Customer Reviews

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

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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