The Arthurian Legends: An Illustrated Anthology

by Richard Barber (Compiler/Introduction)

For more than eight centuries, poets and writers have been telling stories about King Arthur. From lost legends and scraps of history, from facts and folklore, they have fashioned one of the greatest epics in all literature, full of the world's splendours, heroic loves and spiritual quests. This magical and mysterious world is founded on the figure of an obscure Welsh princeling, who was no more than the historical grain of sand in the poetic oyster.

For this book is not about the quest for a 'real' Arthur. It is a celebration of the 'unreal' king, of his exploits in literature, of his far-famed knights and their ladies, of all the high trappings of romance.

Here for the first time is a single volume which gives the reader an idea of the power and range of Arthurian literature from its beginnings to the present day. All the great Arthurian writers are represented, from France, Germany and England, and the text is complemented by a superb selection of illustrations, from early medieval sculpture through the riches of illuminated manuscripts to the Pre-Raphaelite painters. Each excerpt is set in its historical and literary context, so that anyone who enjoys this anthology can make his own exploration of the many and glittering treasures of Arthurian legend.

Genres: Mythology, Fiction, Arthurian, Fantasy, Classics, Medieval, Reference

224 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1979

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name.

Richard William Barber is a prominent British historian who has been writing and publishing in the field of medieval history and literature ever since his student days. He has specialised in the Arthurian legend, beginning with a general survey, Arthur of Albion, in 1961, which is still in print in a revised edition. His other major interest is historical biography; he has published on Henry Plantagenet (1964) and among his other books is the standard biography of Edward the Black Prince, Edward Prince of Wales and Aquitaine. The interplay between history and literature was the theme of The Knight and Chivalry, for which he won the Somerset Maugham Prize in 1971 and he returned to this in The Holy Grail: Imagination and Belief (2004); this was widely praised in the UK press, and had major reviews in The New York Times and The Washington Post.

His other career has been as a publisher. In 1969 he helped to found The Boydell Press, which later became Boydell & Brewer Ltd, one of the leading publishers in medieval studies, and he is currently group managing director. In 1989, Boydell & Brewer Ltd, in association with the University of Rochester, started the University of Rochester Press in upstate New York. The group currently publishes over 200 titles a year.

Reviews

[Amanda Hupe · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Arthurian Legends: An Illustrated Anthology Selections and Introduction by Richard Barber. This collection contains pieces of Arthurian Legend. It only takes portions of the full story but they are perfect selections. It starts with introducing the Welsh traditions and moves into the account of Geoffrey of Monmouth, The History of the Kings of Britain. He wrote this account as a true account but it is one of the first medieval fictions that will go down in history. Then there is the tale of Culhwch and Olwen which is a Welsh tale. There are several other tales from different authors. For instance, The Lay of Sir Launfal by Marie de France, and Yvain or the Knight with the Lion by Chretien de Troyes. Then of course there are the more popular titles like Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Tristan, and Parzival when he learns of the Grail.

Some of my favorites from this edition are Sir Gawain and the Green Knight and Geoffrey of Monmouth’s History of the Kings of Britain. My absolutely favorite aspect in this edition is the addition of beautiful illustrations. Most of the illustrations are Medieval artwork. If there is one thing that I could add to this book, it is the Middle English language. I love learning about the Middle English language. I have a Chaucer book that had the Middle English on one side and the translation on the other. When I was in college I had to learn how to pronounce some of the language and have been fascinated with it ever since.

Anyway, I love this edition. 5 out of 5 stars.

[Missninelien · Rating 5 out of 5]

During my stay in the UK, I had this book on (almost) permanent loan from the library. One can imagine my excitement when I found it on sale in a bookshop in Amsterdam. I love it, adore it.

[Hilary "Fox" · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book I got many years ago from Quarwood of all places. It's one of the books I own from John Entwistle's personal library, and it is an exceptionally beautiful book. It is worth five stars for the pictures alone, but the accompanying text makes it all even better.

The book is a broad survey of the Arthurian Legends, and how they changed over time. Each section focuses upon a different period in Arthurian literature and is complete with a survey of what was focused upon during that time, and selections from each piece of art/literature. It begins with a selection from Mabinogion and ends with one from The Once and Future King, to give an idea of how thorough it is.

All in all, a beautiful book, and from the personal collection of a wonderful man. One of my most prized possessions.

[Zaiga · Rating 4 out of 5]

A wonderful, chronologically organized collection of snapshots that show how the Arthurian legends have evolved over the centuries.

[Lyndsey]

A Chronicle of the King Arthur storytelling tradition, with excerpts from several authors from throughout the Middle Ages. The content was good, and the contextual notes were helpful. The modern age section (last ~3 excepts) fell short