Arthurian Literature in the Middle Ages: A Collaborative History (Oxford University Press academic monograph reprints) [Hardcover]

Roger Sherman Loomis (Editor)

Product Details

• Hardcover: 590 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA (December 31, 1959)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0198115881
• ISBN-13: 978-0198115885
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,221,643 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The one indispensible history of the Arthurian legend, June 3, 2008

By 

Mike Birman (Brooklyn, New York USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Arthurian Literature in the Middle Ages: A Collaborative History (Oxford University Press academic monograph reprints) (Hardcover)

The great Arthurian scholar Roger Sherman Loomis is the editor of this splendid 563 page collaborative history that brings together 30 scholars in a vast survey of the entire range of the literature. It goes well beyond the scope of previous studies, particularly in its detailed elucidation and in-depth analysis of the Welsh texts, a wide-ranging, carefully considered explication of the origins of the Grail legends and some no-holds barred discussion of controversial issues involved in Arthurian research. Loomis provides a brilliant Prologue and Epilogue as well as several of the 41 essays that are included in the book, including essays on the oral Arthurian legends, Layamon's Brut, the origins of the Grail legend, the Latin Romances and Arthurian influence on sports and spectacle. Some other discussions include the Breton Lais, the early Tristan poems, Chretien de Troyes, Wolfram's Parzival, the French and Germanic legends, Celtic, Scandinavian and Iberian legends and the Dutch Romances. All leading up to the Middle-Ages and England's Arthur as written by Malory. There is no finer, more inclusive study of the Arthurian legends than this brilliant compilation. Seemingly always out-of-print (for reasons that elude me), copies of this book are usually readily available via the second hand route. Strongly recommended.

Mike Birman