The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Arthurian Legends [Paperback]

Ronan Coghlan (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1995

A study of Arthurian romance and legend which draws together the different strands of Arthurian myth, from sources as diverse as Geoffrey of Monmouth, Malory, Chretien de Troyes, the Mabinogion, and the English Gawain cycles.

--This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Ronan Coghlan is to be congratulated on producing a book that should be on the shelves of everyone who shares his love of the myths and legends of the British Isles." John Matthews --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

About the Author

Ronan Coghlan was born in Dublin in 1948. Educated at Trinity College, Dublin, he has spent most of his working life teaching in schools in Ireland and England. --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Houghton Mifflin (P) (June 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1852306475
• ISBN-13: 978-1852306472
• Product Dimensions: 10.8 x 7.7 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.9 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #817,152 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Excellent book for scholars, but not for newcomers, May 14, 1999

By 

Craig Childs (Cordova, TN United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Illustrated Encyclopaedia of Arthurian Legends (Hardcover)

This is an A-Z encyclopedia of the people, places, events, and artifacts pertaining to the various derivations of the Arthurian legends. It is lavishly illustrated with artwork and is an exhaustive reference source. The author states upfront that, for purposes of study, he considers any literature written before the time of Thomas Malory's LE MORTE D'ARTHUR to be fair game and part of "authentic" Arthurian lore. Anything after Malory is either a modernization or a retelling of the original legends. Therefore, references to works such as Tennyson's IDYLLS OF THE KING and White's ONCE AND FUTURE KING are omitted.

This book is wonderful reference material. It alludes to many obscure source materials and attempts to explain the origin of many elements of the stories of Arthur and the Round Table. However, I would not recommend it for novice fans. Coghlan takes it for granted that most of the stories are familiar, and he spends most of his time explaining how the stories originated, how they were altered over time, and why inconsistencies exist. The format of the book makes it useful for looking up a particular name but not for browsing through a chronology of the tales.

This book is for the scholars and historians, not necessarily the readers and dreamers.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Gift for the Student of Legend, December 16, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: The Illustrated Encyclopaedia of Arthurian Legends (Hardcover)

If you or someone you know is a student of Arthurian Legend, this makes a beautiful gift. It is a rich "Who's Who" of the various strains of the tales copiously illustrated by the appropriate family trees, facsimiles of medieval illumination, photographs of the historical sites and Pre-Raphaelite reproductions. Lovers of the legend will treasure this book!

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I have yet to find anything as packed with information., June 17, 2003

By 

J. Rose "history major" (ohio) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Illustrated Encyclopaedia of Arthurian Legends (Hardcover)

Ah, The Illustrated Encyclopaedia of Arthurian Legends: I was practically raised on this book! I have learned everything I know about Arthurian Legend with it. I have always loved it not only because I was able to study the literary aspects of Arthurian Legend, but also the historic background of the legends themselves. I understand it may seem a bit over people's heads at times (mainly because of its lack of detail on certain topics). Although, I am not sure it had much to do with the author. (Sometimes it is brief because there is not a lot of information available to us in some cases). I would agree that it is apparent in this book that his knowledge is extensive, and perhaps he does take some of it for granted. Personally, the only thing I can really complain about are his brief descriptions of some the alternate legends, as there was little mentioned as to WHY there were differing versions. I would have liked to have seen more on each subject in general in the book. However, so far I have not come across such a balanced book on Arthurian Legend: (not too hard a read, but yet not too basic). I would recommend this book to one who is getting started in the legends, as it is arranged in an easy elementary storybook fashion. I would also recommend, however, reading "La Morte D'Arthur" by Sir Thomas Mallory concurrently. "The Encyclopaedia" would be a great addition to any library of Arthurian Legends, and I think it's shame it is out of print.