Arthurian Narrative in the Latin Tradition

by Siân Echard

Overview

This book takes a unique look at the Latin Arthurian tradition, placing authors such as Geoffrey of Monmouth in the context of Latin histories, monastic chronicles, saints' lives, and other Latin prose Arthurian narratives. Placing them against a background of the Angevin court of Henry II, the book introduces a new set of texts into the Arthurian canon and suggests a way to understand their place in that tradition. The unfamiliar works are summarized for the reader, and there are extensive quotations, with translations, throughout.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780521621267
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press
Publication date:	09/10/1998
Series:	Cambridge Studies in Medieval Literature , #36
Pages:	272
Product dimensions:	6.22(w) x 9.29(h) x 0.83(d)

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments; Note on translations; Introduction: Latin Arthurian narrative and the Angevin court; 1. 'The Anger of Saturn shall fall': Geoffrey of Monmouth's Historia regum Britannie and the limits of history; 2. 'This is that Arthur': chronicle responses to Arthur; 3. 'Are you the only uncivilized knight produced by sweet Britain?': Arthurian episodes and knightly conduct; 4. 'Understanding the thing as it is': De Ortu Waluuanii and the challenge of interpretation; 5. 'Dies fantastica': the Historia Meriadoci and the adventure of the text; 6. 'When I have done you will be little the wiser': Arthur and Gorlagon, Vita Merlini, and parody; Conclusion; 'A wise man may enjoy leisure': the place of Latin Arthurian literature; List of works cited; Index.

Editorial Reviews

"Echard's book provides a valuable resource and starting point for further study." Comitatus

"Thanks to Echard's efforts, at least the Latin tradition is now more readily accessible to us all. Arthurian Narrative in the Latin Tradition is an important study, one which deserves reprinting in paperback so that it can reach an even broader audience." Arthuriana

"Insofar as Echard's goal is to bring some very interesting material to the attention of a wider audience, the book certainly succeeds... she has brought a number of very interesting texts to our attention. Cambridge University Press has acquitted itself very well in making an attractiv small book nicely free of typographical errors and with footnotes placed at the foot of the page where they belong." Robert M. Stein, Journal of Medieval Latin

"Students of Arthurian literature will find Sian Echard's Arthurian Narrative in the Latin Tradition a useful and sensible study." Speculum

From the Publisher