Geoffrey of Monmouth wrote his "Historia Regum Britanniae" (History of the Kings of Britain) in about 1136 AD. His book includes the first account of the Arthurian legend that survives, apart from very brief mentions of Arthur in earlier chronicles.

This edition makes Geoffrey's history of Arthur accessible to a general audience for the first time. It includes only the parts of Geoffrey's "Historia" that are about Merlin or Arthur, omitting its lengthy histories of other kings, which do not interest today's readers. It breaks up Geoffrey's text into shorter chapters, and it adds...