R. Barton Palmer

William W. Kibler

This volume offers newly translated texts that exemplify the two most important traditions of Arthurian literature in the Middle Ages. Encompassing such key works such as Lawman's Brut and Wace's Romance of Brut, written in Middle English and Old French, respectively, the Arthurian Epic Tradition depends on Geoffrey of Monmouth's History of the Kings of Britain, written in Latin. Many modern readers are more familiar with Arthur and his fabled court as the centerpiece of a massive fictional tradition, well represented in the second part of this volume, including Chretien de Troyes's Story of the Grail, The Quest of the Holy Grail, and the Perlesvaus. These selections emphasize the connection between secular and religious understandings of chivalry that is the most distinctive quality of medieval Arthurian romance. Useful as a classroom text, the volume provides material for a semester's worth of study. Instructors considering this book for use in a course may request an examination copy here.

Eight New Translations

Medieval Arthurian Epic and Romance

Sarah Kay

Raoul de Cambrai est une chanson de geste saisissante par sa grandeur sauvage et sanglante. C'est le récit d'une vendetta féodale qui oppose Raoul de Cambrai, puis, après sa mort, les membres de sa famille, au lignage d'Herbert de Vermandois, et en particulier à son petit-fils Bernier. Bernier se trouve être au début l'écuyer de Raoul en même temps que son ami. Mais, après avoir été déchiré entre ces fidélités contradictoires, il rejoint son clan familial lorsque Raoul provoque la mort de sa mère en incendiant le couvent d'Origny où elle s'était retirée. L'intérêt de cette œuvre est historique aussi bien que littéraire. Elle offre une peinture vivante et réaliste, dans sa démesure, d'un conflit féodal. On y discerne d'ailleurs le souvenir déformé et lointain d'événements réels qui remontent au Xe siècle. Pour la première fois, cette chanson de geste justement célèbre est rendue accessible et traduite en français moderne.

chanson de geste du XIIe siècle

Raoul de Cambrai

L'héritage de Chrétien de Troyes

Thelma S. Fenster

Jean Louis G. Picherit

poème épique du XIVe siècle

Lion de Bourges

Eleanor of Aquitaine was the wife of two kings, Louis VII of France and Henry II Plantagenet of England, and the mother of two others, Richard the Lionhearted and John Lackland. In her eventful, often stormy life, she not only influenced the course of events in the twelfth century but also encouraged remarkable advances in the literary and fine arts. In this book, experts in five disciplines—history, art history, music, French and English literature—evaluate the influence of Eleanor and her court on history and the arts. Elizabeth A. R. Brown views Eleanor as having played a significant role as parent and politician, but not as patron. Rebecca A. Baltzer takes a new look at the music of the period that was written by and for Eleanor, her court, and her family. Moshé Lazar reexamines her relationship to the courtly-love literature of the period. Eleanor S. Greenhill and Larry M. Ayres reassess her influence in the realm of art history. Rossell Hope Robbins traces the lines extending from the French courtly literature of Eleanor's period down into fourteenth-century Chaucerian England. The essays reflect divergent but generally complementary assessments of this remarkable woman's influence on her own era and on future times as well. This volume is the result of a symposium held at the University of Texas in 1973.

Patron and Politician

Eleanor of Aquitaine

Lawrence Earp

Grover A. Zinn

John Jr. Bell Henneman

The first single-volume reference work on the history and culture of medieval France, this information-filled Encyclopedia of over 2,400 entries covers the political, intellectual, literary, and musical history of the country from the early fifth century to the late 15th. The shorter entries offer succinct summaries of the lives of individuals, events, works, cities, monuments, and other important subjects, followed by essential bibliographies. Longer essay-length articles provide interpretive comments about significant institutions and important periods or events. The Encyclopedia is thoroughly cross-referenced and includes a generous selection of illustrations, maps, charts, and genealogies

An Encyclopedia

Medieval France

Leslie Zarker Morgan

This volume in the MLA series Approaches to Teaching World Literature aims to help nonspecialist instructors teach Roland more comprehensively and to offer seasoned medievalists ways to invigorate their pedagogical tactics.

Approaches to Teaching the Song of Roland

Chrétien (de Troyes)

Valerie Krishna

John K. Bollard

Richard Morgan Loomis

Anthology of essays and original sources relating to the romantic lore of King Arthur. It begins with history and pseudo-history, touches on Celtic folklore, and then enters the realm of imaginative literature.

The Romance of Arthur

Composed in Old French between about 1220 and 1240, the Lancelot-Grail Cycle is a group of five prose romances centered on the love affair between Lancelot and Guenevere. It consists of an immense central core, the Lancelot Proper, introduced by The History of the Holy Grail and The Story of Merlin and concluded by The Quest for the Holy Grail and The Death of Arthur. This volume brings together thirteen essays by noted scholars from the first symposium ever devoted exclusively to the Lancelot-Grail Cycle. Exploring the cycle's evolution across the literatures of medieval France, Italy, Spain, Catalonia, and England, the authors take a variety of approaches that highlight a broad range of cultural, social, historical, and political concerns and offer a comparative and interdisciplinary vision of this great romance.

Text and Transformations

The Lancelot-Grail Cycle

William W. Kibler

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