Lewis Spence

The Popol Vuh (Book of the Community) is a Mayan sacred text compiled around the middle of the 16th century by the K'iche' people in what is now Guatemala. This text gives an account of the creation of the universe and all living things, including humans and the K'iche' themselves.

Drawn from the myths and legends of the Algonquins, Iroquois, Sioux, Pawnee, and Northern and Northwestern Indians, these enchanting tales offer insights into tribal character and beliefs. Selected by the distinguished British anthropologist and folklorist Lewis Spence, they range in theme from romantic love to rivalry between warriors to victory over powerful forces. The details of their recounting evoke images of Native Americans' innermost aspirations...

Legends and Romances of Spain by Scottish folklorist Lewis Spence, was first published in 1920. The book explores the romantic and chivalric literature of Spain, as well as it's ballads. It contains thirteen sections including: The Source of Spanish Romance; The Cantares de Gesta and the Poema del Cid; Amadis de Gaul; The Sequels to Amadis de Gaul; The Palmerin Romances; Catalonian Romances; Roderic, Last of the Goths; Calaynos the Moor, Gayferos,...

Transcribed from the original Mayan hieroglyphs, the Popol Vuh relates the mythology and history of the Kiché people of the Guatemalan Highlands of Central America. As is often the case with ancient texts, the Popol Vuh's significance lies in the scarcity of early accounts of Mesoamerican cultures, largely due to the purging of documents by the Spanish conquistadors. Today there remains no document of greater importance to the study of pre-Columbian...

The Myths of Mexico & Peru is a detailed study on the history and mythology of ancient Aztecs and Incas, providing valuable information to allow understanding into the background of Latin American heritage. The book includes tales of the myths of creations, legends of numerous Mesoamerican Gods, such as Quetzalcoatl, Tlaloc, Tezcatlipoca and Huitzilopochtli, and many other interesting folk tales of the ancient tribes of Mexico and Peru.

The North American Indian has so long been an object of the deepest interest that the neglect of his picturesque and original mythologies and the tales to which they have given rise is difficult of comprehension. In boyhood we are wont to regard him as an instrument specially designed for the execution of tumultuous incident, wherewith heart-stirring fiction may be manufactured. In manhood we are too apt to consider him as only fit to be put aside...

This edition includes a modern introduction and a list of suggested further reading. Atlantis has fascinated scholars and occultists for centuries since Plato wrote about the sunken city in Timaeus and Critias. Whether Plato was presenting Atlantis as factual history or merely as a philosophical device, Lewis Spence's The History of Atlantis has ensured that the fascination with Plato's story has continued to the present day. Spence, despite his reputation...