King Arthur

Almost lost to the ages, now surviving in but one faded, precious, manuscript, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight calls forth with exceptional brilliance and mordant precision a chthonic force rarely investigated in other works of the later Middle Ages.

The Fall of Arthur, the only venture by J.R.R. Tolkien into the legends of Arthur, king of Britain, may well be regarded as his finest and most skillful achievement in the use of Old English alliterative meter, in which he brought to his transforming perceptions of the old narratives a pervasive sense of the grave and fateful nature of all that is told: of Arthur's expedition overseas into distant heathen lands, of Guinevere's flight from Camelot, of the great sea battle on Arthur's return to Britain, in the portrait of the traitor Mordred, in the tormented doubts of Lancelot in his French castle.

As writer and activist Adam Ardrey discovered, the reason historians have had little success identifying the historical Arthur may be incredibly simple: He wasn't an Englishman at all. He was from Scotland.Finding Arthur chronicles Ardrey's unlikely quest to uncover the secret of Scotland's greatest king and conqueror, which has been hidden in plain sight for centuries. His research began as a simple exploration of a notable Scottish clan, but quickly it became clear that many of the familiar symbols of Arthurian legend--the Round Table, the Sword in the Stone, the Lady of the Lake--are based on very real and still accessible places in the Scottish Highlands.Sure to be controversial, Finding Arthur rewrites the legend of King Arthur for a new age.

King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table have captured the world's imagination since medieval times. The tales of King Arthur are rooted in history, but over the years the facts have become shrouded in myth and mystery. In this beautifully illustrated book Arthurian expert John Matthews explores the legends that have grown around the king and uncovers the mysteries of Arthur's Britain. The numerous characters surrounding King Arthur are introduced and the facts behind the epic saga are revealed. •Contains 120 color and black-and-white images •Covers Merlin, Guenevere, Lancelot, the Holy Grail, and all the mythic search for characters

Presenting selections from medieval Latin, Welsh, English, French and German literature, Richard White traces the Arthurian legend from the earliest mentions of Arthur in Latin chronicles to Thomas Malory's Le Morte d'Arthur. Many of these selections are translated here for the time into English. Bringing together an extensive range of diverse material which reveals the development of the figure of Arthur, this anthology enables the reader to understand how the Arthurian legend developed over a period of more than five hundred years. King Arthur in Legend and History also includes a chronology of key Arthurian texts, an appendix of the Arthurian Courts, a list of sources, suggestions for further reading and bibliography. Also inlcludes five maps.

The authors set out to reveal the truth about King Arthur by following a new approach to the mystery. Through a programme of painstaking research, they have assembled a jigsaw puzzle of interconnecting identifications and information which throws new light on the history of the Dark Ages.

The Search for King Arthur invites readers on a journey of exploration that traces the evolution of Arthur from the earliest records of the historic Artorius to this day. Complemented by 170 glorious full-color illustrations, this fascinating narrative recounts the legend and all its incarnations, focusing not only on Arthur but on the people surrounding him.

Completed in 1136, The History of the Kings of Britain traces the story of the realm from its supposed foundation by Brutus to the coming of the Saxons some two thousand years later. Vividly portraying legendary and semi-legendary figures such as Lear, Cymbeline, Merlin the magician and the most famous of all British heroes, King Arthur, it is as much myth as it is history and its veracity was questioned by other medieval writers. But Geoffrey of Monmouth's powerful evocation of illustrious men and deeds captured the imagination of subsequent generations, and his influence can be traced through the works of Malory, Shakespeare, Dryden and Tennyson.

Everyone knows of Arthur--the "once and future" legendary warrior who held off the invading Anglo-Saxons and preserved the Celtic identity of sixth-century England for forty years. But few know of Taliesin, who may have been poet to Arthur, and like Merlin, was said to have shamanic powers. Behind Taliesin's story lies a vast legacy of initiatic wisdom, much of it now lost. But enough remains to convey much of the ancient Celts' passionate spirit and religious practice. To create these tales, John Matthews has brilliantly mined medieval and premedieval sources, embellishing them where fragmentary with the rich heritage of Celtic folklore. Part legend, part fiction, part mythology, they are alive with the power of one of the most compelling mystical/literary traditions.