Romance and Legend of Chivalry

by Robert Hope Moncrieff

Fearless and loyal, honorable and courteous, the ideal knight of the Middle Ages was a model for six centuries of European noblemen. At first his deeds were celebrated in verse by the minstrels who entertained the courts of kings. Later they formed the subject of prose romances. Even when the chivalric code had fallen into decay, the stories lived on to inspire new interpretations.

The legends and romances in this magical selection reflect a multitude of ages and traditions. From the northern French court of Charlemagne comes the epic of Roland and the battle of Roncesvalles, from Wales and Brittany the tales of King Arthur and the Round Table. Spain is represented by Beltenebros and Esplandian.

A lucid and engaging survey of the legends of medieval Europe, this book will appeal to everyone with an interest in the great age of chivalry.

Genres: History, Classics, Nonfiction, Mythology, Literature, Arthurian, Medieval

439 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1913

About the author

Robert Hope Moncrieff (1846 – 1927) was a prolific Scottish author of children's fiction and of Black's Guides. He wrote under the names Ascott R. Hope and A.R. Hope Moncrieff.

Reviews

[Amanda Nunn · Rating 3 out of 5]

A selection of chivalric romances and legends, originally published 1913 so the intro is a little bit dated. A bit of an odd choice that the writer of the intro and collator of the stories seems to hold the genre rather in contempt - you'd think they'd ask someone who appreciates these stories to introduce the collection!

These are retellings, not the original matter, but "flavoured" with lots of old-timey language. I think I'd rather read the originals if I'm going to have to deal with that, but I suppose it lends a touch of authenticity.

The stories themselves are fairly standard, we have Arthurian tales and tales of Charlemagne. We even have the death of Roland summarised into a dozen pages of prose for me to compare to the original. Nice to see his meeting with Oliver.

My main takeaway was really was that these "heroic" knights really were self-absorbed. One of our heroes promises to meet his lady-love on a specific date, totally ghosts her, and when she sends him an angry message goes completely mad with grief and runs off into the woods to live like an animal. I guess we're supposed to be impressed by his depth of feeling, but if his lady's love was so important to him, why didn't he mark it on his calendar, huh? It reminds me of a certain sort of manipulation where someone who hurt you will go completely overboard with the self-flagellation when called out on it until you're forced to comfort them over the harm they caused you.

And yeah, that's exactly how it ends up with his lady-love! How could she have the audacity to be cross at him for blowing off the one thing she asked of him?

At least I know that behaviour comes from a long tradition I guess!

[Walter Five · Rating 5 out of 5]

Part 1 of this book is the History of Romance-- A nice overview of the early French Chivalry Romances, Metrical, Prose and later Romantic Histories as well as those of the Spanish Peninsula, so well loved by Don Quixote de la Mancha. Part 2 is a selection of the tales themselves, somewhat decluttered English accounts of Tales of Arthur, Charles the Great, and many others. The 1913 1st Edition features 8 plates in color and 36 in monochrome.

Part of the ''Myth And Legend In Literature and Art'' series 1st published by The Gresham Publishing Company Ltd.

[Paul Waters · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this in a jumble sale when I was a smallish boy. At the time, the first half - the academic stuff - was way over my head and I didn't make it to the end. But the stories in the 2nd half were brilliant for someone brought up on Roger Lancelyn Green :) I suspect the style wouldn't appeal to kids today who are used to more fast-moving fantasy literature, but if you're into knights and dragons, this is still a good read. The academic stuff - not so much. Very out of date and only of historical interest, I should think.

[Ruth Collier · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good book for an overview of romance/chivalry and some of the popular legends. The introduction is very dry and has some unusual language in places, but that is to be expected from a book published in 1913! The actions of the characters are quite ridiculous but again, it's best to read this as a historical record of legend rather than stories by today's standards.

[Avarill · Rating 5 out of 5]

Enjoyed the chivalry, the love quests, and lost hopes. Poetic love no longer so much in our era. The book is in 2 parts; part 1 covers the history, part 2 are the chivalry stories. A wonderful dreamland of legends

[Ryan Ricks · Rating 4 out of 5]

The pictures in this edition are so dark as to be almost completely unintelligible.

[J · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cant wait for these to come back into style after the nuclear holocaust

[Sarah Myers · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read these stories aloud to my family on the way to church. I'm not sure whether tales of knights and ladies, strange giants who could put their heads back on after they were chopped off, and nasty magicians were necessarily always the best preparation for worship, but the kids loved them. (And hey, there were some about great piety in there...granted, those sometimes involved slaying the impious saracens....)

[Lindsay Stares · Rating 4 out of 5]

Facinating. Picked this up at the library. the first half is mostly academic. Picture an academic of 1913 looking back at the age of chivalry through the lens of its time. And then he starts to analyse Cervantes. The layers! The second half is a collection of period "romances", yes, a bit prettied up, mostly just made readable, (at least that's the author's claim). Very enjoyable read.

[Nicky · Rating 2 out of 5]

A little collection of stories focusing on romance/chivalry. A lot of stuff I knew already, of course: it's more instructive for people who don't focus on medieval literature at university, I think.