Lancelot And Guinevere

Beginning with an introduction that examines the portrayal of the characters of Lancelot and Guinevere from their origins to the present day, this collection of 16 essays-five of which appear here for the first time-puts particular emphasis on the appearance of the two characters in medieval and modern literature. Besides several studies exploring feminist concerns, the volume features articles on the representation of the lovers in medieval manuscript illuminations (18 plates focus on scenes of their first kiss and the consummation of the adultery), in film, and in other visual arts. A 200-item bibliography completes the volume.

The King Arthur-Lancelot-Guinevere legend is known, and so re-tellings of it tend to amplify its magnitude for dramatic appeal or provide as-yet-unknown details that flesh out new terrain. But the charm of the legend is that there are conflicting accounts, stories in multiple languages that over hundreds of years have become authentic and primary in themselves. This is where Guinevere and Lancelot fit in. The characters are here, the ones we expect, like King Arthur, Guinevere, Lancelot, Merlin, Gawain, Perceval, as are the adventures, like kidnapping, swordplay, and romantic intrigue. But unlike other stories, we have in Guinevere and Lancelot a departure into landscapes, psychology, and dialogue worthy of the legend. We get real anxiety, complacency, vanity, desperation. King Arthur sees his fate, knows he is helpless against it, and so seeks to erase his fate by accelerating through it. Lancelot's dynamism comes from how casual he is, how complacent, as he seems comfortable with being pinned down by his duty. And Guinevere, who finally gets proper attention, is not just a trophy to be won, but takes charge of her own destiny, finally. Guinevere and Lancelot is a modern tale, and it is what we want when we say to someone, please, tell us a story.

From #1 New York Times bestselling author Kiersten White comes a new fantasy series reimagining the Arthurian legend, set in the magical world of Camelot . . . . There was nothing in the world as magical and terrifying as a girl. Princess Guinevere has come to Camelot to wed a stranger: the charismatic King Arthur. With magic clawing at the kingdom's borders, the great wizard Merlin conjured a solution--send in Guinevere to be Arthur's wife . . . and his protector from those who want to see the young king's idyllic city fail. The catch? Guinevere's real name--and her true identity--is a secret. She is a changeling, a girl who has given up everything to protect Camelot. To keep Arthur safe, Guinevere must navigate a court in which the old--including Arthur's own family--demand things continue as they have been, and the new--those drawn by the dream of Camelot--fight for a better way to live. And always, in the green hearts of forests and the black depths of lakes, magic lies in wait to reclaim the land. Deadly jousts, duplicitous knights, and forbidden romances are nothing compared to the greatest threat of all: the girl with the long black hair, riding on horseback through the dark woods toward Arthur. Because when your whole existence is a lie, how can you trust even yourself? *THE FIRST BOOK IN THE CAMELOT RISING TRILOGY*

Guinevere is, in Arthurian legend, the wife of King Arthur. In medieval romances, one of the most renowned stories is about Queen Guinevere's tragic love affair with her husband's best knight, Lancelot. He is typically featured as King Arthur's greatest companion. He is the lord of the village and castle called Joyous Gard and he is the greatest swordsman and jouster of his age until his adultery with Queen Guinevere is discovered. King Arthur is a legendary British King who, according to medieval histories and romances, led the defense of Britain against Saxon invaders in the late 5th and early 6th centuries AD. The details of Arthur's story are mainly composed of folklore and literary invention and his historical existence is debated and disputed by modern historians. Lancelot was the greatest swordsman and jouster of his age until his adultery with Queen Guinevere was revealed. His infidelity with Guinevere caused a civil war exploited by his half-brother Mordred which brings about the end of Arthur's kingdom and his death which is written about in the final book XXI in Volume Two. According to William Caxton, Sir Thomas Malory's original book titled Le Morte D'Arthur (The Death of Arthur) was finished in the ninth year of Edward IV. It was about King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table. If the reader wishes to purchase a compendium of all the books in Volumes One and Two they are listed under the title "Life and Death of King Arthur." Le Morte D'Arthur was one of the earliest printed books in England, published by William Caxton in 1485. Most of the later works are derivatives of Caxton and Malory's as is this series of books. The original text from the introduction to chapters in Malory's books is added below chapter titles in this book to help give a flavor to how things were written in the fifteenth century. This edition retains the chapters of Malory's Book IV, Volume I, and an attempt has been made to retain his work while making it easier for the reader to follow the story using modern English and updated spelling. Book XIX, Volume Two

The King Arthur-Lancelot-Guinevere legend is known, and so re-tellings of it tend to amplify its magnitude for dramatic appeal or provide as-yet-unknown details that flesh out new terrain. But the charm of the legend is that there are conflicting accounts, stories in multiple languages that over hundreds of years have become authentic and primary in themselves. This is where Guinevere and Lancelot fit in. The characters are here, the ones we expect, like King Arthur, Guinevere, Lancelot, Merlin, Gawain, Perceval, as are the adventures, like kidnapping, swordplay, and romantic intrigue. But unlike other stories, we have in Guinevere and Lancelot a departure into landscapes, psychology, and dialogue worthy of the legend. We get real anxiety, complacency, vanity, desperation. King Arthur sees his fate, knows he is helpless against it, and so seeks to erase his fate by accelerating through it. Lancelot's dynamism comes from how casual he is, how complacent, as he seems comfortable with being pinned down by his duty. And Guinevere, who finally gets proper attention, is not just a trophy to be won, but takes charge of her own destiny, finally.

"The story of the passionate, adulterous, tragic love of Lancelot and Guenevere is at once the perfect expression of "courtly love" and its inversion. Lancelot, the superhuman stranger in King Arthur's court, sacrifices everything in service of his king, and yet also falls secretly in love with Arthur's queen, the most beautiful woman in all of Britain. That this spotless knight, who repeatedly saves Arthur and his world from destruction, should also be the fateful underminer of the king's self-confidence and, ultimately, a terrible weapon in the hands of Arthur's great adversary Galehaut, is a contradiction that has fascinated the Western mind for hundreds of years." "The Arthurian legend that most of us know comes from Malory and The Once and Future King. But there are also several books of Old French romance, the most detailed of which, the thirteenth-century "Book of Galehaut," gives a surprising and unfamiliar version. It is a double love story - the tale not only of Lancelot's love for Guenevere, but also the love of Galehaut, the Lord of the Distant Isles, for Lancelot. It is the achievement of Patricia Terry and Samuel N. Rosenberg, both seasoned translators of medieval romance, to tease out from the French sources the essential story of Lancelot, Guenevere, Galehaut, and Arthur, and, without distorting the original, retell it for today's reader. Their rich, subtle, and deeply moving narrative is complemented by evocative wood engravings by Judith Jaidinger, the most distinctive visual interpreter of Arthurian legend since Arthur Rackham and Howard Pyle."--BOOK JACKET.