CASTLE LEGENDS

1. CASTLE LEGENDS Hungary October-December 2012 BE PART OF THE LEGEND

2. ITALIANMEETINGINSEPTEMBER Lucca, 22nd to 26th September 2012

3. We started reading European legends on 2 OctoberFirst students collected reading material online

4. Students revised their literature studies during Literature classes They collected material and discussed the following topics: Types of literature: fiction, prose fiction, poetry, drama Types of prose fiction: novel, novella, short story Types of poems: ballad, epic, ode, sonnet, epigram, lyric poetry Types of drama: tragedy, comedy, tragicomedy .

5. The Participants’ LegendsStudents found out more about genres Legend An old, well-known story, often about brave people, adventures, or magical events Tale Story about exciting imaginary events that happened long ago, children's story in which magical things happen (e.g. folk tales, fairy tales, etc.) Story Description of how something happened, that is intended to entertain people, and may be true or imaginary Myth Idea or story that many people believe, but which is not true; ancient story, especially one invented in order to explain natural or historical events Fable Traditional short story that teaches a moral lesson, especially a story about animals Anecdote Short story based on your personal experience (etymology: Latin anecdota ‘things not published’; from ‘ekdidonai’=‘to publish’) Epic Book, poem, or film that tells a long story about brave actions and exciting event Saga Long and complicated series of events, or a description of this; stories written about the Vikings of Norway and Iceland Fiction Books and stories about imaginary people and events .

6. Our students collected examplesto distinguish between the types of stories Legend: the legend of the Holy House in Loreto (Italy) An old, well-known story, often about brave people, adventures, or magical events Tale: Hans the Lucky (Germany) Story about exciting imaginary events that happened long ago, children's story in which magical things happen (e.g. folk tales, fairy tales, etc.) Myth: the ancient Finnish myth about the origin of the world Idea or story that many people believe, but which is not true; ancient story, especially one invented in order to explain natural or historical events Fable:Aesop’s The Tortoise and the Hare Traditional short story that teaches a moral lesson, especially a story about animals Anecdote: an anecdote about Chopin Short story based on your personal experience (etymology: Latin anecdota ‘things not published’; from ‘ekdidonai’=‘to publish’) Urban legend: the Falling Cow story Story about an unusual event which happened recently that a lot of people believe although it is probably not true Epic: The Odyssey Book, poem, or film that tells a long story about brave actions and exciting events Saga: Eirik the Red’s Saga Long and complicated series of events, or a description of this; stories written about ancient Scandinavian and Germanic history Fiction Books and stories about imaginary people and events Story Description of how something happened, that is intended to entertain people, and may be true or imaginary .

7. Santa Casa is the place in Nazareth, where the Archangel Gabriel announced Virgin Mary that Jesus Christ, the Son of God would be born from her blessed womb. In the very same house the Holy Family stayed after their return from Egypt and Mary lived there years to come.In 1291 a Christian family named Angeli had the Holy House moved piece by piece from Nazareth to Dalmatia and later in 1295 to the Italian town of Loreto. From the name of the Italian family “Angeli” people developed in time the legend that the Holy House had been brought to Loreto by angels themselves. The story has become popular in all Christian world and many other copies of Santa Casa have been built all over the world. We read the Italian legend about the Santa Casa in Loreto 2nd to 15th October 2012

8. Hans has worked hard for seven years but wishes to return to see his poor mother. His master pays him his wages which amounts to a lump of gold the size of his head. Walking back he spots a rider on horseback and seeing the ease at which the horse travels he offers to exchange his lump of gold for the horse. Happy with the exchange the man gives him the horse and Hans rides off. Later he meets a shepherd who convinces him to swap his horse for a cow telling Hans that a cow can provide milk. Hans takes the cow and continues on with his journey only to find that the cow is dry and not producing milk as he had been told. Then Hans meets a butcher who he exchanges his cow for pig and later meets a countryman who informs him that the pig is owned by the squire and he is in danger of being caught for taking the squire's pig. Hans takes the countryman's goose in exchange for his pig, happy that it will provide a good roast and a supply of goose fat. At the next village Hans sees a scissor-grinder and explains his story to him. The scissor-grinder offers him a grindstone for his goose arguing that a grindstone will provide a source of income. Hans happily exchanges the goose for the grindstone. He continues on his way, but is tired by the grindstone and is short of money for food. Hans stops for a drink on the banks of a river, the grindstone falls into the deep water and is lost. Hans is happy to be rid of the heavy grindstone and being free of all troubles. He walks on to his mother's house and recounts his lucky tale. We read the German tale about Hans the Lucky

9. The world was believed to have been formed out of a waterfowl’s egg exploding. The sky was believed to be the upper cover of the egg, alternately it was seen as a tent, which was supported by a column at the north pole, below the north star.The movement of the stars was explained to be caused by the sky-dome's rotation around the North Star and itself. A great whirl was caused at the north pole by the rotation of column of sky. Through this whirl souls could go to the outside of the world to the land of dead, Tuonela.Earth was believed to be flat. At the edges of Earth was Lintukoto, "the home of the birds", a warm region in which birds lived during the winter. The Milky Way is called Linnunrata, "the path of the birds", because the birds were believed to move along it to Lintukoto and back.Birds had also other significance. Birds brought a human's soul to him at the moment of birth, and took it away at the moment of death. In some areas, it was necessary to have a wooden bird-figure nearby to prevent the soul from escaping during sleep. This Sielulintu, "the soul-bird", protected the soul from being lost in the paths of dreams.Waterfowl are very common in tales, and also in stone paintings and carvings, indicating their great significance in the beliefs of ancient Finns. The ancient Finnish myth about the origin of the world

10. Once upon a time there was a hare who, boasting how he could run faster than anyone else, was forever teasing tortoise for its slowness. Then one day, the irate tortoise answered back: “There’s no denying you’re swift, but even you can be beaten!” The hare squealed with laughter.“Beaten in a race? By whom? Not you, surely! I bet there’s nobody in the world that can win against me, I’m so speedy. Now, why don’t you try?”Annoyed by such bragging, the tortoise accepted the challenge. A course was planned, and the next day at dawn they stood at the starting line. The hare yawned sleepily as the meek tortoise trudged slowly off. When the hare saw how painfully slow his rival was, he decided, half asleep on his feet, to have a quick nap. “Take your time!” he said. “I’ll have forty winks and catch up with you in a minute.”The hare woke with a start from a fitful sleep and gazed round, looking for the tortoise. But the creature was only a short distance away, having barely covered a third of the course. Breathing a sigh of relief, the hare decided he might as well have breakfast too, and off he went to munch some cabbages he had noticed in a nearby field. But the heavy meal and the hot sun made his eyelids droop. With a careless glance at the tortoise, now halfway along the course, he decided to have another snooze before flashing past the winning post. And smiling at the thought of the look on the tortoise’s face when it saw the hare speed by, he fell fast asleep and was soon snoring happily. The sun started to sink, below the horizon, and the tortoise, who had been plodding towards the winning post since morning, was scarcely a yard from the finish. At that very point, the hare woke with a jolt. He could see the tortoise a speck in the distance and away he dashed. He leapt and bounded at a great rate, his tongue lolling, and gasping for breath. Just a little more and he’d be first at the finish. But the hare’s last leap was just too late, for the tortoise had beaten him to the winning post. Poor hare! Tired and in disgrace, he slumped down beside the tortoise who was silently smiling at him.“Slowly does it every time!” he said. Aesop: the Tortoise and the Hare

11. In the summer of 1837, the famous Polish composer Chopin was living in Paris. Late one evening he was composing alone in his music room. While he was sitting at the piano, a small kitten suddenly ran across the piano keys. Chopin liked the strange melody and he tried to write it down. In 1838, he published a new composition. The title? – The Cat Waltz! We read an anecdote about Chopin

12. In 1997 the crew of a Japanese fishing boat were rescued after their boat had sunk in very unusual circumstances. According to the fishermen, the boat had been sailing in calm waters when a cow fell from the sky and crashed through the boat.Unfortunately, the police thought the crew had made the whole story up and arrested them. They remained in prison while the police tried to work out why the boat had sunk. Eventually, the pilot of a Russian transport plane told the police what had happened. Before they took off from their Siberian airbase, the plane’s crew had stolen some cows from a nearby field. While they were flying at 25,000 feet, one cow broke free and started running around inside the plane. The crew managed to push it out of the door and into the sea – or so they thought. We read an urban legend: The Falling Cow story

13. ‘”Strangers!” he cried. “And who are you? Where do you come from over the watery ways? Is yours a trading venture; or are you cruising the main on chance, like roving pirates, who risk their lives to ruin other people?”‘Our hearts sank. The booming voice and the very sight of the monster filled us with panic. Still, I managed to find words to answer him. “We are Achaeans,” I said, “on our way back from Troy – driven astray by contrary winds across a vast expanse of sea – we’re making our way home but took the wrong way – the wrong route – as Zeus, I suppose, intended that we should. We are proud to say that we belong to the forces of Agamemnon, Atreus’ son, who by sacking the great city of Ilium and destroying all its armies has made himself the most famous man in the world today. We find ourselves here as suppliants at your knees, in the hope that you may give us hospitality, or even give us the kind of gifts that hosts customarily give their guests. Good sir, remember your duty to the gods; we are your suppliants, and Zeus is the champion of suppliants and guests. He is the god of guests: guests are sacred to him, and he goes alongside them.” Extract from The Odyssey

14. Eirik had a wife who was named Thjodhild, and two sons; the one was named Thorstein, and the other Leif. These sons of Eirik were both promising men. Thorstein was then at home with his father; and there was at that time no man in Greenland who was thought so highly of as he. Leif had sailed to Norway, and was there with King Olaf Tryggvason. Now, when Leif sailed from Greenland during the summer, he and his men were driven out of their course to the Sudreyjar. They were slow in getting a favourable wind from this place, and they stayed there a long time during the summer ... reaching Norway about harvest-tide. He joined the body-guard of King Olaf Tryggvason, and the king formed an excellent opinion of him, and it appeared to him that Leif was a well-bred man. Once upon a time the king entered into conversation with Leif, and asked him, “Dost thou purpose sailing to Greenland in summer?” Leif answered, “I should wish so[16] to do, if it is your will.” The king replied, “I think it may well be so; thou shalt go my errand, and preach Christianity in Greenland.” Leif said that he was willing to undertake it, but that, for himself, he considered that message a difficult one to proclaim in Greenland. But the king said that he knew no man who was better fitted for the work than he. … Extract from Eirik the Red’s Saga

15. After so many different storieswe realized that Geography should be revised … Students have come across the following geographical names and places: Germany Italy, Loreto (we found that there are at least 2 Loretos in Italy) Poland, Poznań, Rydzyna, Leszno, Gniezno, Kraków Finland, North Pole Scandinavia, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Iceland, Greenland Dalmatia, Croatia The Czech Republic Paris, France Egypt Nazareth Greece, Turkey, Troy (Ilion or Ilium) Siberia, Russia .

16. After the Italian meeting our students started to read and translate their first 3 foreign legends from Poland: the White Lady, the legend of Poznań and the legend of the Polish coat of arms. It took our students several weeks of English classes to read and translate the Polish legends and the texts that accompanied the stories but the time was well worth and often extremely enjoyable. 8th to 25th October 2012

17. Some examples in students’ notebooks 8th to 25th October 2012

18. Translation of the Polish legendsinto Hungarian Poznań legendája Egy este 1551-ben Bartlomiej Wolf mester végül úgy döntött, hogy bemutatja a városi tanácsnak és a polgároknak poznań új műtárgyát - a toronyórát. Minden nemest, valamint a városatyákat és a polgárokat is meghívták a különleges megnyitóra. Sajnos, az ünnepi vacsorára főzött hús beleesett a tűzbe, és teljesen elégették! A kuktának azt mondták, hogy találjon húst a vacsorára. De már túl késő volt: az összes hentes zárva volt, és nem volt több hely Poznańban, ahol húst lehetett volna vásárolni. Az utolsó pillanatban a fiatal asszisztens látott két kecskét a zöld legelőn. Megfogta őket, és rohant velük a konyhába. A kecskék megértették, hogy mi történik és nem akarták a fazékban végezni, ezért kifutottak a konyhából, felmásztak a lépcsőn és kiugrottak egy ablakból egyenesen a Városháza építési területére, onnan a magas óratoronyba. Amikor a vajda látta, hogy a kecskék az óratorony tetején szórakoznak nevetni kezdett, és a körülötte lévő nemesek, városlakok és a városatyák is. A séf megkönnyebbült, hogy minden jóra fordult és mindenki jókedvű. Az ünnepségnél levő hús hiánya fölött átsiklottak és a vajda rendelt egy szerkezetet, amit azért építettek, hogy emlékeztessen mindenkit a vicces eseményre. És ma az óratorony 12 órakor nagy tömegeket vonz. .

19. Translation of the Polish legendsinto Hungarian … A fehér hölgy Rydzyna várából Egyszer volt, hol nem volt, volt egyszer egy nő, aki két gyermekével élt Rydzyna várában. A férjét megölték a háborúban. Megint meg akart házasodni, de a gyerekek ezt lehetetlenné tették, ezért megölte és befalazta őket a várba. E tette miatt a mai napig bűnhődik, hosszú évtizedek óta az ítélet tölti. A legenda szerint minden évben Mindenszentek Napján, éjfélkor megjelenik a fehér lepelbe öltözött asszony a régi kápolnában. Egy szellem, egy fehér leplet viselő női test látható a kápolnában. Társa, egy pap - aki egy csontváz, tartja a misét. Van még két csontváz ministráns fiú is. A mise után a fehér asszony imádkozik és megy gyónni. Elmondja minden bűnét és kéri a feloldozását. A pap azt válaszolja, hogy az idő még nem jött el - nem ebben az évben. Hirtelen a gyertya kialszik és az egész jelenés eltűnik. De lehet hallani kiáltásokat és csendes lépteket a várban. .

20. Patrik Pál from Class 9found Lech’s story … Lech founded Poland – Lech Lengyelország alapítója Az egyik szláv törzs, a polánok államának egyik fontos vára volt Gniezno. A város alapításának legendája: három testvér, Lech, Cseh és Rusz áthatolt a rengetegen helyet keresve, ahol letelepedhetnek. Hirtelen egy halmot vettek észre, ahol egy magányos tölgyfán egy sas ült. Ekkor Lech azt mondta: "Ez a fehér sas lesz a népem címere, a tölgyfa köré várat építek és a sas fészkéről Gneizdonak nevezem". (Gniazdo lengyelül fészket jelent) A többi testvér tovább ment helyet keresni népüknek, Cseh délre ment, Rusz keletre. A legutóbbi időkig úgy vélték, hogy a VIII. sz. végén a félig legendás Popiel-dinasztia uralkodása alatt épült fel Gnieznoban a polan hercegség vára és a váraljai település, melyet fából és földből épült fal vett körül. Ezzel szemben a legújabb dendokronológiai vizsgálatok azt mutatták, hogy a gnieznoi vár csak 940. körül épült, vagyis Siemomysł Lestkowic alatt, a Piast-dinasztia idején. Gnieznonak, mint a hercegség megerősített székvárosnak ilyen késői datálása mindazonáltal nem zárja ki egyáltalán, hogy a helyén nem működött a VIII. és IX. század fordulóján a polánok kultikus központja, melynek területén valószínűleg a törzsi hercegek uralkodtak. A X. században Gniezno lett a Piast állam egyik székvárosa Poznań és Giecz mellett. (Székvárosból, vagyis olyan helységből, ahol hercegi palota állt, több is volt, azonban a "Dagome iudex" szerint a lengyel állam formális fővárosa Gniezno volt.) 1000-ben zajlott le a gnieznoi kongresszus, melyen Vitéz Boleszláv és III. Ottó német-római császár vett részt. A kongresszuson alapították a gnieznoi érsekséget. Ez volt az első érsekség a lengyel történelemben, amellyel a lengyelek a függetlenségüket szerették volna biztosítani a Német-római Császárságtól. 1025-ben Gnieznoban koronázták Vitéz Boleszlávot Lengyelország első királyává. 1038-ban a várost I.Břetislav cseh herceg támadta meg, felgyujtottaaz alsóvárost, rombadőlt, kirabolt katedrálist hagyva maga mögött. Látva a pusztítást, Megújító Kázmér herceg a fővárost áthelyezte Krakkóba. .

21. Legends on the corridor wall newspaper 25th October 2012

22. Preparing one of the results and outcomes with the help of Classes 11 and 12 Creating Simplified Readers in Class 11 8th to 21st November 2012

23. We simplified 3 of the Polish legendsOne example is the White Lady: Once upon a time a woman with two children was living in the castle of Rydzyna. Her husband had been killed in a war. She wanted to get married again but the children made it impossible so she killed them and immured them in the castle. For that act she was punished and has still been serving the sentence. As the legend says every year, on the eve of All Saints Day, you can meet the White Lady in an old chapel at midnight. A ghost of a woman in white shroud can be seen in the chapel. The priest – a skeleton starts saying the mass. There are also two skeleton altar boys. During the mass the White Lady prays and goes to confession. She mentions all her sins and asks for absolution. The priest replies that the time has not come yet – not in this year. Suddenly the candles extinguish and the whole apparition disappears. But you can hear cries and quiet footsteps in the castle. • .

24. Another example is the legend of Poznań: One evening in 1551 the clock master Bartlomiej Wollf finally decided to show the city council and the people of Poznań his new work of art - the tower clock. All the nobles as well as the city fathers and citizens were invited for the special opening ceremony. Unfortunately, the meat being cooked in the kitchen for the ceremonial dinner fell into the fire and was burnt completely! The assistant chef had to find new meat quickly as the dinner was just about to begin. But it was too late: all the butchers were closed and there was no place in the whole of Old Poznań to buy any meat. At the last moment the young assistant saw two goats in a green field nearby. He grabbed them and ran to the kitchen. The goats understood what was happening and did not want to end up in the pot so they ran from the kitchen, climbed the stairs and jumped out of a window right onto the building work on the Town Hall and to the high clock tower. When the Voivode saw the goats pleased with themselves on the top of the tower he began to laugh, and so did the nobles around him along with the people of the city and the city fathers. The chef was relieved that everything had turned well and everyone was in a good humour. The lack of meat at the dinner was overlooked and the Voivode ordered a mechanism built to remind everyone of the funny event. And today the 12 o'clock opening of the clock tower and the two goats always draws a crowd. • .

25. We also simplified Hungarian legends:the legend of Hollókő Once upon a time there was a man who lived in a very large house in the north of Hungary in the middle of Europe. The man’s name was András Kacsics. He was rich and his house was in the centre of his land. There were large forests, beautiful mountains, smaller and bigger hills on his land. Today this area is called Cserhát. András Kacsics, the landlord once kidnapped the beautiful daughter of a nobleman who lived in the neighbouring village. When the girl was already in his house, András called a lot of workmen to build a castle. Soon the castle was ready and there was a keep in the centre of it. András locked the beautiful girl in this large strong tower of his castle so she couldn’t escape. But András didn’t know that the girl’s nanny was a witch. People said she could do magic and she was a really good friend to the devil. She wanted to free the girl from her prison. So she talked to the devil about the girl on a dark night. The devil sent his two sons to free the girl. His sons became ravens night after night and carried away all the stones of the castle to put them on the top of a rocky hill. The girl kidnapped by the landlord was released, and on the peak of the huge tor you can now see the castle. Grammar needed: Genitive ’s There is / are / was / were … Past SimplePassive (Present and Past Simple) Infinitive of purpose Place and TimeAdverbials . Match the words with the same meaning or their explanations: release strong tower in the castle keep woman who takes care of children in a family tor top nanny large shiny black bird peak (let somebody go) free raven rocky hill

26. The legend of Sárospatak simplified: There are lots of legends about the old castle. Most of them are about the ‘Great Reigning Prince’ Rákóczi Ferenc the Second, the leader of the Hungarian war of independence at the beginning of the eighteenth century. According to one of these legends Rákóczi Ferenc II led successful raids against the Austrian army from this castle. Once when the Austrian soldiers were chasing him on horseback, he deceived them by having the horseshoes fixed on the bottom of his horse’s feet on the wrong way round. The Reigning Prince was already at a safe place when the enemy soldiers saw the traces of Rákóczi’s horse and rode away in exactly the opposite direction. Grammar needed: • Quantifiers (lots of ... / most of … / one of …) • Past Simple • Past Continuous • by + Gerund • Causative (have + Object + Past Participle) . Match the words with the same meaning or their explanations: reign trick, make someone believe something that is untrue century short attack to cause damage raid a small sign showing that someone or sth was present deceive the time when somebody is king, queen or emperor trace one hundred years

27. Our pupils filled in Questionnaire Year 2 26th to 30th November 2012

28. Students filled in Questionnaire Year 2Results of Questionnaire Year 2 Page One Qnaire Y2 YESNOYES %NO % Remarks Number 1 735 946 94% of the students answered 'Castle Legends' in English, 'Várlegendák' in Hungarian or both languages. Number 2 6612 85 15 85% of pupils know the exact number of the participating countries. Number 3 6117782278% of the students can name all or most of the partner countries. Number 4 76 2 97 397% like the idea of working in the project. Number 5 57 21 73 2773% of the students can name all or most of the Hungarian legends. Number 6 77 1 99 1 99% have participated in at least one of the tasks. 76% have participated in several tasks. The Questions of Questionnaire Year 2 What is the project title? How many countries are there in the project? Could you list all the project participating countries? Do you like the idea of the project (working together on the same topic, about castles, legends and tales)? How many legends and tales of your own country have you learnt about during this project? Can you name them, please? Have you participated actively in any of the tasks so far? If yes, in how many and which ones? .

29. Students filled in Questionnaire Year 2Results of Questionnaire Year 2 Page Two Qnaire Y2 YESNOYES %NO % Remarks Number 7 6018 77 2377% of the students can name most or all of the participants’ legends they have learnt about so far. Number 8 71 791991% of the students have seen either the castles or some pictures of them. Number 9 591976 24 Students expect to travel more with the school to castles, and to get to know more about the legends. They expect to practice English, good contacts, money for the school and more legends and knowledge. Number 10 762973 Students like to hear about foreign countries, legends, funny activities, their own chance to participate. Number 11 71 7919 Students would like to go on study trips to castles and see the castles in participants’ countries. The Questions of Questionnaire Year 2 7 How many tales/legends of the partner countries have you learnt about during the project till now? Can you name the legends please? 8 Have you seen the castles or the pictures of the castles that the tales/legends are in connection with? Can you name the cities…? 9 What do you expect from the project? 10 What do you like more about the project? Is there anything that should be changed in the project? If yes, what? The total number of our students who filled in Questionnaire Year 2: 78 students. .

30. According to this ancient Finnish legend on a cold winter day a wizard changed a beautiful young girl into a white reindeer. Lots of hunters failed to shoot the White Reindeer and were killed by her. Before they died they saw the shape of the real girl for a moment. One day the hunter was the girl’s lover and after a long and hard fight they were both fatally wounded. The White Reindeer changed back into human shape for the last moments of their lives and the two lovers fell into each other’s arms for good. Both lovers fell asleep for ever.According to the legend the lucky people who can see the Sun, the Moon and the White Reindeer at the same time will have all their wishes fulfilled. We also read the Finnish legend about the White Reindeer 3rd to 7th December 2012

31. We prepared for the Finnish meeting in Saarijärvi between 12th & 17th December EU:Finnish version  Hi! Teidät tervetulleiksi lämmin! Bitte?Mitä hän kertoi minulleruova? Cześć! Hölökynpä hyvinnii kölkyn! Scusi… Pyydän anteeksi kauniisti … Keep peace!Terveydelle tullut hyvin! Bye!Näkemiin kuumassa saunassa! Come… Nopeasti tuo sylinterit itse… .