"The few full-length studies of the Morte D'Arthur and other Arthurian texts published in the past 15 years have rarely reached and sustained the level of theoretical and interpretive sophistication found here. King Arthur and the Myth of Historyought to have quite an impact on Arthurian studies, in part because Finke and Shichtman take medieval Arthurian literature--particularly what passes for history and chronicle--very seriously, on its own terms, in its different cultural contexts."--Kathleen Kelly, Northeastern University

King Arthur and the Myth of...

This engaging new study analyzes cinematic treatments of the Middle Ages within a diverse range of popular and artistic films.

At a time when students have more experience with watching movies than with reading and evaluating literature and history, Cinematic Illuminations harnesses the power of popular culture to make accessible a period that often seems forbidding and remote. From The Seventh Seal and The Lion in Winter to Monty Python and the Holy Grail, the authors examine the ways in which the twentieth century has reimagined medieval times. Such...