What are legends and myths?
When we think of myths and legends, we mainly think of tales that have been elaborated and expanded over a long period of time. Many of them have had their roots in real characters and events but with retelling and elaboration have been built up into great ‘ripping yarns’. Over time, some of these additional elaborations may become so numerous or overpowering that they start to crowd out the mundane facts on which they were initially built. The words legend and myth are often used interchangeably and a dictionary definition does not help to clarify things. We have therefore decided in our White Hat Guides to define what we mean when we talk about a myth or a legend. It is not necessarily the ‘correct’ definition, but one that is close to current common Australian usage. • Legend – When we use the word legend in our White Hat Guides we are referring to something which may or may not be true, but the teller and the listener (or reader) are aware of that. They know that purpose of the leg
