The Arthur of Medieval Latin Literature

The Arthur of Medieval Latin Literature
Author: Siân Echard
Publisher: University of Wales Press
Total Pages: 366
Release: 2011-03-15
Genre: Literary Criticism
ISBN: 1783164530

King Arthur is arguably the most recognizable literary hero of the European Middle Ages. His stories survive in many genres and many languages, but while scholars and enthusiasts alike know something of his roots in Geoffrey of Monmouth's Latin History of the Kings of Britain, most are unaware that there was a Latin Arthurian tradition which extended beyond Geoffrey. This collection of essays will highlight different aspects of that tradition, allowing readers to see the well-known and the obscure as part of a larger, often coherent whole. These Latin-literate scholars were as interested as their vernacular counterparts in the origins and stories of Britain's greatest heroes, and they made their own significant contributions to his myth.

The Arthur of the English

The Arthur of the English
Author: W R J Barron
Publisher: University of Wales Press
Total Pages: 442
Release: 2020-11-15
Genre: Literary Criticism
ISBN: 1786837404

This first comprehensive treatment of Arthurian literature in the English language up until the end of the Middle Ages is now available for the first time in paperback. English people think of Arthur as their own – stamped on the landscape in scores of place-names, echoed in the names of princes even today. Yet some would say the English were the historical Arthur’s bitterest enemies and usurpers of his heritage. The process by which Arthurian legends have become an important part of England’s cultural heritage is traced in this book. Previous studies have concentrated on the handful of chivalric romances, which have given the impression that Arthur is a hero of romantic escapism. This study seeks to provide a more comprehensive and insightful look at the English Arthurian legends and how they evolved. It focuses primarily upon the literary aspects of Arthurian legend, but it also makes some important political and social observations.

The Arthur of the Germans

The Arthur of the Germans
Author:
Publisher: University of Wales Press
Total Pages: 352
Release: 2020-10-15
Genre: Literary Criticism
ISBN: 1786837374

From the twelfth century onwards the legends of King Arthur and his knights, including the Tristan legend, spread across Europe, producing a vast range of adaptations and new stories. German and Dutch literature were of central importance in this expansion of Arthurian material from the 12th to 16th century. This title deals with this topic.

Arthur in the Celtic Languages

Arthur in the Celtic Languages
Author: Ceridwen Lloyd-Morgan
Publisher: University of Wales Press
Total Pages: 434
Release: 2019-01-15
Genre: Literary Criticism
ISBN: 1786833441

• Arthur in the Celtic Languages is a reliable up-to-date introduction to the field. • It is the only book covering Arthurian literature and traditions in the Celtic languages (Welsh, Cornish, Breton, Irish, Scottish Gaelic) • This book covers medieval and modern literatures. • It also discusses folklore, ballads and other popular traditions as well as place-names.

The Arthur of the Italians

The Arthur of the Italians
Author:
Publisher: University of Wales Press
Total Pages: 536
Release: 2014-04-15
Genre: Literary Criticism
ISBN: 1783161582

This is the first comprehensive book on the Arthurian legend in medieval and Renaissance Italy since Edmund Gardner’s 1930 The Arthurian Legend in Italian Literature. Arthurian material reached all levels of Italian society, from princely courts with their luxury books and frescoed palaces, to the merchant classes and even popular audiences in the piazza, which enjoyed shorter retellings in verse and prose. Unique assemblages emerge on Italian soil, such as the Compilation of Rustichello da Pisa or the innovative Tavola Ritonda, in versions made for both Tuscany and the Po Valley. Chapters examine the transmission of the French romances across Italy; reworkings in various Italian regional dialects; the textual relations of the prose Tristan; narrative structures employed by Italian writers; later ottava rima poetic versions in the new medium of printed books; the Arthurian-themed art of the Middle Ages and Renaissance; and more. The Arthur of the Italians offers a rich corpus of new criticism by scholars who have brought the Italian Arthurian material back into critical conversation.

The Arthur of the Welsh

The Arthur of the Welsh
Author: Rachel Bromwich
Publisher:
Total Pages: 334
Release: 1991
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN:

Publisher description: This volume is unique in offering a comprehensive discussion of the Arthurian legend in Medieval Welsh literature. Little, if anything, is known historically of Arthur, yet for centuries the romances of Arthur and his court dominated the imaginative literature of Europe in many languages. The roots of this vast flowering of the Arthurian legend are to be found in early Welsh tradition and this volume gives an account of the Arthurian literature produced in Wales, in both Welsh and Latin, during the Middle Ages. The distinguished contributors offer a comprehensive view of recent scholarship relating to Arthurian literature in early Welsh and other Brythonic sources.

The Arthur of the French

The Arthur of the French
Author:
Publisher: University of Wales Press
Total Pages: 652
Release: 2020-10-15
Genre: Literary Criticism
ISBN: 1786837439

This major reference work is the fourth volume in the series "Arthurian Literature in the Middle Ages". Its intention is to update the French and Occitan chapters in R.S. Loomis’ "Arthurian Literature in the Middle Ages: A Collaborative History" (Oxford, 1959) and to provide a volume which will serve the needs of students and scholars of Arthurian literature. The principal focus is the production, dissemination and evolution of Arthurian material in French and Occitan from the twelfth to the fifteenth century. Beginning with a substantial overview of Arthurian manuscripts, the volume covers writing in both verse (Wace, the Tristan legend, Chretien de Troyes and the Grail Continuations, Marie de France and the anonymous lays, the lesser known romances) and prose (the Vulgate Cycle, the prose Tristan, the Post-Vulgate Roman du Graal, etc.).

The Arthur of the Low Countries

The Arthur of the Low Countries
Author: Bart Besamusca
Publisher: University of Wales Press
Total Pages: 410
Release: 2021-01-15
Genre: Literary Criticism
ISBN: 178683684X

There is no book-length overview of the Dutch Arthurian tradition in English available at this moment. Like the other books in the ALMA series, this book will give the state of the art in (in this case Dutch) Arthurian studies. This book provides a comprehensive and informed survey of medieval Arthurian literature in Dutch.

Arthur in Medieval Welsh Literature

Arthur in Medieval Welsh Literature
Author: Oliver James Padel
Publisher: University of Wales Press
Total Pages: 121
Release: 2013-05-30
Genre: History
ISBN: 0708326587

Although the legends of Arthur have been popular throughout Europe from the Middle Ages onwards, the earliest references to Arthur are to be found in Welsh literature, starting with the Welsh-Latin Historia Brittonum dating from the ninth century. By the twelfth century, Arthur was a renowned figure wherever Welsh and her sister languages were spoken. O. J. Padel now provides an overall survey of medieval Welsh literary references to Arthur and emphasizes the importance of understanding the character and purpose of the texts in which allusions to Arthur occur. Texts from different genres are considered together, and shed new light on the use that different authors make of the multifaceted figure of Arthur – from the folk legend associated with magic and animals to the literary hero, soldier and defender of country and faith. Other figures associated with Arthur, such as Cai, Bedwyr and Gwenhwyfar, are also discussed here.