Arthurian Resources at Hanover
An Annotated Bibliography Compiled by Miranda Bailey (2000), Edited by Paul Battles
Last updated Fall 2011
Helterman, Jeffrey, and Jerome Mitchell, eds., Old and Middle English Literature. Dictionary of Literary Biography 146. Detroit: Gale Research, 1994.
A volume in the series "Dictionary of Literary Biography," this book is organized around authors (so you'll find articles on Chaucer, Malory, etc.) but does provide some critical information about key works as well. Always worth consulting.
✶Lacy, Norris J. and Geoffrey Ashe. The Arthurian Handbook. New York: Garland Publishing, Inc., 1988.
A secondary source that offers history and criticism on origins of the legend, early Arthurian literature, modern Arthurian literature, and Arthur in the arts. Development of the legend and interpretation of Arthurian themes in literature are also discussed. Several texts are referred to and the author discusses how they divert from or adhere to the traditional legend. A nice chronology is included that covers important dates in history, chronicles, archaeology, and art and literature, which relate to the Arthurian legend in some way. An extensive Arthurian glossary gives information on who people/characters are and how they relate to Arthur and information about important places. Good place to begin research.
✶Lacy, Norris J. et al., eds. The New Arthurian Encyclopedia. New York: Garland Publishing, Inc., 1991.
Reference work that includes categories on the following: arts; characters (eg. Arthur, Enid, Lancelot); history, legend, archaeology; literature (general, Celtic, Dutch, early English, modern literature in English, French, German, Greek, Hebrew, Hispanic, Italian, Japanese, Latin, Scandinavian, Slavic, Tagalog, Yiddish); places, themes, motifs, objects; and miscellaneous (eg. arms and armour, courtly love, round tables). An extensive bibliography and chronology are also included. Articles are not lengthy, but informative. A good place to begin research and get background information on a subject.
✶Lambdin, Laura C., and Robert T. Lambdin. Arthurian Writers: A Biographical Encyclopedia. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 2008.
Excellent source for discussions of authors' lives and works. They have a chapter on each of the writers we'll be studying. This is an e-book that's available through PanterCat. Once you've found the title, click on "Check for copies," then on "Electronic Location."
✶Strayer, Joseph Reese, ed., Dictionary of the Middle Ages. 13 vols. New York : Scribner, 1982-89.
Your best and most convenient place to get information about all aspects of the Middle Ages. Do consult the index if you can't find the information you're looking for under a particular headword.
Szarmach, Paul, M. Teresa Tavormina, and Joel Thomas Rosenthal, eds., Medieval England : An Encyclopedia. New York: Garland, 1998.
Good one-volume companion to all aspects of medieval England. Less exhaustive than the DMA, but more specifically focused on England.
Wallace, David, ed., The Cambridge History of Medieval English Literature. Cambridge and New York: Cambridge UP, 1999.
Collection of essays about medieval English literature. The organization is somewhat unusual – mostly by genre and chronology – so, if you're looking for information about a particular work, you'll have to start with the index. What's nice about this way of organizing the book is that it'll provide a better sense of context.
2. General and Miscellaneous Studies
Artos, Allen. Arthur: The King of Light. Black Mountain: Lorien House, 1986.
A secondary source. Chapter one deals with the historical Arthur and has information on the real Arthur, the historical sketch, the ancestry of the king, Saint Joseph of Arimathea, and the historical Excalibur. Chapter two contains information on the journey of the quest of the Holy Grail, Geoffrey of Monmouth's Arthur, the symbolism of Arthur, and spiritual references. Chapter three focuses on the zodiac Arthur, which presents information on the stars and their meanings and the Glastonbury zodiac. The final chapter, "The Once and Future King," discusses Merlin's vision and the Holy Graal. A somewhat "New Age" bias; use with caution.
Darrah, John. The Real Camelot: Paganism and the Arthurian Romances. New York: Thames and Hudson, 1981.
A secondary source that focuses on the romantic of Arthurian legend and the pagan tradition within it. Includes the following: Part I. Sacred Kings in the Arthurian Romances: The Challenge, Annual Kings, The Dolorous Strike; Part II. The Historical Background of the 'Arthurian' Sacred Kings: Pagan Deities in the Romances, Time-Scale, Camelot and Sarras; and Part III. The Pagan Framework Underlying the Arthurian Legend: The Birth of Arthur, The Sword in the Stone, The Round Table, Merlin, Arthur. There are also two appendices. Appendix I is "A possible correspondence between a traditional story of 'invasion' and archaeological fact" and Appendix II is "Other possible correspondences between tradition and archaeology." Uses excerpts from Latin works, Welsh traditional tales, and medieval French stories in arguments. Not always persuasive or fully supported with evidence, but interesting arguments. Use with caution!!
✶Goodman, Jennifer R. The Legend of Arthur in British and American Literature. Twayne's English Authors Series 461. Boston: Twayne, 1988.
Chronological study of the development of the legend. Chapters include "The Origins of Arthur: From History to Legend," "Medieval Arthurian Romances," "Sir Thomas Malory's Morte Darthur," "Arthur through 1900," and "Arthurian Literature of the Twentieth Century." Short but very informative, this is a good place to start for a general overview of the British and American Arthurian tradition.
✶Goodrich, Peter, ed. The Romance of Merlin: An Anthology. New York: Garland Publishing, Inc., 1990.
Primary source with focus on Anglo-American tradition, development and transformation of the character of Merlin. Short introduction gives brief Merlin history. Short history also given before individual texts. Works included are as follows: I. Merlin in the Dark Ages: "Kentigern," "Meldred and Lailoken," "The Conversation of Myrddin and Taliesin," "The Birch Tree Stanzas," "The Apple Tree Stanzas," "The Little Pig Stanzas," "The Prophecy of Myrddin and Gwenddydd, His Sister," "The Separation-Song of Myrddin in the Grave," "Commanding Youth," "The Names of the Island of Britain," and "The Myrddin Triad. II. Merlin in Geoffrey of Monmouth: Vortigern's Tower, The Prophecies of Merlin, and The Building of Stonehenge. III. Merlin in Medieval Romance: Robert de Boron's Merlin: "Vortigern's Tower" and "Merlin's Introduction to Uther and Pendragon," Estoire de Merlin: "Merlin Dupes King Arthur" and "The Begetting of Ector des Mares," Suite du Merlin: "The Begetting of Mordred," and Didot-Perceval: "Esplumoir Merlin." Middle English Romances: Merlin: "How Merlin was Begotten and Born," Middle English Prose Merlin: "Merlin's First Meeting With Nimiane," "The Story of Grisandol," and "Merlin's Improvement," and Sir Thomas Malory's Le Morte Darthur: "The War Against the Rebel Kings," "The Finding of Excalibur," "The Wedding of Arthur and Guenevere," and "The Interment of Merlin." IV. Merlin in the Renaissance: The Faerie Queen (Book III, Canto 3) and The Life of Merlin. V. Merlin in the Nineteenth Century: "Merlin and Vivien" and A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court: "Merlin's Tower," "The Holy Fountain," "The Restoration of the Fountain," "The Yankee's Fight with the Knights," and "A Postscript by Clarence." VI. Merlin in the Twentieth Century: Merlin, The Once and Future King: "The Wart Meets Merlin," "The Castle Moat," "Madame Mim," "Galapas," "Might Isn't Right," and "Merlyn Foresees His Fate," and That Hideous Strength. Some texts are in translation and some are in ME. Good collection of texts for subject.
Gribble, Jennifer. The Lady of Shalott in the Victorian Novel. London: The Macmillan Press Ltd., 1983.
A secondary source that looks at the Arthurian character Lady Shalott as she appears in the Victorian novel. Contents included are: Introduction: The Lady, The Room, The Mirror and the Web, and the Curse; Sense and Sensibility: Lucy Snowe's Convent Thoughts; Little Dorrit's Prison; George Eliot's Web; Jude, Sue, and 'Social Moulds;' Portraits of Ladies: The Wings of the Dove; and 'The Lady in the Looking-Glass: Some Reflections.' Unique source.
Gurteen, S. Humphreys. The Arthurian Epic: A Comparative Study of the Cambrian, Breton, and Anglo-Norman Versions of the Story and Tennyson's Idylls of the King. New York: Haskell House, 1895.
A secondary source with chapters on the following topics: Historical Sketch; The Arthurian Epic-Its Place in Literature; Writers of the Arthurian Epic; Analysis of the Arthurian Epic-The Bards and the Chroniclers; Analysis of the Arthurian Epic-The Romancers; Merlin and Vivienne; Lancelot, Guinevere, and Elaine; Galahad and the Quest of the Holy Graal; King Arthur; and Geraint and Enid. Focuses in on works and gives some history. Watch out for outdated arguments and information.
"In Search of the Holy Grail: The Parzival Legend." The World of Joseph Campbell. Transformations of Myth Through Time: The Western Way. Volume III, Tape 2, program 13. Prod. William Free Productions and Mythology Ltdin. Association with Holoform Research Inc. Dir. Roy A. Cox. Videocassette. Public Media Video, 1989.
A secondary source, which consists of one one-hour program hosted by Joseph Campbell. In this program, Campbell discusses the source of the Grail story, the history of Parzival, the union of love and marriage, the meaning behind the Grail legend, the Wasteland, spirituality, and compassion and loyalty.
✶Jenkins, Elizabeth. The Mystery of King Arthur. New York: Coward, McCann & Geoghegan, Inc., 1975.
Chronological study of the legend's development. Britain before Arthur, Fact and Legend, Early Arthurian Tales, Growth of the Legend, the First Recorders, English Interpretations, Lancelot and Guinevere, 'Glastonbury is Avalon,' Medieval Influences, Arthur and Chivalry, Decline of Knighthood, The Background to Malory's Arthur, Malory: The Legend Immortalized, The Tudors, Stuart Interest, Decline, Revival, and the Pre-Raphaelites, and Tennyson and Ourselves. Well-written. Excellent place to begin research.
✶Larrington, Carolyne. King Arthur's Enchantresses: Morgan and Her Sisters in Arthurian Tradition. London and New York: I. B. Tauris, 2006.
A very good study of female magic and magicians in Arthurian legend. Has the following chapters: "Magic and the enchantress"; "Morgan and Arthur"; "Morgan and chivalry"; "Morgan, other knights and enchantresses"; "Viviane, the Damoiselle Cacheresse and the lady of the lake"; "The queen of Orkney"; "Vivien and the Victorians"; and "Morgan, Morgause and the modern age."
✶Loomis, Roger Sherman. The Development of Arthurian Romance. London: Hutchinson & Co., 1963.
A secondary source that traces Arthurian history from Welsh hero-legend to French romance to Gawain and the Green Knight and on to Malory. Historical facts, criticism and evaluation are presented on the following: Arthurian origins, the Mabinogion, the Intermediaries, Chrétien de Troyes, Wolfram's von Eschenbach's Parzival, Tristan and Isolt, the Vulgate Cycle, Joseph of Arimathea and Glastonbury, Merlin, the Rimed English romances, the Alliterative English romances, and Sir Thomas Malory. Author stresses origins and sources and how the works were shaped by historic events, and intellectual and artistic forces. Loomis is one of the great scholars of Arthurian literature.
✶Lupak, Alan, and Barbara Tepa Lupack. King Arthur in America. Cambridge: D. S. Brewer, 1999.
A secondary source with chapters on the following: Arthurian Literature in America before Twain, Reaction to Tennyson: Parody, Reaction to Tennyson: Visions of Courageous Achievement, From Twain to the Twenties, Beyond The Waste Land: Fitzgerald, Hemingway, and Faulkner, Steinbeck and the Arthurian Legend, Contemporary Novelists, and The Arthurian Tradition and American Popular Culture. Work follows evolution of the legend and shows how individual authors and society in general have interpreted and presented it. Special emphasis is placed on the democratization of the legend. An extensive bibliography is also included. Very thorough, informative, and easy-to-read.
Nitze, William Albert. Arthurian Romance and Modern Poetry and Music. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1940.
A secondary source with the following chapters: Avalon and the Passing of Arthur, Tristan and the Love-Death Motif, Lancelot the Courtly Lover, Perceval and the Good Friday Magic, and The Waste Land and the Mystical Grail. Work is a collection of the author's lectures on why the legend has survived in areas such as literature, poetry, and music, and how it has changed over time. Brief source, but interesting.
O'Donoghue, Bernard. The Courtly Love Tradition. Totowa: Manchester University Press, 1982.
A primary source with translations of Chrétien de Troyes' Lancelot and selections from Gottfried von Strassburg's Tristan. The author describes them as bare and literal translations and while some of the works are in complete translations, the longer ones are given more in summary. The author provides information on the background of the works, the use of courtly love elements, and the term "courtly love" in the history of literature. A glossary of terms is also included.
✶On Arthurian Women: Essays in Memory of Maureen Fries. Ed. Maureen Fries, Bonnie Wheeler, and Fiona Tolhurst. Dallas: Scriptorium Press, 2000.
"Maureen Fries : Arthurienne extraordinaire," by Bonnie Wheeler and Fiona Tolhurst; "Part I. On Arthurian women; "Guenevere: Guenevere's tears in the alliterative Morte Arthure : doubly wife, doubly mother, doubly damned," by Rebecca S. Beal. Malory's Guenevere : a 'trew lover'," by Beverly Kennedy. Malory's Guenevere : 'A woman who had grown a soul'," by Edward Donald Kennedy; "Elaines: Gilding the lily (maid) : Elaine of Astolat," by James Noble. Malory's other(ed) Elaine," by Elizabeth S. Sklar. Sorceresses: Elemental goddesses : Nymue, the chief Lady of the Lake, and her sisters," by Sue Ellen Holbrook. From Niniane to Nimüe : demonizing the Lady of the Lake," by Anne Berthelot; "Arthur's sisters: Morgan le Fay at Hautdesert," by Michael W. Twomey. The hag of Castle Hautdesert : the celtic Sheela-na-gig and the Auncian in Sir Gawain and the green knight," by Lorraine Kochanske Stock. Malory's Morgause," by Dorsey Armstrong; "The Arthurian wife: Arthurian wonder women : the tread of Olwen," by Jo Goyne. Chrétien's Enide : heroine or female hero?," by Margaret Jewett Burland. Belcane : other as another in Wolfram von Eschenbach's Parzival," by Susann T. Samples; "Arthurian bad girls? The beaten path : Lancelot's amorous adventure at the fountain in Le chevalier de la Charette," by Ellen L. Friedrich. Lyonet, Lunete, and Laudine : carnivalesque Arthurian women," by Melanie McGarrahan Gibson. A bad girl will love you to death : excessive love in the Sranzaic Morte Arthur and Malory," by Janet Knepper. Mallory's Lancelot and the Lady Huntress," by Maud McInerney. Merlin's mother in the Chronicles," by Charlotte A.T. Wulf; "The modern gaze: Hard(l)y Tristan," by Donald L. Hoffman. 'No - I am out - I am out of my tower and my wits' : the Lady of Shalott in A.S. By att's Possession," by Kathleen Coyne Kelly. Women illustrators of the Arthurian legends," by Alan Lupack. A note on Maureen Fries, Morgan le Fay, and Ugo Falena's 1911 film Tristano e Isotta," by Kevin J. Harty; "Part II. On women Arthurians. The 'Mabinogion' and Lady Charlotte Guest (1812-1895)," by Rachel Bromwich. Jessie Laidlay Weston (1850-1928)," by Norris J. Lacy. The Loomis ladies : Gertrude Schoepperle Loomis (1882-1921), Laura Hibbard Loomis (1883-1960), Dorothy Bethurum Loomis (1897-1987)," by Henry Hall Peyton III. The quickening force : Vida Dutton Scudder (1861-1914) and Malory's Le Morte Darthur," by Sue Ellen Holbrook. The girl from Cumbria : a tribute to Rachel Bromwich," by Chris Grooms. Helaine Newstead : 'a giant in her field'," by Sigmund Eisner. How I became (and continue to be) an Arthurian woman scholar," by Elspeth Kennedy. From Holocaust survivor to Arthurian scholar," by Fanni Bogdanow. Valerie Lagorio," by Martin B. Schichtman. Maureen Fries : teacher, scholar, friend," by Donald L. Hoffman.
Reid, Margaret J. C. The Arthurian Legend: Comparison of Treatment in Modern and Medieval Literature: A Study in the Literary Value of Myth and Legend. New York, Barnes & Noble, Inc., 1938.
A secondary source with a focus on the modern poets (defined as "postmedieval," starting in 1485) using "a logical and philosophical method of criticism." Topics discussed include: Introductory-What is meant by the term 'modern'? Courtly love expressed by Marie of France, Chrétien de Troies and Malory. 1. General comparison of medieval with modern treatment in literature; 2. Arthur in the Chronicles and in Malory; 3. Arthur in the Sixteenth, Seventeenth, and Eighteenth Centuries; 4. Spenser, Milton, Dryden; 5. Arthur in Modern Times: Scott, Tennyson, Masefield; 6. Gawain; 7. Merlin; 8. Lancelot; 9. The Welsh Tradition; 10. The Holy Grail: Earlier Versions; 11. The Holy Grail: Modern Versions; 12. Balin and Balan; 13. Wagner: Parsifal, Lohengrin, Tristan; 14. Tristan: Sources and Malory; Tristan: Tennyson and Swinburne; 15. Tristan: Other Modern Versions; and 16. The Arthurian Legend in Satire. Summaries and excerpts of several works are included. There are also three helpful appendices. Appendix A is a chronological summary of original poems, plays, and prose works after 1485. Appendix B focuses briefly on the Arthurian legend in the Decorative Arts. Appendix C is a list of important reference books. Well-written, helpful, but dated source. ]
Weingand, Hermann J. Three Chapters on Courtly Love in Arthurian France and Germany. Chapel Hill, The University of North Carolina Press, 1956.
A secondary source, which looks at the study of courtly love under the dominance of the ideals of chivalry and works dating from 1160 to 1210. Works included are Chrétien de Troyes' Cligés, Ulrich von Zatzikhoren's Lanzelet, Chrétien de Troyes' Le Chevalier de la Charette, the old French Prose Lancelot, Andreas Capellanus' De Amore, and Wolfrain von Eschenbach's Parzival. Criticism makes up most of the work. Sharp focus on each of the works. Short, decent source.
Weston, Jessie L. King Arthur and His Knights: A Brief Introduction to the Study of Arthurian Literature. London: David Nutt, 1899.
A secondary source that takes a very brief look at the legend from the following points of interest: origin of legend, poetry and prose, historical and romantic, King Arthur, Merlin, Sir Gawain, Sir Perceval, Sir Lancelot, Sir Tristan, Galahad, and Kay. Good background information, but very general.
"Where There Was No Path: Arthurian Legends and the Western Way" and "A Noble Heart: The Courtly Love of Tristan and Isolde." The World of Joseph Campbell. Transformations of Myth Through Time: The Western Way. Volume III, Tape 1, programs 11 & 12. Prod. William Free Productions and Mythology Ltdin. Association with Holoform Research Inc. Dir. Roy A. Cox. Videocassette. Public Media Video, 1989.
A secondary source with two one-hour programs hosted by Joseph Campbell. In program 11, Campbell lectures to an audience and gives background information on the social, cultural, and religious aspects of the Arthurian world. He also gives an extensive history of England in general, which goes back to the Celts. Background information on the Grail and Perceval is also given and commentary on individualism vs. the social order at that time is included. There are also some interesting slides. In program 12, Campbell focuses on the story of Tristan and Isolde and what it reveals about the conflict between honor and love and love and marriage. He also discusses the trials of the knights briefly. Both programs are quite informative and entertaining.
Whitaker, Muriel. The Legends of King Arthur in Art. Rochester: Boydell and Brewer, 1995.
Standard study of Arthurian legend as represented in various works of art from the Middle Ages on. Valuable source.
Williamson, Edwin. The Half-Way House of Fiction: Don Quixote and Arthurian Romance. Oxford, Clarendon Press, 1984.
A secondary source that contrasts the narrative practices of Chrétien de Troyes and Montalvo. Focuses on Amadis of Gaul, The Exploits of Esplandian, and the works of Troyes. Contents include: I. Early Romance: The Art of Chrétien de Troyes: (i) The Ideological Background, (ii) Courtly Chivalry in Chrétien's Romances, (iii) Appearances and Reality in the Romances, (iv) Marvels: Magical and Miraculous, (v) Symbolism and Irony: Matiere, Conjointure, Sen, (vi) The Logic of the Narrative, (vii) The Platonist Element in Romance as a Genre. II. Late Romances: Amadis of Gaul and Esplandian: (i) Allegory and History in French Prose Romances, (ii) The Structure of Amadis of Gaul, (iii) History and Fiction in Montalvo's Revised Amadis and the Esplandian. III. The Break with Romance: Don Quixote's Madness: (i) Aristo, Tasso, and the Dilemma of Renaissance Aesthetics, (ii) The 1605 Prologue, (iii) The Nature of Don Quixote's Madness, (iv) Don Quixote's Career in Part I: A Qualified Success, (v) Don Quixote's Career in Part II: The Absence of Providence. IV. Irony and the Relics of Romance: (i) Don Quixote's Ideal Language, (ii) Sancho's Sense of Irony, (iii) The Ironic Author, (iv) The Mad-Sane Paradox. V. From Romance to the Novel: (i) The Emergence of Character, (ii) Character and the Elements of Plot, (iii) Sancho's triumph and Its Aftermath, (iv) Pathos and Parody. Good source for research on development of legend.
2.1 Arthurian Casebooks
These volumes collect a variety of reprinted and original essays about Arthurian characters and themes. They also have very good introductions, which often represent contributions in their own right and give a good overview of the topic. The bibliographies are helpful as well.
✶Arthurian Women: A Casebook. Ed. Thelma S. Fenster. Arthurian Characters and Themes 3. New York: Garland, 1996.
"Love, honor, and the exchange of women in Yvain: some remarks on the female reader," by Roberta L. Krueger; "Rewriting men's stories: Enide's disruptive mouths," by E. Jane Burns; ""Ez ist ir g'artet von mir": Queen Isolde and Princess Isolde in Gottfried von Strassburg's Tristan und Isolde," by Ann Marie Rasmussen; "Female heroes, heroines, and counter-heroes: images of women in Arthurian tradition," by Maureen Fries; "Leaving Morgan aside: women, history, and revisionism in Sir Gawain and the green knight," by Sheila Fisher; "Enchanted ground: the feminine subtext in Malory," by Geraldine Heng; ""Le Donne Antiche e'cavalieri": women in the Italian Arthurian tradition," by Regina Psaki; "Fairy godmothers and fairy lovers," by Laurence Harf-Lancner; "From the lake to the fountain: Lancelot and the fairy lover," by Anne Berthelot; "Nymue, the chief lady of the lake in Malory's Le Morte dArthur," by Sue Ellen Holbrook; "Arthur, Argante, and the ideal vision: an exercise in speculation and parody," by Judith H. Anderson; "Iseult of Brittany: a new interpretation of Matthew Arnold's Tristram and Iseult," by Barbara Fass Leavy; "In defense of Guenevere," by Carole Silver; "Julia Margaret Cameron's photographic illustrations to Alfred Tennyson's The Idylls of the king," by Joanne Lukitsh; "The Woman's eye: four modern Arthurian illustrators," by Muriel Whitaker; "Looking at Elaine: Keats, Tennyson, and the directions of the poetic gaze," by Constance W. Hassett and James Richardson; "The Figure of Guenevere in modern drama and fiction," by Elisabeth Brewer; "Heterosexual plots and lesbian subtexts: toward a theory of lesbian narrative space in Marion Zimmer Bradley's The Mists of Avalon," by Marilyn R. Farwell; "The First and last love: Morgan le Fay and Arthur," by Raymond H. Thompson.
✶Gawain: A Casebook. Ed. Raymond H. Thompson and Keith Busby. Arthurian Characters and Themes 8. New York: Routledge, 2006.
B.J. WHITING, "Gawain: His Reputation, His Courtesy, and His Appearance in Chaucer's Squire's Tale"; "RACHEL BROMWICH, "Gwalchmei m. Gwyar"; "WILLIAM A. NITZE, "The Character of Gauvain in the Romances of Chrétien de Troyes"; "DOUGLAS KELLY, "Gauvain and Fin' Amors in the Poems of Chrétien de Troyes"; "FRIEDRICH WOLFZETTEL, Arthurian Adventure or Quixotic "Struggle for Life"? A Reading of Some Gauvain Romances in the First Half of the Thirteenth Century"; "KEITH BUSBY, "Diverging Traditions of Gauvain in Some of the Later Old French Verse Romances"; "LORI WALTERS, "The Formation of a Gauvain Cycle in Chantilly Manuscript 472"; "FANNI BOGDANOW, "The Character of Gauvain in the Thirteenth-Century Prose Romances"; "KEITH BUSBY, "The Character of Gauvain in the Prose Tristan"; "RAYMOND H. THOMPSON, "Gawain Against Arthur: The Impact of a Mythological Pattern upon Arthurian Tradition in Accounts of the Birth of Gawain"; "ALBRECHT CLASSEN, "Crisis and Triumph in the World of Medieval Knighthood and Chivalry: Gawan in Wolfram von Eschenbach's Parzival"; "BART BESAMUSCA, "Gauvain as Lover in the Middle Dutch Verse Romance Walewein"; "MARIE-JOSé HEIJKANT, "The Transformation of the Figure of Gauvain in Italy"; "PHILLIP C. BOARDMAN, "Middle English Arthurian Romance: The Repetition and Reputation of Gawain"; "W.A. DAVENPORT, "Sir Gawain and the Green Knight: The Poet's Treatment of the Hero and his Adventure"; "BEVERLY KENNEDY, "Gawain and Heroic Knighthood in Malory"; "RAYMOND H. THOMPSON, "Gawain in Post-Medieval English Literature"; "KLAUS P. JANOFSKY, "Sir Gawaine at Liberty Castle: Thomas Berger's Comic Didacticism in Arthur Rex: A Legendary Novel"; "DAVID J. WILLIAMS, "Sir Gawain in Films"
✶The Grail: A Casebook. Ed. Dhira B. Mahoney. Arthurian Characters and Themes 5. New York: Garland, 2000.
Introduction and comparative table of medieval texts," by Dhira B. Mahoney; "The quest for origins," by Glenys Witchard Goetinck; "The central symbol of the legend : the Grail as vessel," by Emma Jung and Marie-Louise Von Franz; "Perceval or Le conte du Graal," by Jean Frappier, trans. Raymond Cormier; "Tout est par senefiance : Gerbert's Perceval," by Sara Sturm-Maddox; "Punishment in the Perlesvaus : the theme of the waste land," by Angus J. Kennedy; "A story of interpretations : the Queste del Saint Graal as metaliterature," by Laurence N. de Looze; "Dying to get to Sarras : Perceval's sister and the Grail quest," by Janina P. Traxler; "Failure in Arthurian romance," by Elspeth Kennedy; "Seeing the Grail : prolegomena to a study of Grail imagery in Arthurian manuscripts," by Alison Stones; "The symbolism of the Grail in Wolfram von Eschenbach," by Friedrich Ranke; "The truest and holiest tale : Malory's transformation of La queste del Saint Graal," by Dhira B. Mahoney; "Chivalric nationalism and the Holy Grail in John Hardyng's Chronicle," by Felicity Riddy; "Scandals of faith and gender in Tennyson's Grail poems," by Linda K. Hughes; ""Pure hearts and clean hands" : the Victorian and the Grail," by Debra N. Mancoff; "From Logres to Carbonek : the Arthuriad of Charles Williams," by Karl Heinz Göller; "T.S. Eliot," by Charles Moorman; "Walker Percy's Grail," by J. Donald Crowley and Sue Mitchell Crowley; "The Grail in modern fiction : sacred symbol in a secular age," by Raymond H. Thompson; "Hollywood's new Weston : the Grail myth in Francis Ford Coppola's Apocalypse now and John Boorman's Excalibur," by Martin B. Shichtman; "Eric Rohmer and the Holy Grail," by Linda Williams.
✶King Arthur: A Casebook. Ed. Edward D. Kennedy. Arthurian Characters and Themes 1. New York: Garland, 1996.
Marylyn Jackson Parins, "Looking for Arthur"; " Barbara N. Sargent-Baur, "Dux bellorum, Rex militum, Roi fainéant: the transformation of Arthur in the twelfth century"; "William C. McDonald, "King Arthur and the round table in the Erec and Iwein of Hartmann von Aue"; " Elspeth Kennedy, "King Arthur in the prose Lancelot"; "Fanni Bogdanow, "The Evolution of the theme of the fall of Arthur's kingdom"; "Donald C. MacRae, "Appearances and reality in La Mort le roi Artu"; "Karl Josef Höltgen, "King Arthur and Fortuna"; " Edward Donald Kennedy, "Malory's King Mark and King Arthur"; " Karl Heinz Göller, "King Arthur in the Scottish chronicles"; " James P. Carley, "Polydore Vergil and John Leland on King Arthur: the battle of the books"; "Merritt Y. Hughes, "The Arthurs of the Faerie queene"; "Elliot L. Gilbert, "The Female king: Tennyson's arthurian apocalypse"; "Debra N. Mancoff, "To take Excalibur: King Arthur and the construction of victorian manhood"; "François Gallix, "T.H. White and the legend of King Arthur: from animal fantasy to political morality"; " Raymond H. Thompson, "Conceptions of King Arthur in the twentieth century."
✶Lancelot and Guinevere: A Casebook. Ed. Lori Walters. Arthurian Characters and Themes 4. New York: Routledge, 2003.
The presentation of the character of Lancelot : Chrétien to Malory," by Derek Brewer; "Lanzelet : a flawless hero in a symmetrical world," by James A. Schultz; "An interpreter's dilemma : why are there so many interpretations of Chrétien's Chevalier de la Charrette?," by Matilda Tomaryn Bruckner; "The figure of Lancelot in the Lancelot-Graal," by Elspeth Kennedy; "Lancelot and Guinevere in the Middle Dutch Lancelot compilation," by Bart Besamusca; "Illustrating Lancelot and Guinevere," by Alison Stones; "Unifying makers : Lancelot and Guinevere in modern literature and art," by Muriel Whitaker;Arthurian myth devalued in Walker Percy's Lancelot," by John Bugge; "Lancelot's last metamorphosis," by Jean-Marcel Paquette; "The character of Guinevere in the Arthurian romances of Chrétien de Troyes," by Peter Noble; "Guinevere : a re-appraisal," by Susann Samples; "Desire, meaning, and the female reader : the problem in Chrétien's Charrete," by Roberta L. Krueger; "Which queen? Guinevere's transvestism in the French prose Lancelot," by E. Jane Burns; "Recovering Malory's Guenevere," by Sarah J. Hill; "The figure of Guenevere in modern drama and fiction," by Elisabeth Brewer; "Sharan Newman's Guinevere trilogy," by Harold J. Herman.
✶Merlin: A Casebook. Ed. Peter Goodrich and Raymond H Thompson. Arthurian Characters and Themes 7. New York: Routledge, 2003.
Pt. I. Evolution of the legend; "The Merlin legend and the Welsh tradition of prophecy," by A.O.H. Jarman; "Merlin: Prophet and magician," by Paul Zumthor; "Merlin and the Ladies of the Lake," by Anne Berthelot; "Merlin in Italian literature," by Donald L. Hoffman; "Merlin in Spanish literature," by Barbara D. Miller; "Merlin in German literature," by Ulrich Müller; "Merlin as new-world wizard," by Alan C. Lupack; "The enchanter awakes: Merlin in modern fiction," by Raymond H. Thompson; "Pt. II. Major motifs and works; "Merlin as wise old man," by Heinrich Zimmer; "Merlin in the grail legend," by Emma Jung and Marie-Louise van Franz; "Robert de Boron's Merlin," by Alexandre Micha; "Merlin romancier: paternity, prophecy, and poetics in the Huth Merlin," by Kate Cooper; "Malory's tragic Merlin," by Donald L. Hoffman; "Spenser's Merlin," by William Blackburn; "Druids, Bards, and Tennyson's Merlin," by Catherine Barnes Stevenson; "Illusion and relation: Merlin as image of the artist in Tennyson, Doré, Burne-Jones, and Beardsley," by Linda K. Hughes; "Master and mediator of the natural world," by Jean Markale.
3. History, Works of History, and the Historical Arthur
✶Alcock, Leslie. Arthur's Britain: History and Archaeology AD 367-634. New York: St. Martin's, 1971.
As the title suggests, this work covers British history and archeology from late antiquity through the earliest part of the Middle Ages. Probably the single best volume on this topic. Very clear exposition of the facts, though the later parts can be a bit dry. Chapters include "The Nature of the Evidence," "Three Key Texts (Gildas, Nennius, the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle)," "The Arthurian Documents," "The Historical Background, AD 367-490," "The Historical Background, AD 490-634," "The Archeological Evidence: The Nature of the Evidence," "The Culture of Roman and Sub-Roman Britain," "The Culture of the Britons, AD 450-650," "The Enemies of the Britons 1: Picts and Scots," "The Enemies of the Britons 2: The English," "Economy, Society, and Warfare," and "Arthur and Britain."
✶Ashe, Geoffrey, ed. The Quest for Arthur's Britain. New York, Washington, London: Frederick A. Praeger, 1968.
Best source of information for the archeology of Arthur's Britain, but also includes pieces on the legend as a whole, English history after Arthur, and modern adaptations of the legend. Essays are written by the experts: Ashe, C. A. Ralegh Radford, Leslie Alcock, Philip Rahtz, and Jill Racey. Chapters include: "The Visionary Kingdom," "The Arthurian Fact," "Romance and Reality in Cornwall," "Wales in the Arthurian Age," "Glastonbury Abbey," "Glastonbury Tor," "Cadbury: Is It Camelot?", "Extending the Map," "Life in the Arthurian Age," "Arthur and English History," and "The New Matter of Britain."]
Fletcher, Robert Huntington. The Arthurian Material in the Chronicles: Especially Those of Great Britain and France. New York: Burt Franklin, 1906.
A secondary source that focuses on the methods of the chroniclers and what each said about Arthur. Chapters and some of their contents include: 1. The Beginnings of the Story: Gildas and The Historia Britonum of Nennius; 2. The Intermediate Stage: The Annals Cambriae and Annals of St. Michael's Mount, Æthelweard, William of Malmesbury, Henry of Huntingdon; 3. Geoffrey of Monmouth: Outline of Geoffrey's Historia, Geoffrey's Sources: (A) The "Liber Vetustissimus." (B) Nennius, Bede, and Gildas. (C) William of Malmesbury and Henry of Huntingdon. (D) Celtic Records. (E) General History. (F) Myths and Popular Stories; 4. The Arthurian Story After Geoffrey: Certain Early Prose Versions: The Welsh Translations of Geoffrey and the Welsh Chronicles, Henry of Huntingdon's Abridgement of Geoffrey's History in his Letter to Wariners, Benedict of Gloucester, The Liber de Constructione Aliquorum Oppidorum Turonicae Regionis in the Gesta Comitum Andegavensium of Thomas de Loches; Poetical Versions of the First One Hundred and Fifty Years: Geoffrey Gaimer, Wace's Brut,, Draco Normannicus, and Gottfried of Viterbo's Pantheon, Layamon's Brut, The Latin Metrical Versions of Geoffrey's History; The Latin Prose Chronicles of the Twelfth, Thirteenth, and Fourteenth Centuries; The Middle English and Contemporary Anglo-French Metrical Chronicles: Robert of Gloucester, The Anonymous Short Chronicle, Peter Lanhtoft, Thomas Castelford, Robert Mannyng of Brunne; The French Prose Chronicles and their more Direct Derivatives (With other Vernacular Continental Chonicles): Minor Early French Chronicles, The Large Brut and its English Translation with the French and English Literal Translations of Geoffrey's Historia, Philippe Mousket, Jean des Preis, The Scalacronica of Sir Thomas Gray, The Version of Geoffrey's Story included in the Recueil of Sire Jehan de Wavrin, Pierre le Baud's Histoire de Bretagne, Alain Bouchart's Grandes Croniques De Bretaigne, The Cronica Cronicarum, Jehan de Bourdigné's Chroniques d'Anjou et du Maine, Vernacular Spanish Chronicles; Continental Latin Chronicles of the Fifteenth and Sixteenth Centuries; The Scottish Versions: Wyntown and Fordun, John Major, Hector Boece and his Translators; The English and Latin Chronicles of England in the Fifteenth and Sixteenth Centuries: John Capgrave, John Hardyng's Chronicles & an Anonymous Chronicle in Metre, the metrical version of the Story of Arthur's Reign in the Marquis of Bath's Manuscript, The Short English Chronicle of Ms. Lambeth 306, John Ross and Nicholas Cantaloupus, Robert Fabyan, John Rasteel, Polydore Virgil, Arthur Kelton, George Lily, Bishop Cooper, Richard Grafton and John Stow, Raphael Holinshed and William Harrison, William Warner, and Michael Drayton. Individual articles are not lengthy. Gives general summary and excerpts of some works. Good place to begin research.
Littleton, C. Scott, and Linda A. Malcor. From Scythia to Camelot : A Radical Reassessment of the Legends of King Arthur, the Knights of the Round Table, and the Holy Grail. New York : Garland, 1994.
This provocative book argues that Arthurian legend has its roots in Scythian mythology. Not entirely persuasive, but interesting nevertheless.
4. Medieval Arthurian Literature
Lawman. Læmon's Arthur: The Arthurian section of Læmon's Brut, ed. and trans. S. C. Weinberg and W. R. J. Barron. Austin: University of Texas Press, 1989.
A primary source with both ME version and translation. There is a very thorough introduction that is worth reading, which includes helpful background for text in the areas of history, culture, and structure. There is also helpful commentary on the text as well. Translation is very literal.
---. Layamon's Brut: A History of the Britons. Trans. Donald G. Bzdyl. Binghampton: Medieval & Renaissance Texts & Studies, 1989.
A primary source that includes sections on Arthur. A fairly lengthy introduction gives helpful history on work and author. Notes to the translation are included. Translation claims to keep work true to original.
---. Selections from Læamon's Brut, ed. G. L. Brook. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1963.
Primary source. Introduction discusses the differences between Layamon and Wace's Roman and the metre of the Brut. Selections include: the events preceding the begetting of Arthur; his birth, accession, marriage, and victories over the Saxons, Scots, and Irish; the origin of the Roman War; and the Morte. Selections are in ME with a glossary in back.
Lawman and Wace. Arthurian Chronicles. Trans. Eugene Mason. London: Dent, 1962.
A primary source with an introduction. Translates the Arthurian sections of Lawman's Brut and of Wace's Brut (Lawman's immediate source). Introduction gives brief history on the works, Arthurian literature in general, Wace, and Layamon.
Le Saux, Francoise H. M. Læamon's Brut: The Poem and its Sources. Cambridge: D. S. Brewer, 1989.
A secondary source that examines Læamon in-depth. Emphasis is placed on the sources he worked from and/or was influenced by. Chapters include information on the following: Læamon's Brut: Dates and Manuscripts, The Prologue; or: The Acknowledged Sources, From Wace to Læamon, The French Connection, Geoffrey of Monmouth, The Welsh Sources, "An preost wes on leoden," and "An Intensely English Poet." Good source.
4.1.2. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight
Anonymous ("The Gawain Poet"). The Complete Works of the Gawain Poet. Trans. John Gardner. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1965.
A primary source. The introduction seems quite informative and includes information on the poet, conventions and traditions in the poems, the Gawain-Poet's vision of reality, the poet's dramatic sense, the Pearl Group: interpretation, and versification and form. Average translations of Pearl, Purity, Patience, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, and St. Erkenwald are also given.
---. The Complete Works of the Pearl Poet. Trans. Casey Finch. Berkely: California Press, 1993.
A primary source which includes all the known works of the Gawain-poet, Pearl, Cleanness, Patience, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, and Saint Erkenwald, in both the original ME and translation. A long, informative introduction discusses the characteristics of the works and how they serve to reveal information about the poet. The translations are particularly well-done.
---. The Pearl-Poet: His Complete Works. Trans. Margaret Williams. New York: Random House, 1967.
A primary source with a well-done translation of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. The introduction gives information on the book and its maker, the past in the present, the manuscript, the language, the Alliterative Movement, and the author. Background information on the poem is also given using a critical approach. Appendices give information on the manuscript, language, and prosody. Another interesting feature is two quite informative annotated charts on the fourteenth century and Sir Gawain and the Green Knight.
---. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. Trans. Theodore Howard Banks, Jr. New York: Appleton-Century-Crofts, Inc., 1929.
A primary source. The translation is designed for undergraduate and general readers, but the author claims to stay quite true to the original. A very brief introduction on the author and the work is also included.
---. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. Trans. Marie Borroff. New York: W. W. Norton & Company Inc., 1967.
The best translation of the poem. The introduction gives general information on history and style. There is also a section on metrical form.
---. The Works of the Gawain-Poet, ed. Charles Moorman. Jackson: University Press of Mississippi, 1977.
A primary source with works in their original language (ME) with sidenotes and somewhat lengthy and detailed footnotes. The introduction gives brief informative sections on the manuscript, the alliterative revival, authorship, date, and place of composition, sources and analogues, literary art, general themes, the poet's language, and accidence. A fairly extensive bibliography and a very basic glossary are also included.
Barron, W. R. J. Trawthe and treason: The sin of Gawain reconsidered: A thematic study of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1980.
A secondary source that looks at the structural and thematic meaning of hunting, beheading, and temptation in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight and how the work was written in regard to the beliefs and practices of the author's society. Chapter topics include: hunting and wooing, Trawthe and treason, treason to whom?, and the purgation of treason. Strong source.
Blanch, Robert J., ed. Sir Gawain and Pearl: Critical Essays. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1966.
A secondary source with six essays on Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. Topics covered include: The Two Confession Scenes in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Morgan le Fay in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, The Meaning of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Gawain's Shield and the Quest for Perfection, Structure and Symmetry in Sir Gawain, and Myth and Mediaeval Literature: Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. Good source.
Brewer, Elisabeth. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight: Sources and Analogues. Cambridge: D. S. Brewer, 1973.
Provides sources and analogues of the poem in late medieval French and English literature. The introduction gives short summaries of the works. Excerpts from the following are stated after their respective chapter heading: The Feast: Perceval, Morte Arthure, Cleanness, and Chaucer's Squire's Tale and Parson's Tale; The Beheading: Fled Bricread, Perlesvaus, The Girl with the Mule (La Demoiselle à la Mule), and Hunbaut; The Passing of the Year: Kyng Alisaunder, The Secret of Secretes (Secretum Secretorum), and Secrets of old Philisoffres; The Arming of the Warrior: Erec et énide, Winner and Waster, and The Canterbury Tales; Gawain's Arrival at the Castle: The Awntyrs of Arthur, Sir Tristram, The Book of St. Albans, The Avowing of Arthur and The Romance of Guy of Warwick; The Temptation Theme: Yder and The Knight of the Sword (Le Chevalier à l'Epée); The Antifeminist Diatribe: La Mort le Roi Artu, Kyng Alisaunder, and Fall of Princes; Later Versions: The Green Knight, Sir Gawain and the Carl of Carlisle and The Turke and Gowin. Some works are in ME and some are in translation.
Fox, Denton, ed. Twentieth Century Interpretations of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight: A Collection of Critical Essays. Englewood Cliffs: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1968.
Secondary source. History of the work is given in the introduction. Topics discussed in the critical essays include: The Alliterative Revival, Art and Tradition in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, The Third Fitt, Structure and Symmetry in Sir Gawain, The Criticism of Style, Ideals of Knighthood in Late-Fourteenth-Century England, Gawain: His Reputation, His Courtesy, and His Appearance in Chaucer's Squire's Tale, and Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. Short viewpoints on the text from Heinrich Zimmer, E. Talbot Donaldson, C.S. Lewis, A.C. Spearing, Cecily Clark, and Ralph W.V. Elliot are also included.
Johnson, Lynn Staley. The Voice of the Gawain-Poet. Madison: The University of Wisconsin Press, 1984.
A secondary source with critical readings of Pearl, Purity, Patience, and Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. The author discusses the language and structure of the poems, their literary, social, and religious contexts, and the parallel themes that link the poems. ME excerpts of the works are used throughout. An appendix, De Maria Magdalena, is also included.
Kittredge, George Lyman. A Study of Gawain and the Green Knight. Gloucester: Harvard University Press, 1960.
A secondary source that traces the history of the poem and illustrates general topics in medieval literature. The contents include: I. The English Romance; II. The Challenge; or, the Beheading Game, which includes the Irish Versions, le Livre de Caradoc, the French Romance of the Challenge, la Mule Sanz Frain, Perlesvaus, Hunbaut, the Anglo-Norman Romance of the Challenge, and Recapitulation; III. The Temptation, which includes Ider, the Carl of Carlisle, le Chevalier à l'épée, the Canzoni and the Exempla, Humbaut, the Principle of Manners (Rauf Coilyear), and the Version used in the French Gawain and the Green Knight; and IV. The Combined Plot of Gawain and the Green Knight, which includes the Turk and Gawain and the Green Knight in the Percy Manuscript. Part II. discusses the ideas in Sir Gawain more generally and as they appear in other works.
Putter, Ad. An Introduction to the Gawain-Poet. Eds. Charlotte Brewer and N. H. Keeble. London: Longman, 1996.
A secondary source with emphasis on the historical and cultural context of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Patience, Pearl, and Cleanness and how these reveal the social circumstances and historical situation of the Gawain-poet. Works are presented in their original ME and in translation. Overall, an interesting, easy-to-read source.
Savage, Henry Lyttleton. The Gawain-Poet: Studies in His Personality and Background. Chapel Hill: The University of North Carolina Press, 1956.
A secondary source that proposes hypotheses on the poet and his origins with evidence from his work, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. The first section of the source, "Master Anonymous," gives information and history on the poem and the poet. The second section is entitled "Symbolism and Allegory in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. In the final section, "A French Knight of the Garter," the author argues that Sir Gawain may have been based on the true story of Princess Isabella, the aunt of Richard II, and Sire de Coucy. Several appendices give additional information on this argument, plus information on linguistic evidence as to place of origin of the author of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, the date of Sir Gawain, the Pentangle, the meaning of Sir Gawain (lines 862-71), and the possible position and status of the author of Sir Gawain.
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight: A Comedy for Christmas. Trans. Theodore Silverstein. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1974.
A primary source that appears to have been translated more for entertainment and a general audience than for scholarship purposes. May be useful for a "quick read."
Spearing, A. C. The Gawain-Poet: A Critical Study. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1970.
A secondary source with an essay on Sir Gawain and Green Knight that covers the following: the story, linked plots, the testing of Gawain, and a verdict on Gawain's performance. Background information on the poet and the alliterative tradition is also given. ME excerpts are used throughout.
4.1.3 The Middle English Stanzaic and Alliterative Morte
Benson, Larry D., ed. King Arthur's Death: The Middle English Stanzaic Morte Arthur and Alliterative Morte Arthure. Indianapolis: The Bobbs-Merril Company, Inc., 1974.
A primary source that is edited for readers with no training in ME. A short history on the texts and guides to pronunciation, grammar, versification, style, and vocabulary are included. A helpful bibliography and glossary are also included. Texts are easy-to-read with helpful sidenotes. Excellent translations.
Krishna, Valerie, ed. The Alliterative Morte Arthure. New York: Burt Franklin & Co., Inc., 1976.
Primary source. The introduction includes information on the manuscript, spelling and sounds, forms and inflections, vocabulary, dialect, the author, date, editions, the story, sources, genre, alliteration and meter, and formulas and style. Massive glossary and nice bibliography are also included. Text is in ME.
---. The Alliterative Morte Arthure: A New Verse Translation. Washington D. C.: University Press of America, Inc., 1983.
A primary source with a decent, easy-to-read translation of the work. A brief introduction gives information on the Arthurian legend, the genre, the story, the Alliterative Revival, general characteristics of versification, stress, alliteration, and formulas.
✶Archibald, Elizabeth, and A.S.G. Edwards, ed. A Companion to Malory. Cambridge: D. S. Brewer, 1996.
A collection of essays by notable Malory scholars, each introducing a particular issue of relevance to studying the Morte Darthur. Great place to get started. Essays include: ""The hoole book" : editing and the creation of meaning in Malory's text" by Carol M. Meale; "Chivalry and the Morte Darthur" by Richard Barber; "The place of women in the Morte Darthur" by Elizabeth Edwards; "Contextualizing Le Morte Darthur: empire and civil war" by Felicity Riddy; "Malory and his sources" by Terence McCarthy; "Language and style in Malory" by Jeremy Smith; "The Malory life-records" by P.J.C. Field; "Beginnings : The tale of King Arthur and King Arthur and the Emperor Lucius" by Elizabeth Archibald; "The Tale of Sir Gareth and the Tale of Sir Lancelot" by Barbara Nolan; "The book of Sir Tristram de Lyones" by Helen Cooper; "Malory and the Grail legend" by Jill Mann; "The ending of the Morte Darthur" by C. David Benson; "The reception of Malory's Morte darthur" by A.S.G. Edwards.
✶Benson, Larry D. Malory's Morte Darthur. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1976.
A secondary source that studies the text in its literary and historical context and traditions. Author also discusses topics such as the genre of Morte Darthur, the work in relation to the English romance tradition, narrative structure, and chivalry in terms of historic concerns. Chapters topics include: I. Malory and Arthurian Romances: Malory and the Prose Cycles and Fifteenth-Century Prose Romance; II. Malory and English Romance: Techniques of Adaptation (The Tale of King Arthur and Arthur and Lucius), Thematic Convention (A Noble Tale of Sir Lancelot), The Tale of Sir Gareth, and The Book of SirTristram; III. Malory and Chivalry: Fifteenth-Century Chivalry, Knighthood in Life and in Literature, and The Realism of Fifteenth-Century Romance; IV. The Fall of Camelot: The Tale of the Sancgreal, The Book of Sir Lancelot and Guenevere, and The Death of Arthur. A fairly extensive bibliography is also included. Excerpts are in translation.
✶Field, P. J. C. The Life and Times of Sir Thomas Malory. Cambridge: D.S. Brewer, 1993.
The definitive biographical study on Sir Thomas Malory. Much of the book is devoted to proving that the traditional candidate, "Sir Thomas Malory of Newbold Revel," is indeed the author of the Morte Darthur. There is excellent background information as well. The only problem with the volume is its density. A highly scholarly source; not "light reading," but a "must" for those who want to learn more about Sir Thomas Malory.
–. Malory: Texts and Sources. Cambridge: D. S. Brewer, 1998.
A collection of twenty-three essays that deal with various issues concerning "texts and sources." Well worth consulting, but somewhat of a "grab-bag" (that is, the volume is not a systematic study of Malory's texts and sources, but rather a series of essays on individual issues): if it has an essay on your subject, it will be a rewarding source.
✶Hardyment, Christina. Malory: The Knight Who Became King Arthur's Chronicler. NY: Harper Perennial, 2005.
A highly readable, if somewhat speculative, account of Malory's life. Much of the book is based on P. J. C. Field's authoritative, scholarly book. If you read nothing else about Malory, read this.
✶Kennedy, Beverly. Knighthood in the Morte Darthur. Cambridge: D. S. Brewer, 1985.
A secondary source that discusses all aspects of
chivalry in Malory's work.
Malory, Sir Thomas. King Arthur and His Knights: Selected Tales by Sir Thomas Malory, ed. Eugène Vinaver. London: Oxford University Press, 1975.
A primary source with fairly decent translations of Merlin, Balin, or The Knight with the Two Swords, Pelleas and Ettard, The Knight of the Cart, Lancelot and Elain, The Holy Grail, The Poisoned Apple, The Fair Maid of Astolat, and The Death of King Arthur, or The Most Piteous Tale of the Morte Arthur Saunz Guerdon. The introduction is not particularly helpful.
---. Le Morte D'Arthur: The Seventh and Eighth Tales. Ed. P. J. C. Field. New York: Holmes & Mier Publishers, 1977.
A primary source which includes "Lancelot and Guenivere" and "Le Morte Darthur" in ME with footnotes. There is also helpful commentary on the text. The introduction is very basic, but it has information on the following: Arthur, the legends, the social and intellectual background, feudal chivalry, church and court, the end of an ideal, the romances, Sir Thomas Malory, 'The Whole Book of Arthur,' the Morte Darthur and the world of knighthood, style, and tragedy, mystery, and triumph. Perhaps a place to start if Middle English and Malory are new to the student/scholar.
---. Le Morte D'Arthur Volumes 1 &2. London: Everyman's Library, 1906.
A primary source in two volumes. The first volume includes an introduction that gives some information on the history of the author, the work, and it sources. The second volume includes a glossary. The work is presented in its original language.
---. Le Morte d'Arthur : The Winchester MS. Ed. Helen Cooper. NY: Oxford UP, 1998.
A modernized one-volume version of the Winchester MS version of the Morte.
✶McCarthy, Terence. An Introduction to Malory. Cambridge: D. S. Brewer, 1988.
An excellent place to begin learning more about the Morte Darthur. The major sections are: "How to read Malory," which analyzes the work's overall structure and the relationship between various episodes and books; "A reading of the Morte Darthur," where the author deals with two large themes in Malory's work, love and chivalry; in "Against interpretation," McCarthy tackles some issues that are likely to bother modern readers, such as an occasional lack of realism, stiff or unrealistic characterization, etc; "Methods and Materials," which gives background on the Arthurian texts that influenced Malory, and shows how he refashioned his sources into a unique work; "Background and Bibliography," which deals mostly with the question of Malory's identity; and "The Impact of the Morte Darthur," where McCarthy reflects on the influence that Malory's work has had on literature and culture.
Vinaver, Eugène. Malory. London: Oxford University Press, 1929.
A secondary source with chapters that include information on the following: Sir Thomas Malory and His Printer, The Genesis of Arthurian Romance, Narrative Technique, Romance and Realism, The Genius of Chivalry, Camelot and Corbenic, The New Arthuriad, and Translation and Style. Beginning summary on Malory's background and writing style may be helpful and there are also two interesting appendices with materials for Malory's biography and the sources of Morte Darthur. The work was written before the discovery of an Arthurian manuscript in 1934 by W. F. Oakeshott, which changed popular views of Malory, and the author states in the preface that the criticism and arguments would be considered outdated by most scholars. However, Vinaver is still considered the most important critic of Malory.
Wheeler, Bonnie, Robert L Kindrick, and Michael Norman Salda, eds. The Malory Debate: Essays on the Texts of Le Morte Darthur. Cambridge: D.S. Brewer, 2000.
The "debate" in question deals with three connected questions: Which of the two texts – the Caxton version or the Winchester ms – more closely presents the Morte Darthur as Malory really wrote it? How much of the Caxton version can be attributed Malory, how much to Caxton himself? And is the Morte a single work, or a series of works unified only by the general topic ("King Arthur and the Round Table")? Fifteen essays deal with various aspects of these questions.
Bedier, Joseph. Tristan and Iseult. Trans. Hilaire Belloc and Paul Rosenfeld. New York: Pantheon Books, Inc., 1945.
A primary source and the first complete English edition of this work, retold by a Frenchman. In particular, it brings together details from many different versions of the tale including details from the works of Eilhart von Oberg, Gottfried von Strassburg, and Beroul. The translation is nice, simple, and easy-to-read.
Blakeslee, Merritt R. Love's Masks: Identity, Intertextuality, and Meaning in the Old French Tristan Poems. Cambridge: D. S. Brewer, 1989.
A secondary source that looks at the broad meanings of the Tristan poems and metaphorical elements within them. Author focuses on the following works: the Tristan of Beroul, the Tristan of Thomas of Britain, the Folies Tristan of Bern and Oxford, the Lai du Chevrefoil of Marie de France, the episode of Tristan rossignol from the Donnei des amanz (Tros), and the episode of Tristan minestrel from Gerbert de Montreuil's continuation of Chrétien's Perceval. Contents and some of the topics covered include: Introduction: Methodology and Critical Presuppositions: Focus on Tristan, the Comparatist Perspective, the Lost Portions of Beroul and Thomas, the Episode of the Intertwining Trees in Thomas, the Narrative Structure of the French Tristan Poems, and the Sources of the Extant French Tristan Poems; I. Tristan's Social Identities: Tristan's Personae, Tristan's Antecedents, Tristan's Person and Education, Physical Descriptions, Education and Skills, Tristan the Knight:the order and the Counter-order, Tristan the Musician, Tristan and Orpheus, Tristan the Hunter and Woodsman; II. Tristan's Disguises: Narrative Functions of the Disguises, The Disguise as Metaphor, Bestorner: the Disguise as Adynaton, Tristan the Leper, Tristan Fou: The Deranged Fool, The Witty Fool: Menestrel, Jongleur, Court Fool, Tristan as Jongleur in Tristan menestrel, The Oracular Fool, Tristan the Nightingale, Tristan the Wilde Man in the Folie d'Oxford; III. Tristan Victim and Savior, Tristan the Trickster, Tristan's Trickery, Mutability and Shape-shifting in Thomas, Catharsis and Mediation; and IV. Intertextuality and the Elaboration of Meaning in the Old French Tristan Poems. A very nice works consulted is also included and would serve as a great research aid. Some excerpts used are in original and some are in translation. Strong source.
The Romance of Tristan: The Thirteenth-Century Old French 'Prose Tristan'. Trans. Renee L. Curtis. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1994.
A primary source with translations of parts of the work linked to the Tristan legend and a synopsis in smaller type of sections not related to the traditional story. A short introduction gives background information helpful for the beginner, student, and scholar. The notes at the back clarify medieval practices, customs and institutions, names, and places. An index of proper names is also included. Nice translation.
Bednar, John. La Spiritualité et le Symbolisme dans les Oeuvres de Chrétien de Troyes. Paris: Librairie A. G. Nizet, 1974.
A secondary source on the spirituality and symbolism in the works of Chrétien de Troyes. Chapter topics include: the twelfth century, Chrétien de Troyes, Erec et énide, Cligés, Le Chevalier de la Charrette, the poems, Le Chevalier au Lion, and Perceval. Work is in French.
Bezzola, Reto R. Le sens de l'Aventure et de l'Amour (Chrétien de Troyes). Paris: Champion, 1968.
A secondary source that discusses adventure and love in the works of Chrétien de Troyes. Work is in French.
Borodine, Myrrha. La Femme et l'Amour au XIIe Siècle: D'Après les Poèmes de Chrétien de Troyes. Genève: Slatkine Reprints, 1967.
A secondary source on women and love in the twelfth-century poems of Chrétien de Troyes. Works discussed include: Erec et énide, Cligés, Le Conte de la Charette, Le Chevalier au Lion, and Le Conte du Graal. In particular, the author focuses on the relationships between Erec and énide, Lancelot and Gunievere, Yvain and Laudine, and Perceval and Blancheflor. Work is in French.
Fowler, David C. Prowess and Charity in the Perceval of Chrétien de Troyes. Seattle: University of Washington Press, 1959.
A secondary source concerned with Grail symbolism as it relates to Chrétien's own artistic purpose. Work includes the author's views and arguments on theme, structure, medieval methods of composition, and Chrétien as a master of psychological realism. The author looks at each section of Perceval separately in chronological order. Short, brief source.
Frappier, Jean. Chrétien de Troyes et le Mythe du Graal: étude sur Perceval ou le Conte du Graal. Paris: Société d'édition d'Enseignement Supérieur, 1972.
A secondary source with analysis and commentary on the work and the development of Perceval as a character in Arthurian literature. Source is entirely in French.
Maddox, Donald. The Arthurian Romances of Chrétien de Troyes: Once and future fictions. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1991.
A secondary source which discusses Chrétien's works as an interrelated textual ensemble. Maddox also focuses on Troyes' reconceptualization of the Arthurian tradition, intratextual and intertextual issues, legal themes, dominant social and political features, and the legacy of Uther. Chapter headings are as follows: 1. Rex quondam: Arthurian tradition and the anterior order; 2. Safely through the realm: customs in Le Chevalier de la charette; 3. Tenir terre: customs in Le Chevalier au Lion; 4. Rexque futurus: the anterior order in Le Conte du graal; 5. Arthurian intertextuality: crisis and custom; and Conclusion: Literary customs and the socio-historical question. An extensive bibliography is also included. Excerpts from the original French text can be found throughout. Very focused, strong source.
Pickens, Rupert T. The Welsh Knight: Paradoxicality in Chrétien's Conte del Graal. Lexington: French Forum, Publishers, 1977.
A secondary source which provides an in-depth look at the work and the ironic and paradoxical within it. Also looks generally at the function of irony and paradox in the pre-modernist mode. Topics discussed include: I. Coinjointure: A Hero in Search of a Romance, II. Point of View: Judgement, Evaluation and Interpretation, III. Paradox and Structure: Perceval the Welshman, and the conclusion, Romance Exploded.
Troyes, Chrétien de. Lancelot or The Knight of the Cart. Trans. Ruth Harwood Cline. Athens: The University of Georgia Press, 1990.
A primary source. The introduction gives brief information about the life and works of Chrétien de Troyes, Arthur in history, Arthur and Guinevere in literature, Celtic influence in Lancelot, courtly love, a summary of the work, interpretations, characterization, continuations, the manuscript tradition, translating Old French, and considerations of form.
---. Le Roman de Perceval où Le Conte du Graal. Paris: La Bibliothèque Nationale, 1959.
A primary source in Old French.
---. Les Romans de Chrétien de Troyes: I. Erec et Enide. Paris: Mario Roques, 1963.
A primary source with research and information aids. Seems to be an informative and helpful research tool. Work is in French.
---. Les Romans de Chrétien de Troyes: II. Cligés. Paris: Alexandre Micha, 1965.
A primary source with research and information aids. Appears to be a helpful source. Work is in French.
---. Les Romans de Chrétien de Troyes: III. Le Chevalier de la Charrete. Paris: Mario Roques, 1963.
A primary source with research and information aids. Seems to be an informative and helpful research tool. Work is in French.
---. Perceval: The Story of the Grail. Trans. Nigel Bryant. Cambridge: D. S. Brewer, 1982.
A primary source that includes the poem and all four Continuations. Nice translation.
Wilson, Katharina M., ed. Medieval Women Writers. Athens: The University of Georgia Press, 1984.
A secondary source and collection of historical essays. An essay entitled "The French Courtly Poet: Marie de France" is included and Yonec and some of her Fables are discussed and provided in translation. A brief history of the author is also given.
The Writings of Medieval Women. Trans. Marcelle Thiébaux. New York: Garland Publishing, Inc., 1987.
A primary source that includes "A Lai of Courtly Romance and Two Fables" Marie de France." A short history of the author is given. The translation is decent and simple.
✶Lacy, Norris J., ed. Lancelot-Grail: The Old French Arthurian Vulgate and Post-Vulgate in Translation Volume I. Trans. Carol J. Chase and Rupert T. Pickens. New York: Garland Publishing, Inc., 1993.
A primary source and part of a collection of five volumes. Volume one includes an introduction with a brief history on the Vulgate works and translations of The History of the Holy Grail and The Story of Merlin. Throughout all five volumes, notes are given about textual and cultural information and the editor describes all of the translations as reasonable and "matter-of-fact."
---. Lancelot-Grail: The Old French Arthurian Vulgate and Post Vulgate in Translation Volume II. Trans. Samuel N. Rosenberg and Carleton W. Carroll. New York: Garland Publishing, Inc., 1993.
A primary source that includes translations of parts I-III of Lancelot.
---. Lancelot-Grail: The Old French Arthurian Vulgate and Post-Vulgate in Translation Volume III. Trans. Roberta L. Krueger, Williams W. Kibler, and Carleton W. Carroll. New York: Garland Publishing, Inc., 1995.
A primary source that includes translations of parts IV-VI of Lancelot.
---. Lancelot-Grail: The Old French Arthurian Vulgate and Post-Vulgate in Translation Volume IV. Trans. E. Jane Burns, Norris J. Lacy, and Martha Asher. New York: Garland Publishing, Inc., 1995.
A primary source that includes translations of The Quest for the Holy Grail and The Death of Arthur. An introduction to the Post-Vulgate Cycle and a translation of part I: The Merlin Continuation are also included.
---. Lancelot-Grail: The Old French Arthurian Vulgate and Post-Vulgate in Translation Volume V. Trans. Martha Asher. New York: Garland Publishing, Inc., 1996.
A primary source that includes translations of parts I-III of The Merlin Continuation, The Quest for the Holy Grail, and The Death of Arthur. Chapter summaries for all volumes and an index of proper names are also included in this volume.
---. From Camelot to Joyous Guard: The Old French La Mort le Roi Artu. Trans. J. Neale Carman. Lawrence: The University Press of Kansas, 1974.
A primary source with Lancelot as the central character of the work.. A short introduction with information on the Lancelot-Grail Cycle, La Mort le Roi Artu, early history of Lancelot, and a concordance is also included.
Wace and Layamon. Arthurian Chronicles. Trans. Eugene Mason. London: Dent, 1962.
A primary source with an introduction. Introduction gives brief history on the works, Arthurian literature in general, Wace, and Layamon. Fair translations of Wace's Roman de Brut and Layamon's Brut are also included.
✶Bromwich, Rachel, A. O. H. Jarman, and Brynley F. Roberts. The Arthur of the Welsh: The Arthurian Legend in Medieval Welsh Literature. Cardiff : University of Wales Press, 1991.
Definitive source for the "Welsh Arthur." If you're interested in figures like Merlin, or in works like the Mabinogion, this will be the place to go.
Breeze, Andrew. Medieval Welsh Literature. Dublin: Four Courts Press, 1997.
A secondary source written for students and general readers. Includes a chapter on The Mabinogion that argues that the work was written by a woman. Excerpts from the work are given in translation throughout the essay.
Green, Miranda J. Celtic Myths. Austin: University of Texas Press, 1994.
If you are interesting in learning more about the religious and mythological background for Celtic legends about Arthur, this is a good place to start.
Lanier, Sidney, ed. The Boy's Mabinogion: Being the Earliest Welsh Tales of King Arthur. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1881.
A primary source translated and edited for a younger audience. The introduction gives information about the work's relevance to late-19th-century issues. May be useful in research on development of this particular work.
Piggott, Stuart. The Druids. NY: Thames and Hudson, 1985.
Good background information about druids, the Celtic priests whose religious practices may have influenced Arthurian legends through myth and ritual.
–, and T. G. Powell. The Celts. NY: Thames and Hudson, 1983.
This book nicely complements Green's volume above. Piggott and Powell are stronger on history and culture, while Green deals mostly with myth. Want more general information about the Celts? This will probably be the book for you.
Stephens, Thomas. The Literature of the Kymry: Being a Critical Essay on the History of the Language and Literature of Wales. Ed. Rev. D. Silvan Evans. London: Longmans, Green, and Co., 1876.
A secondary source with information on Arthurian literature. Information given is based more on historical fact than opinion or criticism. Contents related to Arthurian literature are: Historical Sketch of Cambrian Literature Prior to the Twelfth Century: Taliesin, Merddin; Mythological Poems, Usually Attributed to Taliesin; Poems Fictitiously Attributed to Merddin and Others; Information on Geoffrey's History; and The Mabinogion; Classified: Arthur, a Creation of the Armorican Kymry, Authors of the Mabigogion, the Greal. Some general criticism is given at the end. Excerpts are both in their original and English translations. Watch out for outdated materials.
Jones, Charles W., ed. Medieval Literature in Translation. New York: David McKay Company, Inc., 1950.
A primary source that includes a section of Arthurian literature. Works included are: Geoffrey of Monmouth's Histories of the Kings of Britain, Wace's "The Gestes of Arthur," from Roman de Brut, Marie de France's Sir Launfal, Gottfried von Strassburg's selections from Tristan and Iseult, and Wolfram von Eschenbach's Parzival, Book IX. There are several different translators, so the translations all vary from each other a great deal.
Lupack, Alan, ed. Arthurian Drama: An Anthology. New York: Garland Publishing, Inc., 1991.
A primary source which includes The Birth of Merlin, King Arthur by John Dryden, King Arthur by J. Comyns Carr, The Birth of Galahad, Tristram and Isoult, and The Masque of the Grail. Decent background information is given in the introduction. A list of printed Arthurian drama in English is also included.
Newell, William Wells. King Arthur and the Table Round. v. 1 & 2. Boston: Houghton, Mifflin, and Co., 1897.
A primary source with translations of the following tales: Eric and énide, Alexander and Soredamor, The Knight of the Lion, Perceval, The Maid with the Narrow Sleeves, Merlin, Lancelot of the Lake, The Quest of the Holy Grail, The Maid of Escalot, and The Death of Arthur. Introduction also provides information on Chrétien of Troyes and his history, Arthurian origins, prose romances, and Idylls of the King, which is based mostly on his personal views. Translations read like popular literature. Easy reading, but be alert for outdated ideas and material.
Shepherd, Stephen H. A., ed. Middle English Romances. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 1995.
This work may be used as both a primary and secondary source. Pertinent primary works include Ywain and Gawain, The Awntyrs off Arthure at the Terne Wathelyne, and The Weddyng of Syr Gawen and Dame Ragnell, which are all presented in their original ME with helpful footnotes. The editor includes concise and informative background information on each piece and information on related works, which allows the reader to understand the works in the context of related medieval ideas. There is also a section of criticism, which includes an essay on Ywain and Gawain, in addition to "Definitions of Middle English Romance", "Improvisation in the Middle English Romance", and "The Audience of the Romances." The bibliography is extensive and could be a useful research tool.
✶Wilhelm, James J. and Laila Zamuelis, eds. The Romance of Arthur. New York: Garland Publishing, Inc., 1984.
A primary source, which is an anthology of modern works including: "Arthur in the Latin Chronicles," which includes short excerpts from Historia Brittonum, The Annals of Cambria, The Legend of St. Goeznovius, The Deeds of the English Kings, and On the Instruction of Princes; "Arthur in the Early Welsh Tradition," which includes The Gododdin, "Elegy for Owain son of Urien," "The Stanzas of the Graves," "Geraint filius Erbin," "The Spoils of Annum," "The Triads of the Isle of Britain," and an untitled piece from The Black Book of Carmarthen; "The Tale of Culwch and Olwen;" "Arthur in Geoffrey of Monmouth;" "Chrétien de Troyes: Lancelot or The Knight of the Cart;" "Sir Gawain and the Green Knight;" "The Alliterative Morte Arthure;" and "Sir Thomas Malory: Le Morte Darthur." Each chapter gives background information on the work(s) and a bit of general history about the time period when they were written. Reading list in the back could be a helpful research tool. Well-done translations. Fairly strong, interesting source.
✶Wilhelm, James J., ed. The Romance of Arthur II. New York, Garland Publishing, Inc., 1986.
A primary source, which includes the following: Wace: Roman de Brut (Merlin Episodes and "The Birth and Rise of Arthur"); Layamon: Brut ("The Death of Arthur"); The Story of Peredur Son of Efrog; The Lay of Graelent; Chrétien de Troyes: Yvain or The Knight with the Lion; Beroul: The Romance of Tristan; Marie de France: The Lay of Chievrefueil (The Honeysuckle); Thomas of Britain: Tristan ('The Death Scene'); and Episodes from the Prose Merlin and the Suite du Merlin. Each chapter gives background information on the work and a bit of general history about the time period when it was written. Reading list includes works in other languages. Well-done translations. Fairly strong, interesting source.
5. Arthurian Literature, 1500-1900
✶Cheney, Liana De Girolami, ed. Pre-Raphaelitism and Medievalism in the Arts. Lewiston, NY, Queeston, Ontario, and Lampeter, Wales: Edwin Mellen, 1992.
Collection of essays about the Pre-Raphaelites. There's an introduction, as well as the following essays: "The Medieval Spirit of Pre-Raphaelitism," "Divided Self, Divided Realm: Typology, History, and Persona in Tennyson's Idylls of the King," "The Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood as Knights of the Round Table," "Sir Gawain, Sir Lancelot, the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood and Tennyson," "The Influence of Christine de Pizan on Dante Gabriel Rosseti and Elizabeth Siddal," "Sacred and Profane Gardens: Self-Reflection and Desire in Pre-Raphaelite Painting and the Poetry of the Rossettis," "Love and Death: The Function of the Grotesque in the Paintings of Edward Burne-Jones," "Locks, Tresses and Manes in Pre-Raphaelite Paintings," "Womanly Noblesse: The Influence of Courtly Love Tradition on Edward Burne-Jones," "Burne-Jones, Swinburne, and the Laus Veneris," "The Fair Lady and the Virgin in Pre-Raphaelite Art: The Evolution of a Societal Myth," and "William Morris and the Ideal Book." The selected bibliography is also useful.
✶Girouard, Mark. The Return to Camelot: Chivalry and the English Gentleman. New Haven and London: Yale UP, 1981.
A fascinating study of the revival of chivalry from the eighteenth century to WWI. Girouard is concerned primarily with the ideological dimensions of this revival – that is, what influence the concepts of chivalry had on values, world view, and politics of – but there is much information about literature and the arts as well.
Millican, Charles Bouie. Spenser and the Table Round: A Study in the Contemporaneous Background for Spenser's Use of the Arthurian Legend. New York: Octagon Books, Inc., 1967.
A secondary source with historical perspective and Arthurian background of Tudor and Stuart England. Topics covered include: the Early Tudor Period, the Reign of Elizabeth, Literary Criticism, and the Early Stuart Period. Excerpts are in original language. Interesting, different, helpful source.
✶Staines, David. Tennyson's Camelot: The Idylls of the King and Its Medieval Sources. Waterloo: Wilfrid Laurier University Press, 1982.
Secondary source which provides an in-depth look at the subject with excerpts from primary sources. Chapters included are: On the Road to Camelot; 1859: The Four Women Enid, Vivien, Elaine, Guinevere; 1869: The Holy Grail. The Coming of Arthur, The Holy Grail, Pelleas and Ettare, The Passing of Arthur; 1873: Autumn and Spring. The Last Tournament, Gareth and Lyntte; Towards a Completion: Balin and Balan; The Realm of Tennyson's King; Epilogue: Alfred Tennyson and Victorian Arthuriana; Appendices: Morte D'Arthur, Collinsun's Somersetshire, The Seduction of Merlin, and The Prose Drafts of The Idylls of the King. A chronology of the composition of the Idylls is also included.
✶Tennyson, Alfred Lord. Idylls of the King. London: Macmillan, 1952.
A standard edition of the great Victorian poet's retelling of the Arthurian legend.
✶Twain, Mark. A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court, ed. Shelley Fisher Fishkin. New York: Oxford University Press, 1996.
A primary source. A facsimile edition of Twain's novel that includes all the original illustrations.
---. A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court, ed. Allison R. Ensor. New York and London: Norton, 1982.
Critical edition with useful backgrounds, sources, and criticism.
6. Modern Arthurian Literature
Berger, Thomas. Arthur Rex: A Legendary Novel. New York: Delacorte Press/Seymour Lawrence, 1978.
Includes most, if not all, facets of the legend. Arthur's birth and rise to king, the Round Table, Tristam and Isold, Gawain and the Green Knight, and Mordred are examples of the tales retold in this work. Watch for deviations from traditional legend.
Cooper, Susan. The Dark is Rising. New York, Atheneum, 1973.
This book is the first in the "Dark Is Rising" series. Takes elements from Arthurian legend and sets them in modern times. This book won the prestigious Newberry Award for Juvenile fiction.
Lerner, Alan Jay, and Frederick Loewe. Camelot. New York: Random House, 1961.
Based on The Once and Future King by T.H. White. Short history of the musical is given.
Stewart, Mary. The Crystal Cave. New York: William Morrow & Co, Inc., 1970.
First book of The Merlin Trilogy, a modern retelling of the Arthurian legend from Merlin's point of view. Mixes elements of fantasy literature as well. Began the vogue of novels telling the Arthurian legend from the point of view of a minor character.
---. The Hollow Hills. New York: William Morrow & Co., Inc., 1973.
Second book in The Merlin Trilogy. This particular work focuses on Arthur as child and his rise to king.
---. The Last Enchantment. New York: William Morrow & Co., Inc., 1979.
Third book in The Merlin Trilogy. This particular work introduces Mordred and focuses on the battle between Merlin and Morgause.
---. The Wicked Day. New York: William Morrow & Co., Inc., 1983.
Focuses on the relationship between Mordred and Arthur and the latter's fall by betrayal.
Sutcliff, Rosemary. Sword at Sunset. New York: Coward-McCann, 1963.
One of the best-known retellings of the legend as historical fiction.
White, T. H. The Book of Merlyn. Austin: University of Texas Press, 1977.
See next entry.
---. The Once and Future King. New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons, 1958.
Best-known modern treatment of the Arthurian legend. Uses Malory as the primary source. Four books, "The Sword in the Stone," "The Queen of Air and Darkness," "The Ill-Made Knight," and "The Candle in the Wind," make up the work.
---. The Sword in the Stone. London: Collins Clear-Type Press, 1951.
See above entry.
7. Retellings, Unusual Editions, and Film Versions
Donaldson, John W., ed. Arthur Pendragon of Britain. New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons, 1943.
A primary source edited and translated from Sir Thomas Malory's Le Morte D'Arthur. The editor has cut and rearranged the story and claims that his translation is more realistic and straightforward than the original.
Guerber, H. A. Legends of the Middle Ages: Narrated with Special Reference to Literature and Art. New York: American Book Company, 1896.
A secondary source with some Arthurian works. Works included are: Titueil and the Holy Grail, Merlin, The Round Table, and Tristan and Iseult. These are not translations. In each section, a short history of the legend is given and then excerpts are used in a summary of the tale. The author claims to have condensed them so they can be understood better. Be aware that this is an older source.
Perry, George. The Life of Python. NY: Little, Brown, and Co., 1984
Biography of the legendary comedy troupe, with some interesting information about "The Quest for the Holy Grail."
Steinbeck, John. The Acts of King Arthur and His Noble Knights. Ed. Chase Horton. New York: Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, 1976.
A primary source and the unfinished, modern retelling of Malory's Morte Darthur. Chapters are as follows: Merlin, the Knight with the Two Swords, the Wedding of King Arthur, the Death of Merlin, Morgan le Fay, Gawain, Ewain, Marhault, and the Noble Tale of Sir Lancelot of the Lake. An appendix presents excerpts of letters from Steinbeck to his literary agent about the work. May be helpful with research on development of the legend.
Umland, Rebecca A., and Samuel Umland. The Use of Arthurian Legend in Hollywood Film. Westport, Conn : Greenwood Press, 1996.
Your first port of call when dealing with Arthurian movies (as well as the use of Arthurian motifs and characters in film generally). Excellent source.
8. Online Materials
Please consult the materials collected on the course website, available at:
vault.hanover.edu/~battles/arthur