D. D. R. Owen

Chretien De Troyes

Erec and Enide; Cliges; Lancelot; Yvain; Perceval An idyllically happy marriage in which a husband is so involved that he neglects his duties as a knight; love endangered by a husband who is more interested in athletic chivalry than his wife; timorous young love; and adulterous passion — together these stories offer the most complete expression of French chivalry and of courtly love. Chretien de Troyes did not invent the Arthurian legend: he gave it sophisticated literary form, establishing it as major branch of European literature. Without chretien we might today scarcely have heard of King Arthur and his brave company. The most comprehensive paperback edition available, with introduction , notes and glossary

Arthurian Romances

Roy Owen

The only available English translation of The Romance of Reynard the Fox, this age-old tale is an oblique critique of medieval society and its institutions. The animals, endowed with human vices and fewer virtues, play out a thinly disguised social comedy in which all the orders from nobility to peasantry are lampooned. Full of shrewd observation of rural life and animal behavior, this new translation offers an enlightening introduction and clear notes that involve the reader in the social, historical, and literary context of the work.

D. D. R. Owen

Books

Your next favorite book is out there