The Mammoth book of Arthurian legends

La saga di Re Artù

by Mike Ashley

Arthurian Legends brings together many of the traditional stories about King Arthur, along with several new interpretations of the legend, to provide a complete picture of his birth, adventures romance, and fate. It traces Arthur's exploits to gain the sword Excalibur, the conflict with his half-sister Morgan, the birth of his bastard son Mordred, and the shadowy influence and fate of Merlin. Includes material on King Arthur and his knights by Howard Pyle, Geoffrey of Monmouth, John Steinbeck, Rosemary Sutcliff, Roger Lancelyn Green, Hilaire Belloc, Arthur Machen, Alfred, Lord Tennyson, and Jane Yolen, among others.

Contents
The first pendragon / Sir James Knowles --
The winning of kinghood / Howard Pyle --
The winning of the kingdom / Geoffrey of Monmouth --
The knight with the two swords / John Steinbeck --
The winning of a sword / Howard Pyle --
The reason of Morgan le Fay / George Cox --
The winning of Olwen / Lady Charlotte Guest --
The temptation of Launcelot / Peter Valentine Timlett --
Sir Gawain and the green knight / Rosemary Sutcliff --
The quest of the saracen beast / Theodore Goodridge Roberts --
Sir Marrok the wolf / Allen French --
The marriage of Sir Gawayne / Maude Ebbutt --
The carle of Carlisle / Ron Tiner --
Sir Lanval / A.R. Hope Moncrieff --
Sir Percivale of Wales / Roger Lancely Green --
John, the knight of the lion / H. Shück --
The romance of Tristan and Iseult / Hilaire Belloc --
The dog's story / Eleanor Aranson --
The quest of the Holy Grail / Andrew and Leonora Lang --
Madoc the door ward / Douglas Carmichael --
Guinevere and Lancelot / Arthur Machen --
The pretender / Stephen Dedman --
The passing of Arthur / Alfred, Lord Tennyson --
The lady of Belec / Phyllis Ann Kar --
Ravens' meat / Fay Simpson --
The quiet monk / Jane Yolen --
The isle of Avalon / Phil Carradice

Genres: Arthurian, Fantasy, Short Stories, Mythology, Anthologies, Classics, Reference

576 pages, Hardcover

First published May 1, 1998

About the author

Michael Raymond Donald Ashley is the author and editor of over sixty books that in total have sold over a million copies worldwide. He lives in Chatham, Kent.

Reviews

[Jared · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Mammoth Book of Arthurian Legends's best feature is that its text spans more than a century of writing. While the stories themselves are much older, the writings span from the mid 19th century to the late 20th century. This serves to highlight the distinct style of whichever writer you happen to be reading. A couple of quite famous writers make an appearance as well. The content of this compilation is also fairly broad. Many stories focus on other knights of the round table rather than Arthur himself. Other than that, there isn't much to say without delving into the specifics of each story. Overall, if you enjoy Arthurian legends then you would enjoy this. Otherwise, there is only one entry that transcends its subject ("The Passing of Arthur") to be great writing in general. Below I will highlight what I believe to be the best and worst of the bunch.

Best
The Knight With the Two Swords
The Winning of a Sword
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight
Sir Marrok the Wolf
The Marriage of Sir Gawayne
Sir Lanval
Sir Percivale of Wales
John, The Knight of the Lion
The Romance of Tristan and Iseult
- These entries represent the best of the quintessential Arthurian tale. They hit every beat and are a joy to read.

The Temptation of Lancelot
- This short entry is the funniest story by a large margin and had me laughing out loud.

Raven's Meat
- A great reprieve, this story is a surreal entry focusing on myth versus reality.

The Passing of Arthur
- A phenomenal poem that is worth reading regardless of whether or not you are a fan of Arthurian legends.

Worst
The Winning of Olwen
- While I can acknowledge its historical significance, this barely qualifies as a story. If you've read The Iliad then I am sure you recall that one of the early book’s sole focus is recounting Agamemnon's army and where they're from. This story is very similar.

The Carle of Carlisle
- While not a bad story, there are a few cringe-worthy moments that devalue the whole entry.

The Dog's Story
- This is the only entry that I would argue had no right to ever be included. It is a badly written fanfiction by someone with a bestiality kink.

The Isle of Avalon
- A depiction of its author answering the question "What really happened?", it's a little too on the nose for my taste.

[Nicky · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mixed bag here, with a range of stories from different periods in the Round Table's existence, and from different periods of time. Some very famous authors. Some very good stories, some not so good.

[marie · Rating 3 out of 5]

faticaccia… 9 euro al mercato… nn fatemici pensare era periodo dell’hyperfixation medievale
un paio di racconti veramente belli però

[Eleclyah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Miti e leggende di Re Artù, dei Cavalieri della Tavola Rotonda e del Santo Graal è una raccolta di ventisette racconti che narra le vicende del ciclo bretone da prima dell'avvento di re Artù fin dopo la sua fine.
Il libro è diviso in tre sezioni, e ogni racconto, scritto da un autore diverso (John Steinbeck, Jane Yolen, Howard Pyle e molti altri), è introdotto da un commento del curatore, che lo contestualizza e/o lo lega al racconto precedente, dando informazioni in più spesso utili.

L'inizio della leggenda.
• La prima Pendragon
• La conquista della supremazia
• La conquista del regno
• Il Cavaliere dalle due spade
• La conquista di una spada
• Il tradimento di Morgan Le Fay

In questa prima parte vengono narrati gli albori del mito di re Artù, con Vortigern, usurpatore del trono britannico, Aurelius, legittimo re, e Uther, successore di quest'ultimo e padre di Artù.
Ogni storia è scritta in modo tale da ricreare l'atmosfera che il lettore si aspetta di trovare, quella dell'isola britannica del V secolo dopo Cristo, minacciata dalle orde di Sassoni provenienti dalla Germania.
Degno di nota è il racconto di Howard Pyle, che tratta il famoso episodio della spada nella roccia, il vero inizio della storia di Artù.
La sezione prosegue con le gesta che il re compie per conquistare il suo regno, lottando contro gli invasori d'oltremare e a volte contro i suoi stessi nobili; con la triste storia del cavaliere dalle due spade, destinato ad uccidere il proprio fratello, e con altre imprese cavalleresche durante le quali Artù conosce Ginevra, la sua futura regina; per concludersi con un episodio di cui è protagonista un inganno tessuto da Morgana, sorellastra del re e sua nemica.

Storie della Tavola Rotonda.
• La conquista di Olwen
• La tentazione di Lancillotto
• Sir Gawain e il Cavaliere Verde
• La ricerca della bestia saracena
• Sir Marrok il lupo
• Il matrimonio di Sir Gawaine
• Zotico di Zoticondia
• Sir Lanwal
• Sir Percivale del Galles
• John, il cavaliere del leone
• Il romanzo di Tristano e Isotta

I giorni della fine.
• La storia del cane
• La ricerca del Santo Graal
• Madoc, il guardiano della porta
• Ginevra e Lancillotto
• Il pretendente
• La morte di Artù
• La signora di Belec
• Il pasto del corvo
• Il monaco silenzioso
• L'isola di Avalon

[Beth G. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ashley's anthology provides a thorough introduction to the story of Arthur by bringing together a variety of stories about Arthur, his knights, and other aspects of the legends. The stories cover Arthur's birth and fosterage, his rise to power, the exploits of some of his knights, Merlin's influence, and the demise of the Round Table. The last story in the book is a special treat.
Because the stories come from different times, cultures, and authors, some flexibility is necessary. Names change and events are depicted differently from story to story. But this is also an important aspect of the legend, and Ashley's introductory comments to each tale help to tie it all together.

This book, of course, does not cover every aspect of the adventures of Arthur and his Court, but it introduces the reader to a world that has been explored many times by many authors, and the interested reader can choose his own direction confident that he has a good grounding in the story.

[Eloise · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really love the Mammoth anthologies, and this was no exception. Ashley is a very thoughtful curator, bringing together a collection that showcases the depth and breadth of the subject matter - and some out of print gems.
My only niggle is that this is a "mammoth" anthology and many of the entries are part of the Victorian chivalric "revival" or ape the "ye olde" style, so not really a book to read in one sitting (unless that's your thing).

I'd also like to note that some of the tales might not be considered Arthurian under a strict interpretation, but more in line with the age-old storytelling tradition of "Arthur's King ok, they want to be knights of Camelot, stop asking questions and drink your beer".

[Shazza Maddog · Rating 3 out of 5]

A lot of really good stories in here, some which haven't been in print in decades, some seeing first printing. I enjoyed many of them but this book lives up to it's name of "mammoth" - after a while, I felt like I'd been too immersed in Arthur. And some stories barely even touched on him or his knights (looking at you in particular, Tristan and Isuelt). My favorite of the stories was "The Dog's Story", wherein Merlin winds up turning a ruffian into a dog who becomes a relatively decent person afterward, and the story of the knight who was turned into a wolf by his conniving wife (shapechanger stories are always the best).

[Arlene · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is full of over 40 stories about King Arthur. Some of them are several hundred years old. The language of some of the older stories was difficult to read but others were very enjoyable. I think my favorite was the story, "Sir Marrok the Wolf" about a knight who was bewitched and turned into a wolf. It follows what happens over a number of years while he is a wolf. It was published in a book in 1902.

[Museelo · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked the different introductions the author makes for every story, it really says a lot on the amount of work that has been done.
I understand they wanted to include a lot of Arthurian tales but some of them are less known and remain pretty much irrelevant.
This book is a nice introduction to the Arthurian world.

[Anika Qing · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's difficult to know how to rate an anthology like this. Some of the stories were amazing, some were mediocre and some were just plain awful. Hence, the two star rating.

[Midnight Blue · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful anthology encompassing the entire Arthurian Mythos ....a must read for any fan of King Arthur and his knights of the Round Table.