"Gawain: A Casebook" is a collection of 12-15 classic and original essays on the hero of Arthurian legend that investigates the figure of Gawain as he appears in major medieval traditions, as well as modern literature and film. As with other volumes in the "Arthurian" "Characters and Themes" series, this casebook includes an extended introduction examining the character's evolution from the earliest tales to his most recent appearances in popular culture, as well as an extensive annotated bibliography. Students, scholars, and anyone interested in medieval legend will find a wealth of insight...

Featuring three original and 14 classic essays, this volume examines literary representations of women in Arthuriana and how women artists have viewed them. The essays discuss the female characters in Arthurian legend, medieval and modern readers of the legend, modern critics and the modern women writers who have recast the Arthurian inheritance, and finally women visual artists who have used the material of the Arthurian story. All the essays concentrate interpretation on a female creator and the work. This collection contains a useful bibliography of material devoted to female characters in...

This volume surveys representations of the Holy Grail in literature, art and film, from the Middle Ages to the present day. The introduction traces the development of the legend, and this is followed by a 200-item bibliography and 20 critical essays. The motifs of the Grail, the quest, the waste land and the Fisher King are explored, as well as the characters of Perceval, Lancelot, Galahad and Joseph of Arimathea. Specific topics discussed include the origins and symbolism of the legend, the visual treatment of the legend in medieval manuscript illumination and in pre-Raphaelite paintings and...

This volume examines the fascinating character of Perceval (or Parzival), the naive, flawed but gifted youth who becomes the Grail hero in some texts and yet is eclipsed in others by Galahad. Concentrating on medieval and modern literature, film and Wagnerian opera, the book gathers together both classic studies and new essays commissioned for this volume. A full introductory essay and extensive bibliography are included.

This work challenges scholarly wisdom concerning the origins of the legends of King Arthur and the Holy Grail. The authors assert that the Arthurian and Holy Grail traditions did not derive from Celtic folklore and mythology, but rather from the folklore and mythology of the peoples of ancient Scythia (modern South Russia and Ukrainian Steppes). The authors argue that this folklore was carried to Britain and Gaul from the Steppes by Alan and Sarmatian tribes during the final days of the Roman Empire. They also demonstrate that several key figures in the legends, including the Fisher King and...

This book deals with all aspects of the Merlin legend, from its origins to its expression in medieval and modern literature, film, and popular culture. Following an extended introduction and a full bibliography, the volume offers nearly twenty essays-some newly commissioned for this volume others selected from the most important scholarly and critical studies of Merlin and his role. Two of the reprinted essays are translated into English for the first time.

This volume in the Arthurian Characters and Themes series treats the fascinating character of Perceval, the naive and flawed but gifted youth who becomes the Grail hero in some texts and yet is eclipsed in others by Galahad. Also includes eight musical examples.

A substantial introduction traces the Tristan and Isolde legend from the twelfth century to the present, emphasizing literary versions, but also surveying the legend's sources and its appearance in the visual arts, music and film. The nineteen essays are a mix of new, new English, revised, and 'classic'. It contains an extensive bibliography.