Q. I recently read The Lost Years of Merlin and realized how interested I was in the topic. I knew that Merlin was famous because of King Arthur, and I don't know any books about King Arthur. What I'm getting at is, what's the best book to read about King Arthur? I would prefer that it has his entire story, it can be a series, and it has mostly modern English (I don't want words only from the old time period). Thanks.
Please include full title and author.
Please include full title and author.
Answer
There are numerous medieval tales of Arthur which often greatly differ from one another, which is one reason why there is no single books retelling the tales while there are many books retelling most of Greek mythology, Norse mythology, and Irish mythology.
So there is no BEST book. For one thing, there is not one medieval romance which tells THE entire story because there is no ENTIRE story to be indicated by THE.
The earliest surviving supposedly reasonably complete biography of Arthur (and Merlin) is in the âHistoria Regum Britanniaeâ by the 12th century pseudo-historian Geoffrey of Monmouth. See http://www.lib.rochester.edu/Camelot/geofhkb.htm . Better modern translations of the âHistoria Regum Britanniaeâ are available in most large bookstores.
The medieval verse romances generally tell the story of a single Arthurian knight, often also containing some adventures of Gawain, when that Arthurian knight is not Gawain.
It is not until authors began writing the prose cyclic Arthurian romances about Lancelot and his lover affair with Guenevere that much continuity begins to appear. This has been translated into English in a 10-volume set in paperback: http://www.amazon.com/Lancelot-Grail-Set-Arthurian-Post-Vulgate-Translation/dp/0859917703/ref=cm_lmf_tit_27 . This also includes surviving text of the âPost-Vulgate Arthurian Cycleâ. It is quite expensive. A one-volume edition of what are arguably the most important passages is available here: http://www.amazon.com/Lancelot-Grail-Reader-Selections-Arthurian-Humanities/dp/0815334192/ref=cm_lmf_tit_5 . For a summary of the material see http://www.timelessmyths.com/arthurian/vulgate.html .
There were later prose cyclic Arthurian romances written, notably the âProse Tristanâ in four different versions, the âProphecies of Merlinâ, and âGuiron the Courteousâ which are more-or-less in the same continuity. In the 15th century Sir Thomas Malory combined some of this material into English in his âLe Morte dâArthurâ which, in some places, is a magnificent retelling. This is very much full of words from âthe old time periodâ but it keeps selling because modern readers fall in love with it and its language. Malory is actually very incomplete in respect to the âentireâ story as told in these romances, but his version is normally the only one which most modern English writers know. There is a modernized and somewhat abridged version by Keith Baines, which I personally find atrocious, but that may be what you want. See http://www.amazon.com/Morte-DArthur-Arthur-Legends-Classics/dp/0451531493/ref=sr_1_fkmr0_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1301886360&sr=1-1-fkmr0 .
A popular modern version which is sometimes very close to the original is T.H. White's âThe Once and Future Kingâ from which the musical âCamelotâ was based. Modern editions divide it into five books, of which the first and fifth are almost entirely White's own imagination but the third and fourth books (and much of the second) is Malory with humor, though White gets quite grim at the end.
John Steinbeck's retelling only covers two of Maloryâs âtalesâ, cut short by Steinbeckâs death. Tennyson's poems I find superb, but here also the story told is only that of the medieval texts about half the time, although always based on medieval texts.
Modern Arthurian novels in general greatly change the medieval Lancelot Cycle, which is fine, but not if what you want to read is mainly the medieval tale.
Here is a complete listing of medieval Arthurian works available in English, so far as I know:
http://www.amazon.com/Medieval-Arthurian-Modern-English-Translations-1/lm/R3KPSDORBZLMJ6/ref=cm_lm_byauthor_title_full ,
http://www.amazon.com/Medieval-Arthurian-English-Translations-2/lm/R2S7V81SU470N6/ref=cm_lm_byauthor_title_full .
http://www.amazon.com/Medieval-Lancelot-Modern-English-Translations/lm/R2SR3FRVTQ2CIU/ref=cm_lm_byauthor_title_full , and
http://www.amazon.com/Medieval-Tristan-Modern-English-Translations/lm/R3JLROH1RM9MI0/ref=cm_lm_byauthor_title_full .
What you want depend on whether you are reading for information about the genuine medieval Arthurian tales or what a more modern story that is merely based in them in a general way, and sometimes not even that.
Do not expect medieval works, even in translation into modern English, to read like a modern novel, because they arenât modern and they arenât novels. Some of them and parts of some of them are arguably just not very good. But you are reading them to try to appreciate what was popular among 13th century readers and those in the following few centuries and to do this you must take what you get, warts and all.
There are numerous medieval tales of Arthur which often greatly differ from one another, which is one reason why there is no single books retelling the tales while there are many books retelling most of Greek mythology, Norse mythology, and Irish mythology.
So there is no BEST book. For one thing, there is not one medieval romance which tells THE entire story because there is no ENTIRE story to be indicated by THE.
The earliest surviving supposedly reasonably complete biography of Arthur (and Merlin) is in the âHistoria Regum Britanniaeâ by the 12th century pseudo-historian Geoffrey of Monmouth. See http://www.lib.rochester.edu/Camelot/geofhkb.htm . Better modern translations of the âHistoria Regum Britanniaeâ are available in most large bookstores.
The medieval verse romances generally tell the story of a single Arthurian knight, often also containing some adventures of Gawain, when that Arthurian knight is not Gawain.
It is not until authors began writing the prose cyclic Arthurian romances about Lancelot and his lover affair with Guenevere that much continuity begins to appear. This has been translated into English in a 10-volume set in paperback: http://www.amazon.com/Lancelot-Grail-Set-Arthurian-Post-Vulgate-Translation/dp/0859917703/ref=cm_lmf_tit_27 . This also includes surviving text of the âPost-Vulgate Arthurian Cycleâ. It is quite expensive. A one-volume edition of what are arguably the most important passages is available here: http://www.amazon.com/Lancelot-Grail-Reader-Selections-Arthurian-Humanities/dp/0815334192/ref=cm_lmf_tit_5 . For a summary of the material see http://www.timelessmyths.com/arthurian/vulgate.html .
There were later prose cyclic Arthurian romances written, notably the âProse Tristanâ in four different versions, the âProphecies of Merlinâ, and âGuiron the Courteousâ which are more-or-less in the same continuity. In the 15th century Sir Thomas Malory combined some of this material into English in his âLe Morte dâArthurâ which, in some places, is a magnificent retelling. This is very much full of words from âthe old time periodâ but it keeps selling because modern readers fall in love with it and its language. Malory is actually very incomplete in respect to the âentireâ story as told in these romances, but his version is normally the only one which most modern English writers know. There is a modernized and somewhat abridged version by Keith Baines, which I personally find atrocious, but that may be what you want. See http://www.amazon.com/Morte-DArthur-Arthur-Legends-Classics/dp/0451531493/ref=sr_1_fkmr0_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1301886360&sr=1-1-fkmr0 .
A popular modern version which is sometimes very close to the original is T.H. White's âThe Once and Future Kingâ from which the musical âCamelotâ was based. Modern editions divide it into five books, of which the first and fifth are almost entirely White's own imagination but the third and fourth books (and much of the second) is Malory with humor, though White gets quite grim at the end.
John Steinbeck's retelling only covers two of Maloryâs âtalesâ, cut short by Steinbeckâs death. Tennyson's poems I find superb, but here also the story told is only that of the medieval texts about half the time, although always based on medieval texts.
Modern Arthurian novels in general greatly change the medieval Lancelot Cycle, which is fine, but not if what you want to read is mainly the medieval tale.
Here is a complete listing of medieval Arthurian works available in English, so far as I know:
http://www.amazon.com/Medieval-Arthurian-Modern-English-Translations-1/lm/R3KPSDORBZLMJ6/ref=cm_lm_byauthor_title_full ,
http://www.amazon.com/Medieval-Arthurian-English-Translations-2/lm/R2S7V81SU470N6/ref=cm_lm_byauthor_title_full .
http://www.amazon.com/Medieval-Lancelot-Modern-English-Translations/lm/R2SR3FRVTQ2CIU/ref=cm_lm_byauthor_title_full , and
http://www.amazon.com/Medieval-Tristan-Modern-English-Translations/lm/R3JLROH1RM9MI0/ref=cm_lm_byauthor_title_full .
What you want depend on whether you are reading for information about the genuine medieval Arthurian tales or what a more modern story that is merely based in them in a general way, and sometimes not even that.
Do not expect medieval works, even in translation into modern English, to read like a modern novel, because they arenât modern and they arenât novels. Some of them and parts of some of them are arguably just not very good. But you are reading them to try to appreciate what was popular among 13th century readers and those in the following few centuries and to do this you must take what you get, warts and all.
Arthur Legends Books?
Aphelion05
What books based on the legend of King Arthur are most accurate to the legend?
I've found a number of abridged versions, and a lot of versions made for children, but I'm looking for a book that is close enough or accurate enough to the original legend.
Any good recommendation on any books would be wonderful!
Answer
There are numerous medieval tales of Arthur, which often disagree with one another. Accordingly it is usually impossible to evaluate accuracy to the legend. There is not just ONE legend. Actually scholars seldom use the word âlegendâ when speaking of the longer medieval tales, any more than they would speak of the legend of Hamlet, or the legend of Macbeth.
The earliest surviving attempt at a complete Arthurian biography is in the âHistoria Regum Britanniaeâ by Geoffrrey of Monmouth. See http://www.lib.rochester.edu/Camelot/geofhkb.htm .
The so-called Lancelot-Grail cycle or Arthurian Vulgate Cycle of tales is the standard set of texts on which later prose Arthurian tales are mostly based. See http://www.timelessmyths.com/arthurian/vulgate.html . A set of books containing English translations of the texts is to be found here: http://www.amazon.com/Lancelot-Grail-Set-Arthurian-Post-Vulgate-Translation/dp/0859917703/ref=cm_lmf_tit_27 . A selection of these texts is available in one volume here: http://www.amazon.com/Lancelot-Grail-Reader-Selections-Arthurian-Humanities/dp/0815334192/ref=sr_1_8?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1301406828&sr=1-8 .
Sir Thomas Malory's âLe Morte d'Arthurâ is a 15th century English work, based mainly on some Lancelot-Grail texts and later romances supposedly set in the same continuity. It is the best-known medieval Arthurian work in English. There are numerous editions available, some in modernized spelling. You will find several editions in most large book stores and editions in modern spelling online. The Steinbeck book recommended by another viewer is an uncompleted rewrite of Malory and I do not recommend it because it is incomplete and also much expands Malory in an inventive way. Steinbeck never completed the book. The book is interesting, but obviously not nearly the âmost accurate to the legendâ, what there is of it.
âThe Mabinogionâ does NOT contain âthe oldest and most primitive legends of Arthurâ. Only one of the Arthurian tales in âThe Mabinogionâ, âCulhwch and Olwenâ, fits that description. Three of the five Arthurian tales in this collection are late Welsh adaptations of French Arthurian romances by Chrétien de Troyes. The tales can all be found here: http://www.maryjones.us/jce/mabinogion.html .
For English translations of the medieval Arthurian tales, see:
http://www.amazon.com/Medieval-Arthurian-Modern-English-Translations-1/lm/R3KPSDORBZLMJ6/ref=cm_lm_byauthor_title_full ,
http://www.amazon.com/Medieval-Arthurian-English-Translations-2/lm/R2S7V81SU470N6/ref=cm_lm_byauthor_title_full ,
http://www.amazon.com/Medieval-Lancelot-Modern-English-Translations/lm/R2SR3FRVTQ2CIU/ref=cm_lm_byauthor_title_full , and
http://www.amazon.com/Medieval-Tristan-Modern-English-Translations/lm/R3JLROH1RM9MI0/ref=cm_lm_byauthor_title_full .
There are numerous medieval tales of Arthur, which often disagree with one another. Accordingly it is usually impossible to evaluate accuracy to the legend. There is not just ONE legend. Actually scholars seldom use the word âlegendâ when speaking of the longer medieval tales, any more than they would speak of the legend of Hamlet, or the legend of Macbeth.
The earliest surviving attempt at a complete Arthurian biography is in the âHistoria Regum Britanniaeâ by Geoffrrey of Monmouth. See http://www.lib.rochester.edu/Camelot/geofhkb.htm .
The so-called Lancelot-Grail cycle or Arthurian Vulgate Cycle of tales is the standard set of texts on which later prose Arthurian tales are mostly based. See http://www.timelessmyths.com/arthurian/vulgate.html . A set of books containing English translations of the texts is to be found here: http://www.amazon.com/Lancelot-Grail-Set-Arthurian-Post-Vulgate-Translation/dp/0859917703/ref=cm_lmf_tit_27 . A selection of these texts is available in one volume here: http://www.amazon.com/Lancelot-Grail-Reader-Selections-Arthurian-Humanities/dp/0815334192/ref=sr_1_8?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1301406828&sr=1-8 .
Sir Thomas Malory's âLe Morte d'Arthurâ is a 15th century English work, based mainly on some Lancelot-Grail texts and later romances supposedly set in the same continuity. It is the best-known medieval Arthurian work in English. There are numerous editions available, some in modernized spelling. You will find several editions in most large book stores and editions in modern spelling online. The Steinbeck book recommended by another viewer is an uncompleted rewrite of Malory and I do not recommend it because it is incomplete and also much expands Malory in an inventive way. Steinbeck never completed the book. The book is interesting, but obviously not nearly the âmost accurate to the legendâ, what there is of it.
âThe Mabinogionâ does NOT contain âthe oldest and most primitive legends of Arthurâ. Only one of the Arthurian tales in âThe Mabinogionâ, âCulhwch and Olwenâ, fits that description. Three of the five Arthurian tales in this collection are late Welsh adaptations of French Arthurian romances by Chrétien de Troyes. The tales can all be found here: http://www.maryjones.us/jce/mabinogion.html .
For English translations of the medieval Arthurian tales, see:
http://www.amazon.com/Medieval-Arthurian-Modern-English-Translations-1/lm/R3KPSDORBZLMJ6/ref=cm_lm_byauthor_title_full ,
http://www.amazon.com/Medieval-Arthurian-English-Translations-2/lm/R2S7V81SU470N6/ref=cm_lm_byauthor_title_full ,
http://www.amazon.com/Medieval-Lancelot-Modern-English-Translations/lm/R2SR3FRVTQ2CIU/ref=cm_lm_byauthor_title_full , and
http://www.amazon.com/Medieval-Tristan-Modern-English-Translations/lm/R3JLROH1RM9MI0/ref=cm_lm_byauthor_title_full .
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