The Arthurian Legends

"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 int he 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 exceprt 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"--Jacket