Definition of legenda

(Tristram P. Coffin, "Folklore in the American Twentieth...)

1 ) Every age rewrites the events of its history in_terms_of what should have been , creating legends about itself that rationalize contemporary beliefs and excuse contemporary actions .

Its folklore and legend , usually disguised as history , are allowed to account_for group_actions , to provide a focal_point for group loyalty , and to become a cohesive force for national identification .

Such identification comes for each group in each crisis by rewriting history into legend and developing appropriate national heroes .

But we must never forget , most_of the appropriate heroes and their legends were created overnight , to answer immediate needs , almost always with conscious aims and ends .

1 ) Most_of the legends that are created to fan the fires of patriotism are essentially propagandistic and are not folk legends at_all .