Britain - Historical Biography - Rulers & Royal Families, Great Britain Historiography, Arthurian Legend, Medieval Latin Literature - Literary Criticism, Medieval European Literature - Literary Criticism, Great Britain - General & Miscellaneous History, 1

Arthurian Narrative in the Latin Tradition

Name: Arthurian Narrative in the Latin Tradition
Author: Sian Echard
ISBN: 9780521621267

by Sian Echard, Patrick Boyde (Contribution by), John Burrow (Contribution by), Rita Copeland (Contribution by), Alan Deyermond

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Overview

This book takes a unique look at the Latin Arthurian tradition, placing authors such as Geoffrey of Monmouth in the context of Latin histories, monastic chronicles, saints' lives, and other Latin prose Arthurian narratives. Placing them against a background of the Angevin court of Henry II, the book introduces a new set of texts into the Arthurian canon and suggests a way to understand their place in that tradition. The unfamiliar works are summarized for the reader, and there are extensive quotations, with translations, throughout.

Synopsis

Arthurian literature is a popular field, but most of the published work focuses on the vernacular tradition. This book, uniquely, looks at Latin Arthurian works. Geoffrey of Monmouth is treated at length and this is the first book to put him in a context which includes other Latin histories, monastic chronicles, saints' lives and other Latin prose Arthurian narratives. Like Geoffrey's works, most can be associated with the Angevin court of Henry II and by placing these works against the court background, this book both introduces a new set of texts into the Arthurian canon and suggests a way to understand their place in that tradition. The unfamiliar works are summarized for the reader, and there are extensive quotations, with translations, throughout. The result is a thorough exploration of Latin Arthurian narrative in the foundational period for the Arthurian tradition.