Arthurian Literature Xiv

The principal article in this issue examines in detail a group of heraldic manuscripts: an armorial of the Knights of the Round Table, with a number of their arms reproduced in full colour, the treatise on Arthurian tournaments by Jacques d'Armagnac, and the treatise on blazon by Clément Prinsault. A scholarly edition of the two treatises is provided, and the texts are discussed in an introductory section emphasising the importance of Arthurian heraldry. The arms of 150 knights are painted in the manuscripts and blazoned, and 59 of them are reproduced in 10 pages of full-colour plates. Other articles address the underlying theme of the Conte de Graal, in which Alexander is seen as representing the negative aspects of charity; Robert de Boron's endeavours to produce a coherent Arthuriad; and correspondences between the Arthurian tellings of two Old French authors, Manessier and Gerbert de Montreuil. Contributors: BARBARA SARGENT-BAUR, FANNI BOGDANOW, LOUISE D. STEVENS, LISA JEFFERSON.

This is the first comprehensive book on the Arthurian legend in medieval and Renaissance Italy since Edmund Gardner’s 1930 The Arthurian Legend in Italian Literature. Arthurian material reached all levels of Italian society, from princely courts with their luxury books and frescoed palaces, to the merchant classes and even popular audiences in the piazza, which enjoyed shorter retellings in verse and prose. Unique assemblages emerge on Italian soil, such as the Compilation of Rustichello da Pisa or the innovative Tavola Ritonda, in versions made for both Tuscany and the Po Valley. Chapters examine the transmission of the French romances across Italy; reworkings in various Italian regional dialects; the textual relations of the prose Tristan; narrative structures employed by Italian writers; later ottava rima poetic versions in the new medium of printed books; the Arthurian-themed art of the Middle Ages and Renaissance; and more. The Arthur of the Italians offers a rich corpus of new criticism by scholars who have brought the Italian Arthurian material back into critical conversation.

Intended as "the other bookend" to Jessie Weston's work some eighty years earlier, this essay collection provides a careful overview of recent scholarship on possible overlap between Arthurian literature and Christianity. From Ritual to romance and Notes, taken together, bracket contemporary inquiry into the relationship (if any) between Jesus and Arthur. T.S. Eliot's "The Waste Land" is here regarded as one strand joining this matter to many a recent literary riddle (such as the meaning of the term "postmodernism"). Without reprinting work readily available elsewhere and no longer subject to revision through dialogue with fellow contributors, Notes attempts to do justice to all sides in twentieth century exploration of christianity's contribution to an art form which is also grounded in early European polytheism ("paganism").

The most recent research in matters Arthurian, by leading scholars in the field.

This fourth volume of entries, culled in the main from BBSIA, covers the years 1933 to 1998 inclusive. The cumulative volumes of the Bibliography offer an exhaustive author and title database of the burgeoning scholarship in this field.

This first comprehensive treatment of Arthurian literature in the English language up until the end of the Middle Ages is now available for the first time in paperback. English people think of Arthur as their own – stamped on the landscape in scores of place-names, echoed in the names of princes even today. Yet some would say the English were the historical Arthur’s bitterest enemies and usurpers of his heritage. The process by which Arthurian legends have become an important part of England’s cultural heritage is traced in this book. Previous studies have concentrated on the handful of chivalric romances, which have given the impression that Arthur is a hero of romantic escapism. This study seeks to provide a more comprehensive and insightful look at the English Arthurian legends and how they evolved. It focuses primarily upon the literary aspects of Arthurian legend, but it also makes some important political and social observations.

Latest work on Arthur by respected scholars.