P is for the Panther Skin Knight (Epics from A to Z)

Origins
The Knight in the Panther's Skin, written by poet Shota Rustaveli, is the national epic of Georgia. The epic poem was composed in the 12th century, under the reign of Queen Tamar, with whom sources suggest the poet was distantly and madly in love. I read the epic in its English prose translation.
The Knight in the Panther's Skin is a tale of love and adventure. It doesn't actually take place in Georgia - rather, it happens in a half-imaginary landscape between Arabia, India, and the Kingdom of the Seas. And while it aims to tell a double love story, it ends up being something more than that: A tale of friendship and loyalty.

The Heroes

The two main male heroes of the epic are Avtandil, commander-in-chief of the Arabian armies, and Tariel, a young king from India (the latter being the knight in the title). Both of them are great champions - honorable, brave, loyal, and blindingly handsome. They are also both madly in love with two young queens, Queen Tinatin of Arabia, and Nestan-Darejan of India, respectively. The story centers on Tariel's exile from India and his meeting with Avtandil. The two love-struck heroes soon become best friends, and Avtandil takes it on himself to reunite Tariel with Nestan, which he manages to do, after many adventures.
Next to the star-crossed power couples, there are also some notable female supporting characters in the epic, such as Tariel's loyal sister Asmat who follows him into exile, and Phatman, a rich woman from the City of Flowers, who saves Nestan-Darejan in her exile and makes sure the lovers end up united.

The Highlights
After reading so many epics centered on fighting, I enjoyed this tale of love, intrigue and adventure. It is essentially a friendship for the ages, between Avtandil and Tariel, as well as between the two queens, and their supporting cast. Some things that I especially liked:
1. The fair treatment of women. They not only become sovereigns in their own right (spoilers, even Asmat gets a kingdom), but they are also described with the respect and admiration due to sovereigns, and their legitimacy is never questioned.
2. The importance of friendship. "He who does not seek a friend is his own enemy," says Avtandil at some point. One of the great messages of the epic is that no one can be a hero alone. One of the most powerful scenes is when Avtandil talks Tariel out of suicide, with compassion and ingenuity.
3. Phatman's character. Not only is she crucial to saving Nestan who had been thrown out of her kingdom, but she also acts as a mother figure and some kind of early feminist icon to her. She clearly takes pleasure in sleeping with younger men and she admits it - and she never gets punished for it. She is a rich, clever, independent lady married to a not-too-bright husband, and she puts her means to good use, helping young love find its way.
4. The cathartic final fight. Avtandil, Tariel and their third king-friend, Nuradin-Phridon, launch an attack against an impregnable citadel to rescue Nestan. It is a fairly well done fight scene (with some serious planning), but the crowning moment of it all is the end: Once the fortress is secured Avtandil and Phridon go in search of Tariel (they got separated in the fight). They find a trail of dead guards and scattered weapons, and finally find Tariel himself inside the citadel, helmet cast away, sword dropped, kissing Nestan for dear life. Boom. Hollywood ending. I totally ship them.
5. Love is suffering. I like how much guys suffer from love in this story. They definitely don't hide their emotions or try to look tough. They sigh, they cry, they faint. One of my favorite moments early on is when Tariel tries to write a love letter to Nestan and fails; finally his sister Asmat dictates to him what to write. Because that's what big sisters are for, after all.

O is for Ogier the Dane (Epics from A to Z)

I remember reading the story of Holger Danske in a picture book when I was little: The story said that he was a great knight who now sleeps under the castle of Kronborg in Denmark, waiting to wake up and return when he is needed.

Origins
Ogier the Dane (French), or Holger Danske (Danish) is a hero from medieval romances of chivalry. While the stories claim he was a Danish prince, most of the romances in which he is featured are French and Italian. I read a prose version of his story based on a French romance (Chevalerie d'Ogier de Denamarche) written in the early 13th century.

The Hero

Ogier is the firstborn son of the king of Denmark. At his birth he is visited by "six ladies of ravishing beauty" who each grant him a gift (and, surprisingly, none of them curses the child). The last of the six is none other than Morgana le Fay, who takes her chance to call dibs on the little hero (after he has been gifted bravery, strength, and handsomeness).
Ogier grows up as a hostage in Charlemagne's court and becomes one of his greatest paladins (and makes friends with legendary characters such as Roland and Olivier). If you like the legends of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table, definitely read more about this court as well!
Ogier is strong, brave, and honorable - the very image of chivalry. What is even more important, though, is the gift given to him by the fourth fairy: “Lest all these gifts serve only to betray, I give you sensibility to return the love you inspire.” That's a very good quality for a hero.

The Highlights
The legend of Ogier the Dane has pretty much everything you would expect from a medieval romance of chivalry: Epic battles, daring duels, enchanted love, magical voyages, and even a trip to the Holy Land.
One of my favorite parts is the duel between Ogier (merely a day after he has been knighted) and the King of Mauritania, the Saracen Carahue. The son of Charlemagne, Charlot (who is very Mordred in a lot of ways) is also scheduled to duel with Carahue's cousin, but he decides to plan an ambush instead and get rid of the enemy, as well as Ogier (because he is jealous of his father's love for the young knight). Seeing the ambush Ogier and Carahue stop their duel and fight side by side - for chivalry, and against treason. They end up saving each other's lives and becoming best friends. Carahue keeps showing up over the course of the romance to save Ogier or help Charlemagne against other Moorish armies. It is a remarkable moment in the legend where honor and friendship trumps cultural and religious differences.
Another favorite character of mine is Turpin, who "occasionally recalled to mind that he was an archbishop." He is a priest, but also a knight and a warrior, and a very clever man - Charlemagne's most trusted adviser. He saves Ogier's life when he is imprisoned: The king plans to starve him to death by only allowing a quarter loaf of bread and a quarter cup of wine a day. Turpin, keeping to the word of the law, starts making loaves from two bushels of flour, and makes a cup the size of a barrel, keeping Ogier well fed. He is a fun, clever, likable character, and I have loved him since I read a folktale about him saving Charlemagne from enchantment (Aix-la-Chapelle: The Magic Ring).
Ogier has a wife, and a hundred-year enchanted love affair with Morgana, but the most touching love story happens at the end of his tale: After missing almost two hundred years of French history, he returns from Avalon to find Hugh Capet on the throne. He is introduced to the young queen, who is very curious about Ogier's stories and the history he lived; he tells her all of his life, and they fall in love through long conversations. When Hugh Capet dies, Ogier proposes to the queen... But sadly, the marriage never comes to pass.

B is for Bosi and Herraud (Epics from A to Z)

Warning: The original text of this saga includes graphic sexual content.
(Try not to trip over yourself)

Origins
The Saga of Bosi and Herraud is a Norse legendary saga that mainly takes place in Götaland (modern day southern Sweden) and was written sometime before 1350 AD. It ties into other sagas as well - for example, the story of Ragnar Lothbrok, recently known as this guy from the History Channel:

The Heroes
The central bromance to the story is between Herraud, the heir to the throne with minor daddy issues (since his bastard brother gets all of the affections of King Hring); and Bosi, the daredevil love child of a former Viking raider and a crippled shield-maiden (yup). These two hit it off like a house on fire, and when Bosi kills and maims a couple of people in a friendly ball game (happens between friends) and gets himself exiled, Herraud decides to go with him.
After five years of leisurely plunder the foster-brothers return home, and Bosi does his buddy a favor by killing the (agreeably annoying) bastard brother. At first the king wants to have both of them executed, but he can't bring himself to give the death order of his own heir, so he takes a page from fairy tales and decides to give them an impossible task instead, sending them off to bring him a vulture's egg inscribed with golden letters.
Adventures ensue.

The Highlights
The saga features two epic battles:
1. Bosi and Herraud versus Giant Vulture Monster and Troll Priestess (In which there is a generous amount of stabbing, slipping on blood, losing body parts and rolling around on the floor)
2. Bosi and Herraud versus People Whose Daughter/Sister They Had Kidnapped Along The Way (In which there is a sea battle where people transform at random into dragons, boars, and wolfhounds, and jump from ship to ship. Also, Herraud gets his nipples torn off. Ick.)

The Absolute Undisputed Best Moment of the Saga,
however, is the afterword: Once every battle is won and the adventures are over, Herraud and Bosi both become kings and start their own families. Herraud has a little daughter, Thora (who will later become the first wife of Ragnar, sadly not mentioned in the TV show). The magical vulture egg decides to hatch and produces a small, gold-colored baby dragon. The king gives the baby dragon to Thora as a teething toy.
Think about it.
A princess. Teething. On a dragon.
Viking metal.

A is for Antarah (Epics from A to Z)

Welcome to Epics from A to Z! We are off to a very adventurous start.
(How is this story not a blockbuster movie yet?)

Origins
The Romance of Antar is an Arab epic poem composed sometime in the 8th century. It consists of forty-five volumes (!!!) and several hundred pages in its original form; as to date, no full English translation has been published. The story takes place in the 6th century and centers around Arab tribes and kingdoms in the land of Hejaz (western Saudi Arabia) with occasional adventures into Persia and Yemen, and even mentions of Byzantium and Europe. Hamilton's four-volume English translation of the first of the three parts of the epic is dubbed "a Bedouin romance." While the epic makes frequent mentions to Mecca and Islam, the story actually takes place before the time of the Prophet.
Some people speculate that this story, traveling through cultural exchange in the time of the Crusades, could have been one of the cultural sources of medieval European romances of chivalry. It definitely has a lot in common with them.

The Hero
The main hero of the tale is a historical person: Antarah ib Shaddad al-Absi was a 6th century poet and warrior (some of his poems are counted among the greatest feats of Arab poetry). That is a pretty cool combination. He was a "raven" - the son of an Arab prince and a black slave woman, thus born a slave himself. In the epic he is a chivalrous and brave person who first distinguishes himself by saving an old beggar woman from abuse, even though he knows he will be punished for it. He is equipped with a great war horse and a sword forged from thunder (literally). I like him, because whenever he is not cleaving his enemies in half he composes poems about the beauty of the world (and his love).
Antarah has two goals in life: Be accepted by his father as a free member of his tribe, and marry his beautiful princess cousin, the fair-skinned Abla. Both of them are eventually accomplished through a lot of fighting and a lot of perilous adventures. Abla gets kidnapped a couple of dozen times by various enemy tribes and jilted suitors, and has to be rescued. Antarah also participates in various battles and conflicts all over the map; he even fights a Christian knight in the Persian court. He is a protector of the weak, a defender of women, a fearless warrior, and a lovesick poet.
You will be happy to know that eventually Antarah saves his entire tribe and is accepted as a noble warrior; and after a few dozen crashed wedding attempts he finally manages to marry Abla and have children. He lives in greatness until the very end; his heroic death is mourned even by his enemies.

The Highlights
Even though I could only read an abridged version of the story, the highlights that jumped out at me were some of the supporting characters, namely:
Shiboob, Antarah's half-brother (one of the sons that were kidnapped and enslaved with their mother to Antarah's father). He is called "Son of the Wind" for his running speed, and is also a pretty good archer. He acts as Antarah's messenger, sidekick, best friend, and common sense. He is good at tracking down kidnapped people (a much needed skill in this epic). He comes up with clever ploys to trick enemies, and puts on masterful disguises to infiltrate the camps of other tribes. Once he even dresses up as a woman and puts on a dance-and-song performance.
Jaida, a female warrior, one of Antarah's enemies. She defeats several men in combat and duels, and falls in love with her cousin, who at first is very disturbed by the fact that his very talented warrior friend turns out to be a woman.
Jezar, the man that brings down Antarah in the end. He is a skilled archer, and when Antarah defeats him in battle he blinds him by drawing a red-hot blade across his eyes. Jezar lives and plots revenge for ten years - he learns to shoot with deadly accuracy following the sounds he hears (eat your heart out, R.A. Salvatore).

Fun Fact
Some people have suggested that Antares, the brightest star of the Scorpio constellation, was named after Antarah.