chulain, and therefore coming under the
definition of hero-tales, are found elsewhere told of anonymous or
unknown heroes. The question is, were the folk-tales the earliest, and
were they localised and applied to the heroes, or were the heroic sagas
generalised and applied to an unknown [Greek: tis]? All the evidence,
in my opinion, inclines to the former view, which, as applied to Celtic
folk-tales, is of very great literary importance; for it is becoming
more and more recognised, thanks chiefly to the admirable work of Mr.
Alfred Nutt, in his _Studies on the Holy Grail_, that the outburst of
European Romance in the twelfth century was due, in large measure, to
an infusion of Celtic hero-tales into the literature of the
Romance-speaking nations. Now the remarkable thing is, how these hero
tales have lingered on in oral tradition even to the present day. (See
a marked case in "Deirdre.") We may, therefore, hope to see
considerable light thrown on the most characteristic spiritual product
of the Middle Ages, the literature of Romance and the spirit of
chivalry, from the Celtic folk-tales of the present day. Mr. Alfred
Nutt has already shown this to be true of a special section of Romance
literature, that connected with the Holy Grail, and it seems probable
that further study will extend the field of application of this new
method of research.

The Celtic folk-tale again has interest in retaining many traits of
primitive conditions among the early inhabitants of these isles which
are preserved by no other record. Take, for instance, the calm
assumption of polygamy in "Gold Tree and Silver Tree." That represents
a state of feeling that is decidedly pre-Christian. The belief in an
external soul "Life Index," recently monographed by Mr. Frazer in his
"Golden Bough," also finds expression in a couple of the Tales (see
notes on "Sea-Maiden" and "Fair, Brown, and Trembling"), and so with
many other primitive ideas.

Care, however, has to be taken in using folk-tales as evidence for
primitive practice among the nations where they are found. For the
tales may have come from another race--that is, for example, probably
the case with "Gold Tree and Silver Tree" (see Notes). Celtic tales are
of peculiar interest in this connection, as they afford one of the best
fields for studying the problem of diffusion, the most pressing of the
problems of the folk-tales just at present, at least in my opinion. The
Celts are at the furthermost