Lang, Andrew

Lang, Andrew (1844-1912), Scottish scholar and man of letters, born in Selkirk, and educated at the universities of St Andrews and Oxford. Among his poetic works are Ballads and Lyrics of Old France (1872), the narrative poem Helen of Troy (1882), and Grass of Parnassus (1888). He wrote two novels: The Mark of Cain (1886) and The Disentanglers (1902). He did extensive anthropological research in the folklore of many peoples, embodied in such works as Custom and Myth (1884), Myth, Literature, and Religion (2 vols., 1887), and The Making of Religion (1898). He also adapted fairy tales for children that were published in the Blue Fairy Book (1889) and other volumes titled by colour. As a historian Lang is best known for his History of Scotland (4 vols., 1900-1907). Lang was also an eminent classical scholar. His prose translations of the ancient Greek epic poems, the Odyssey, in 1879, with S. H. Butcher and the Iliad, in 1882, with E. J. Myers and Walter Leaf, are among the best ever made.