Legends of Arthur
The image of Arthur has haunted the poets and writers of western Europe for nearly nine centuries, and there is no sign of an end to the reign of the 'once and future king' in the world of literature. The Arthurian epic is as popular a subject now as it was when it was first fashioned, and the stories about Arthur and the heroes associated with him come in a bewildering number of guises. The sheer variety of the legends, both in style and content, is extraordinary; and this collection...
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Heroic adventures and bloody battles, courtly love and the code of chivalry, the noble quest for the Holy Grail—in Legends of Arthur the ideals and pageantry of King Arthur and his Round Table spring to life in a surprising series of fantastic tales that have, until now, been lost in the mists of history. In these wild and wondrous stories, you'll encounter two very different aspects of each hero and his exploits. You'll meet Arthur as the fierce young warlord who becomes a mighty emperor and as the tragic king betrayed by his beautiful wife and his most trusted knight. In one stirring adventure Arthur's gallant nephew, Sir Gawain, battles brashly through a magical world of flying chess sets and talking foxes; in another he emerges as a shrewd and courtly hero. The doomed lovers Tristan and Iseult ache with forbidden passion in their original story. When linked with Arthur in "Tristan the courtier," however, Tristan becomes a noble knight, as devoted to chivalry as to his beloved. Each of these distinct and haunting tales from a different place and time. What emerges is a shimmering, shape-shifting vision of Arthur and his knights as versatile, dynamic heroes with an endless capacity to command your attention and send your imagination soaring. About the Author: Richard Barber has written on the history and legends of Arthur in many books, among them Arthurian Legends and King Arthur: Hero and Legend. he is also widely known for his biographies of Henry II and the Black Prince. He is currently working on a history of the Grail.
Why should I be king?' said Arthur.\ 'Sir,' said Ector, 'because God will have it so; for only her who should by right be king of this land can pull out this sword. Now let me see if you can put the sword back where it was, and pull it out again,'\ 'That needs no skill,' said Arthur, and so he put it in the stone; and Sir Ector tried to pull out the sword and failed,\ 'Now you try,' said Sir Ector to Sir Kay. And he pulled at the sword with all his might; but it would not move.\ 'Now you shall try,' said Sir Ector to Arthur.\ 'I will,' said Arthur, and he pulled it out easily.\ And at that both Sir Ector and Sir Kay knelt before him.\ \ —from Legends of Arthur
Introduction1Arthur5Arthur the Emperor13Arthur and the Round Table53Gawain153Sir Gawain and the Green Knight159The Romance of Sir Gawain225Tristan and Iseult315Tristan and Iseult323Tristan the Courtier395Acknowledgements461Further Reading462
