"...a treasure-house ...the reader of this anthology will acquire a greater awareness of the richness and
diversity of the representation of the figure of King Arthur which existed in medieval literature and history."
-- Arthuriana, 10/98
"[Richard White's] new book can only enhance his reputation, for he has gathered in one volume all the early
records of Arthur. This has been attempted before...but never has it been done so thoroughly....The legend is susceptible
to any number of other interpretations, and what Richard White has done, so valuably, is to give us their raw material--the
very stuff of dreams."
-- The Wall Street Journal, 3/27/98
"[Offers] an intriguing picture of Arthur and of the very different cultures that made use of him."
-- Publisher's Weekly , 2/2/98
"Recommended for public and academic libraries or wherever there is strong Arthurian interest."
-- Library Journal
"An excellent anthology, this will prove the foundation of any Arthurian collection."
-- The Midwest Book Review
Routledge Web Site, May, 2000
Summary
Beginning with the earliest recorded stories, King Arthur in Legend and History illustrates the growth of the
mythical figure of Arthur through the medieval period.
Presenting selections from medieval Latin, Welsh, English, French and German literature, Richard White traces
the Arthurian legend from the earliest mentions of Arthur in Latin chronicles, to Geoffrey of Monmouth's first
major contribution to Arthurian legend, to Thomas Malory's Le Morte d'Arthur. Many of these selections have previously
been available only to scholars and are translated here for the time into English.
Bringing together an extensive range of diverse material which reveals the development of the figure of Arthur,
this anthology enables the reader to understand how the Arthurian legend developed over a period of more than five
hundred years. King Arthur in Legend and History also includes a chronology of key Arthurian texts, an appendix
of the Arthurian Courts, a list of sources, suggestions for further reading and bibliography.
