The Romance of Morien

by Unknown, Jessie Laidlay Weston (Translator)

Arthurian RomancesUnrepresented in Malory's "Morte d'Arthur" Number IV

Genres: Historical Fiction

86 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1901

About the author

Books can be attributed to "Unknown" when the author or editor (as applicable) is not known and cannot be discovered. If at all possible, list at least one actual author or editor for a book instead of using "Unknown".

Books whose authorship is purposefully withheld should be attributed instead to Anonymous.

Reviews

[Heather]

Nice short medieval romance that I really enjoyed. First foray into the Dutch tradition so I was grateful for Jessie Weston’s commentary to give a bit of context for the poem, it was interesting then as I read it to see the way it would fit into the greater Dutch Lancelot compilation. Morien was an interesting and fun character, just a kid who really wanted to find his dad. (Which he managed to do! And it was a happy reunion!) I also liked seeing the more serious Gawain in this and I thought the mentor role really worked in this context.

[Avis]

Reading this you are prepared to hear some racist stuff but Morien reveals itself to be a fascinatingly positive portrayal of black moor in medieval works. It makes a point to have Morien the character be functionally perfect outside of some bluntness. And so his struggle comes not from himself but from others judging him based off his skin. And it's really interesting how it portrays that. It's also just really funny.