazing stories about Christ, Christ Legends. If you are not familiar with Selma Lagerlöf you might object to the idea of creating stories about Christ out of the historical context, but Selma does this in an a way that ads to what we know about Christ. These stories are widespread here in Scandinavia and often used for reading loud during Christmas and Easter. Public domain can be downloaded here: https://www.holybooks.com/christ-lege...

[Josefine Sandvad]

Ganske enkelt et lille mesterværk af en bog. Selma Lagerlöf tegner i Kristuslegender et portræt af Jesus, så han fremstår lyslevende. Det er både den lille dreng i Nazareth, den vise fyrste, den lidende frelser og den himmelfarne Gud som er skildret i en række fabulerende og fantastiske fortællinger. Men fremfor alt er det en skildring af Jesus, sådan som vi lovpriser ham i kirken: i sandhed mand og Gud.
Denne bog er kristendom, ikke for hjernen, men for hjertet.

“Det er ikke lys og lamper det kommer an på, og det er ikke vigtigt med måne og sol, men det som er nødvendigt er at vi har øjne af den slags der kan se Guds herlighed”.

[Katarina · Rating 3 out of 5]

HRV: Religiozna sam osoba, ali dobro se sjećam da nisam bila baš oduševljena knjigom kada sam ju čitala.

ENG: I'm a catholic and a religious person, but I do remember not really being into this book that much as a kid.

[Marysya · Rating 2 out of 5]

Дуже посередньо, не сподобались.

[Old Man JP · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a compilation of fables written by Lagerlof about Christ. They are all magnificently written in her very dramatic, often melodramatic, prose. She has been a favorite writer of mine for a number of years, in spite of her extremely religious views and my unbelieving nature, and this was one of the few books by her that I hadn't read. This book was destined to be a five star rating for me because of the extraordinary prose until I came across one little sentence that has to be one of the most repugnant racist things I've ever seen in print. I realize that, back in the time this was written, racism was not an issue that white people were concerned with but, even so, this was over the top. It's very disheartening to see something like this from a writer I held in such high esteem.

[Krystel Moncayo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Un libro muy corto, que contiene 4 relatos relacionados con Jesucristo, que buscan dejar enseñanzas y reflexiones sobre la vida.

Mi relato favorito ha sido el petirrojo, de apenas 6 páginas, pero nos habla de 2 momentos históricos como la crucificacion de Cristo.

Es la primera vez que leo a Selma, y me ha gustado su forma de narrar, sé muy bien que ella le gusta hablar sobre el tema religioso, y creo que este es un buen libro para saber que será lo que nos ofrecerá en otros libros.

[Realini Ionescu · Rating 4 out of 5]

Christ Legends by Selma Lagerlof

Nine out of 10


Selma Ottilia Lovisa Lagerlof has won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1909 - https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/lis... - “in appreciation of the lofty idealism, vivid imagination and spiritual perception that characterize her writings”, which this reader has had the chance to appreciate in some of her stories – The Silver Mine - http://realini.blogspot.com/2015/09/t... - The Musician - http://realini.blogspot.com/2015/10/t... - and a few more, some even covered under Christ Legends, with notes available at the same address or at https://www.goodreads.com/

This reader has had some qualms about these Legends, given that on the one hand we should maybe appreciate what religion does for people, when it is inspiring acts of kindness, ascetic, self-sacrifice, magnanimity, bravery and virtues in general, but there is the dark side, the disastrous impact it can have, probably best exposed by the ultimate expert on Self Esteem – by the way, the man in the White House does not have self-esteem as some think, on the contrary he lacks it, for one has It walks with ease, does not need to boast (indeed that is for the Needy, weak) he or she has a relaxed attitude, knowing oneself and the value one has, without the desperately advertising and exaggerating it like the ‘very stable genius’.
Nathaniel Branden has written the classic Six Pillars of Self-Esteem - http://realini.blogspot.com/2013/06/s... - which we should all read, but for Christ Legends, more relevant might be his less known book, which is equally outstanding, Psychological Effects of Religion - http://realini.blogspot.com/2016/04/p... - in which he details the overwhelming problems posed by faith – though in this opus he speaks mainly about Christianity and Catholicism in particular – from the presence of an Almighty figure, right from childhood, looking over the shoulder with a threatening, overpowering presence, ready to pounce, willing to commit one to hell in adulthood for masturbating as a teenager, the idea that this world is of almost no importance – when for those like me, it is the Only chance We have – and thus encouraging the faithful to skip it and wait for the Real Thing, Heaven and it is Immeasurable, Infinite Delights…these would be just two of the issues remembered now by this reader…

In opposition, we would have the Expert on Religion, that appears to be the best we have in the present, Karen Armstrong, author of A History of God - http://realini.blogspot.com/2016/07/a... - The Case for God - http://realini.blogspot.com/2016/11/n... - and a few other classics on this particular subject, who would convince even apostates like the undersigned that there is indeed A Case for God, for we must not read the texts as literam – such as the fools that are called Creationists – in fact, the illustrious Karen Armstrong mentions the damage they do, which appears to be greater than those outside the frame have managed to inflict – but see them as they have been intended- Myths, Messages from an age when storytelling and myths were at the center and the idea that God created the world in seven days – literally – is just as preposterous as other beliefs extracted from the Holy book – Eve as resulting from the Physical rib of Adam and many other Legends taken as Absolute Truth by the ignorant…

In fact, what is laudable in the literature of Selma Lagerlof – as seen by this atheist – is the fact that she may present a similar case to that made by Karen Armstrong, familiarizing readers with generous - magnanimous might be more appropriate- acts of kindness, that are paradoxically often ‘selfish’- in the words of Harvard Professor Tal Ben-Shahar, being kind is about the most selfish act, in that the good returns multiplied to make the generous earthling happier – such as the story of the man who is looking for fire at night, for his poor wife and child, and when he comes to meet aggressive dogs, they are unable to bark and though they put their mouths on his limbs, they cannot bite and when the man climbs on the sheep, they do not move and to make this phenomenon ever more Super Natural, he takes the burning coals with his bare hands, mystifying the shepherd who asks what kind of night is this …the shepherd will be able to See, only when he becomes generous and then the Full Magic is revealed as in what may be an epiphany and Angels are present everywhere, to the Glory of god some will say…
The other legend that has attracted the attention of this apostate is the one wherein Peter and Jesus have conversations in heaven - albeit for the latter I am rather doubtful, for he is referred to as the Lord, after a while, making me doubt if I remember correctly the first passage and if this is that Holy Trinity concept of which I am not sure, with Jesus is the son of god, but they are all one and the same…or are they not – and Peter is quite upset, which is so much against the notion of Heaven and when asked repeatedly about it, he states that he had expected to meet with his loved ones, as is the basis of Paradise, but his mother is missing and we learn that in her life, she had been a miser, unwilling to give anything, hence, her place is not among the kind, magnanimous and the compassionate…

However, we might be – well, not you…me – to say that connections work in Eden – just like we used to say in the communist days ‘it is not what you know, it is Whom you know that matters’- for an angel is sent to get the mother of the nomenclaturist Peter, but when the messenger gets there, a few unfortunates try to cling to this hope of redemption, escape from hell, only to find that the mother of the saint is still lacking compassion completely and she throws away all, except one poor soul, that is still attached…the angel had some traction when there were many desperate in his load, but paradoxically, the more his weight is diminished, the less speed he has in his wings, and when finally the last condemned is viciously pushed by the vile mother, the seraphim seems unable to advance anymore and finally, Eden works better than worldly tyrannies, where the son of the apparatchik gets promoted – see the case of North Korea, where all are equal, but the son of the original Kim ruled and then his son…
There are two other awkward, nefarious, devilish aspects that affect the pleasure of the undersigned when reading religious texts and Legends – yes, the notion that the Holy book says one thing and the servants of the church do something else is familiar…do what the priest says not what he does – one would be ‘international’, the fact that evangelicals have been instrumental in putting Trump in the highest office – I will not even deign to elaborate on why this is hellish and he is The Chosen of Beelzebub, not the Lord – and the other atrocious, religion related fact is local and refers to the Demon that rules the church that holds some 80 or maybe 90% of the population, if many just notionally, in its hold and who travels in a…Maybach

[Kelly · Rating 3 out of 5]

Note: I read this on an easier reading level in Swedish.

I really enjoyed this book, as it is the first I have read in another language than English. This isn't the complete masterpiece that The Tale of Gösta Berling is, but it is very sweet. It speaks about madness, illness, and in a sense, addiction. The father in the book is addicted to being near his sweet little girl. Through his love for his daughter he learns to love his work, his wife, and how to find pleasures in simple things. His daughter, however, was impatient and took his love for granted.

It is my feelng this is a part of a larger picture that Scandinavian authors and film directors have of common, everyday life. Life goes too quick and we miss it if we are consumed by other things such as money or work. However, in the end, we are left to question what life exactly is. Klara Fina was able to give her father a life of leisure, but what did he do with it? Was it a full life that he lived while he was pining for his daughter? On the other side, was it a full life that she lived in Stockholm and subsequently Malmö? Was it Klara Fina's mother who truly lived a full life in the end since she simply did what was expected of her? All good questions, and questions to be considered.

[Ivan Damjanović · Rating 3 out of 5]

Obvezna osnovnoškolska lektira . Jedanaest „legendi“, tj. apokrifa, kršćanskih bajki m. op. prve nobelovke u književnosti, koje bi zlobnici mogli proglasiti naivnima, infantilnima... Objektivno, i nemaju baš neku književnu vrijednost (npr. nedosljednost u karakterizaciji Pilata koji u Evanđelju „pere ruke..“, a ovdje „preuzima odgovornost na sebe..“ (113), infantilni zapleti koji se gotovo u pravilu oslanjaju na čudesa (deus ex machina), ali u svojoj srži nose dobre poruke koje propagiraju vrijednosti kao što su mir, blagost i čovjekoljublje). Ta čudesa za moj ukus nisu baš… jer „blaženi oni koji ne vidješe, a vjeruju“ itd. Ali ajd, radi se o štivu za djecu. Kompleksna je to tema i, naravno, ovisi o svjetonazoru pojedinca. „Sveti plamen“ usp. Nostalghia Tarkovskog. Relativno kontroverzna „Gospod Bog i sveti Petar“ (Petar nastoji izbaviti svoju majku iz pakla, no ona je pokvarena do srži...)

[José M. · Rating 3 out of 5]

5 leyendas que tratan de temas y metáforas hermosas de la creación, de Jesús o de la fe cristiana. Una maravillosa historia de un petirrojo que se encarga de auxiliar a Jesús en la cruz además de cuentos de la edad media, y de la época bíblica. MUY BUENO

[Maria · Rating 5 out of 5]

Isusova želja da pomogne drugima je ono što mi je prekrasno u knjizi.

Knjiga govori o Isusovom životu od rođenja do smrti na križu te nas time otkupljuje od grijeha.

Djelo sam pročitala nekoliko puta i svaki put kad ga čitam iznova obuzme me novi osjećaj ljubavi i topline.

[Armando · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm not religious. Indeed, I'm atheist but this book is amazing. Selma Lagerlöf did a great job here. The narrative is great and the stories are well-written.

[Tamara · Rating 3 out of 5]

Legende o Kristu.

[Adam · Rating 4 out of 5]

.

[Liza Adishvili · Rating 4 out of 5]

❤️

[Tudor Călin Rațiu]

In The Sacred Flame, Raniero di Raniero never realized the love his wife had for him until he sacrificed himself to not put his candle light out.

[Elizabeth Jennings · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book outshone my expectations. I approached it as a collection of tales for children, and while many of the legends are appropriate for children (some only for older children or teens, as they portray violence such as Herod's killing of the infants), they moved me as an adult during this Christmas season. Selma enabled me to imaginatively particpate in the experience of the shepherds and wise men at Christ's birth in a way I never had before. I also appreciate that the stories progress chronologically as a deepening experience, through Christ's childhood through to his crucifixion and into Medieval times. One of my favorite legends was her rendering of Jesus's journey to the temple as a 12-year-old, bringing new, magical elements to the story while communicating an unexpected moral: We only attain to paradise and righteousness when not seeking it, but rather seeking the good of others. Of course, some will not like this book because it freely riffs off of biblical concepts and stories, the way children would at play (hence "legends"). Others will not like it precisely because it is reverent of Christ and does not minimize his divinity in its gentle approach. I think it is a masterful work. I recommend purchasing an Advent calendar from Rudolf Steiner Bookstore to go along with it; they sell beautiful watercolor Advent calendars.

[Daniela · Rating 5 out of 5]

Libro de la primera mujer ganadora del Nobel de literatura.

Éste libro muy corto, del que me quedé con ganas de más, tiene cuatro historias sobre la vida de Jesús: su nacimiento, su infancia, su crucifixión y otra, que si bien no habla propiamente de su vida, sí hace referencia a él.

Selma Lagerlöf y su pluma te hacen sentir como si estuvieras ahí, ya que sus descripciones son tan vividas y sencillas que te transportan a sus relatos.

No sé si sean reales o, como dice el título, sean meras leyendas; sin embargo, para nosotros los creyentes son un bálsamo para el alma, ya que por su misma sencillez te hacen reflexionar y amar más a Jesucristo en sus distintas etapas de vida mortal.

Mi historia favorita fue "el petirrojo", un cuento corto que nos enseña que no importa que la bondad que demos sea poca según nuestro punto de vista: siempre obtendremos nuestra recompensa sin buscarla.

[Joseph Knecht · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was my first introduction to his author, and I was pleasantly surprised.

The stories have great religious depth and symbolism, primarily referring to Christ's miracles, suffering, and salvation. The writing style is not very descriptive, but the depth of the stories makes up for it.

Some of the stories show up in other stories, so there is a way they are interlinked.

I enjoyed the last story about the carrier of the light from Jerusalem who made it to his hometown. The one when Saint Peter had asked about bringing his mother to Paradise was also touching.

I read this book on a trip to Malta, which is filled with Christian symbolism, making it more special.

[Alberto · Rating 1 out of 5]

Questo piccolo volume e' arrivato in regalo al piccoletto durante le feste, e lo abbiamo letto insieme in questi ultimi giorni di vacanza. E' stato sinceramente una delusione, per quanto mi riguarda salvo solo il personaggio della nonna dell'autrice evocato nell'introduzione, un ritratto pieno d'affetto e molto riuscito. Le storie raccontate invece sono poco originali, e lasciano davvero poco al termine di una lettura fortunatamente molto veloce. La Lagerlof e' da tempo un'autrice con cui voglio fare la conoscenza, il caso mi ha portato pero' a farlo nelle pagine sbagliate.

[Ari · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was skeptical going into this, but each of the short stories in this book are truly beautiful adaptations of Christ's life. I appreciate the chronological order Lagerlöf uses to guide the reader through His time on Earth. Though He's not the main character (people around him or strangers influenced by him are), His character shines through others' treatment of Him. Plus, Lagerlöf was the first woman to win a Nobel Prize in Literature, and if that's not a reason to give this book a try, I don't know what is.

[Ieva Andersone · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ļoti skaista grāmata. Tēlaini stāsti, var pat teikt - pasakas - par Kristus piedzimšanu, nāvi: notikumiem, kādēļ vēl aizvien mēs svinam Ziemassvētkos un Lieldienās kaut ko vairāk nekā tikai ziemas un pavasara saulgriežus. Zviedru rakstniece Selma Lāgerleva raksta iejūtīgi, sirsnīgi, nesarežģīti, bet vienlaikus niansēti. Šī ir pirmā viņas grāmata, ko esmu lasījusi, un jau ieliku sarakstā, ka gribu izlasīt arī citas.

[Ieva Pa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kaip ir Ineta rašė, ši knyga taurina sielą. Legendos aprašytos vaizdingai, parinkti gražūs žodžiai, o kiekvienos mintis begalo gili. Taip pat ši knyga man priminė senelį.. Tą laiką kai galėdavu klausytis jo jaukių pasakojimų ir pasinerti į tuos vaizduotėje sukurtus stebuklus taip kažkiek pamirštant dabartį.

[Kristian Lindberg · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lagerlöfs flydende ligefremme prosa er lige så meget inspireret af 1001 Nats Eventyr spm af evangelierne, med samme slags fortællinger-gemt-i-fortællinger. Hendes besjælinger af genstande og begreber som En Dadelpalme eller Tørken minder om HC Andersen.

[Ineta Lopez · Rating 5 out of 5]

Net nežinau kam ši knyga skirta labiau - vaikams ar suaugusiems.. Tokia taurinanti sielą! Nuostabus autorės rašymo stilius, žodingas ir įtraukiantis. Itin verčiančios susimąstyti legendos. Mielai skaityčiau savo vaikams! :)

[Linnea · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think this is the definition of wholesome. I'm not the least bit religious but I have read almost all other Selma Lagerlöf books so I thought I'd read this to and I'm glad I did. A collection of beautiful little stories about the big issues in life.