Thomas Bulfinch (July 15, 1796 - May 27, 1867) was an American writer, born in Newton, Massachusetts to a highly-educated but not rich Bostonian merchant family. His father was Charles Bulfinch, the architect of the Massachusetts State House in Boston and parts of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C. July 15 is the 196th day (197th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 169 days remaining. ... 1796 was a leap year starting on Friday. ... May 27 is the 147th day (148th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar, with 218 days remaining. ... 1867 was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... Newton, Massachusetts is a suburb west of Boston. ... Bostonian may refer to: a resident of Boston, Massachusetts a resident of Massachusetts a resident of the Boston area the passenger train Bostonian This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... Charles Bulfinch (1763-1844) is regarded by many as the first native-born American to practice architecture as a profession. ... Categories: Buildings and structures stubs | Government of Massachusetts | Freedom Trail | U.S. state capitols ... United States Capitol The United States Capitol is the building which serves as home for the legislative branch of the United States government. ...

Thomas Bulfinch, who reorganized Psalms to illustrate the history of the Hebrews, is best known as the author of The Age of Fable, first published in 1855, and known since the 1880s as Bulfinch's Mythology, a three-part work consisting of: Psalms (Tehilim תהילים, in Hebrew) is a book of the Hebrew Bible or Tanakh, and of the Old Testament of the Christian Bible. ...

1. The Age of Fable; or Stories of Gods and Heroes
2. The Age of Chivalry, or Legends of King Arthur
3. Legends of Charlemagne, or Romance of the Middle Ages

Compare these to the matter of Rome, the matter of Britain and the matter of France, respectively. King Arthur is an important figure in the mythology of Great Britain, where he appears as the ideal of kingship in both war and peace. ... A Frankish king, like Charlemagne, (center) depicted in the Sacramentary of Charles the Bald (about 870) Charlemagne (c. ... According to the mediæval poet Jean Bodel, the Matter of Rome was the literary cycle made up of Greek and Roman mythology, together with episodes from the history of classical antiquity, focusing on military heroes like Alexander the Great and Julius Caesar. ... The Matter of Britain is a name given collectively to the legends that concern the Celtic and legendary history of the British Isles, centering around King Arthur and the knights of the Round Table. ... The Matter of France is a body of mythology and legend that springs from the Old French medieval literature of the chansons de geste. ...

"Our work is not for the learned, nor for the theologian, nor for the philosopher, but for the reader of English literature, of either sex, who wishes to comprehend the allusions so frequently made by public speakers, lecturers, essayists, and poets, and those which occur in polite conversation."

The volume was dedicated to Henry Wadsworth Longfellow and described on the title page as an "Attempt To Popularize Mythology, And Extend The Enjoyment Of Elegant Literature." Henry Wadsworth Longfellow Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (February 27, 1807–March 24, 1882) was an American poet who wrote many poems that are still famous today, including The Song of Hiawatha and Evangeline. ...

In his preface Bulfinch outlined his purpose which was

"an attempt to solve this problem, by telling the stories of mythology in such a manner as to make them a source of amusement. We have endeavored to tell them correctly, according to the ancient authorities, so that when the reader finds them referred to he may not be at a loss to recognize the reference. Thus we hope to teach mythology not as a study, but as a relaxation from study; to give our work the charm of a story-book, yet by means of it to impart a knowledge of an important branch of education. The index at the end will adapt it to the purposes of a reference, and make it a Classical Dictionary for the parlor."

The versions Bulfinch gives for the classical myths are those in Ovid and Virgil. His Norse myths are abridged from Mallet's Northern Antiquities. For other uses, see Ovid (disambiguation) Engraved frontispiece of George Sandyss 1640 London edition of Ovids Metamorphoses Publius Ovidius Naso, ( March 20, 43 BC – AD 17) Roman poet known to the English-speaking world as Ovid, wrote on topics of love, abandoned women, and mythological transformations. ... For other uses see Virgil (disambiguation). ...

The Bulfinch version of myth, published for genteel Americans just as the first studies of mythography were appearing in Germany, presents the myths in their literary versions, without unnecessary violence, sex, psychology or ethnographic information.The Bulfinch myths are an indispensable guide to the cultural values of the American 19th century, yet the Bulfinch version is still the version being taught in many American public schools. Marie Sally Cleary, The Bulfinch Solution: Teaching the Ancient Classics in American Schools (1990), sets the book in the context of "democratizing" classical culture for a wider American antebellum readership. Antebellum is a Latin word meaning before the war. In United States history and historiography Antebellum is sometimes used instead of the term pre-Civil War, especially in the South. ...

Bulfinch was the product of Boston Latin School, Phillips Exeter Academy, and Harvard College, where he graduated in 1814. Founded on April 23, 1635, Boston Latin School is the oldest public school in the United States. ... Phillips Exeter Academy (also called Exeter or PEA) is a co-educational independent boarding school located on 471 acres (1. ... Today Harvard College is the undergraduate portion of Harvard University. ...

The Bulfinch retellings were largely superseded in American high schools by Edith Hamilton's works on mythology. Edith Hamilton (August 12, 1867 - May 31, 1963) was a classicist and educator before she became a writer on mythology. ...

External links

• Full-text of Bulfinch's Mythology (http://etext.library.adelaide.edu.au/b/b93/)
• The Age Of Chivalry (http://www.abacci.com/books/book.asp?bookID=113)
• The Age Of Fable (http://www.abacci.com/books/book.asp?bookID=114)
• Legends Of Charlemagne (http://www.abacci.com/books/book.asp?bookID=1117)