by Geoffrey Chaucer (Author)
For most modern readers, the words 'Round Table' and 'Arthurian Romance' conjure up images of an enchanted kingdom peopled with virtous knights and damsels in distress. Some medieval texts do indeed offer such a picture, but they are decidedly in the minority. The adventure romances brought together in this collection tell instead of villains and heroes whose stories are built upon the concerns, dreams and failures of their intended readers. Throughout these tales morality is complicated by desire in ways which find many modern parallels; whereas the priest in church preached about the salvation of souls, the poet in the hall told of how to acquire a wife, a castle and all the trappings of earthly prosperity...Available for the first time in new translations and accompanied by an incisive introduction, Ross G Arthurs colourful selection of texts is an invaluable work for the student & layman alik*
Format: Paperback
Pages: 288
Edition: Reissue
Publisher: Phoenix
Published: 07 Oct 1999
ISBN 10: 046087098X
ISBN 13: 9780460870986
Book Overview: * Unique selection * New translations * Wide appeal - from fantasy/Arthurian enthusiasts to medieval scholars * Reset with wide B format pages to give generous margin to notes * Editor presents latest scholarship on Arthurian romances; edition includes CARADOC, THE KNIGHT WITH THE SWORD, THE PERILOUS GRAVEYARD,notes, note on the text and suggestions for further reading.