Norris J. Lacy - The Romance of Arthur

The Romance of Arthur

The Romance of Arthur, James J. Wilhelms classic anthology of Arthurian literature, is an essential text for students of the medieval Romance tradition.

This fully updated third edition presents a comprehensive reader, mapping the course of Arthurian literature, and is expanded to cover:

key authors such as Chrtien de Troyes and Thomas of Britain, as well as Arthurian texts by women and more obscure sources for Arthurian romance

extensive coverage of key themes and characters in the tradition

a wide geographical range of texts including translations from Latin, French, German, Spanish, Welsh, Middle English, and Italian sources

a broad chronological range of texts, encompassing nearly a thousand years of Arthurianromance.

Norris J. Lacy builds on the books source material, presenting readers with a clear introduction to many accessible modern-spelling versions of Arthurian texts. The extracts are presented in a new reader-friendly format with detailed suggestions for further reading and illustrations of key places, figures, and scenes. The Romance of Arthur provides an excellent introduction and an extensive resource for both students and scholars of Arthurian literature.

Norris J. Lacy is Edwin Erle Sparks Professor Emeritus of French and Medieval Studies at Pennsylvania State University, USA.

James J. Wilhelm is a leading scholar of medieval literature and twentieth-century poetry. He was formerly Professor of Comparative Literature at Rutgers University, USA.

The Romance of Arthur

An Anthology of Medieval Texts in Translation

THIRD EDITION
EDITED BY NORRIS J. LACY
AND JAMES J. WILHELM

Third edition published 2013
by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN

Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada
by Routledge
711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017

Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business

2013 Norris J. Lacy and James J. Wilhelm, for selection and editorial matter; individualcontributions, the contributors

The right of Norris J. Lacy and James J. Wilhelm to be identified as authors of the editorial matter, and of the authors for their individual contributions, has been asserted in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.

Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe.

First edition published by Garland Publishing Inc. 1983
Second edition published by Garland Publishing Inc. 1994

British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
The romance of Arthur: an anthology of medieval texts in translation / edited by Norris J. Lacy
and James J. Wilhelm. 3rd ed.
p. cm.
Includes index.
1. Arthurian romances. 2. RomancesTranslations into English. I. Lacy, Norris J.
II. Wilhelm, James J.
PN6071.A84R64 2012
808.80351dc23

2012025681

ISBN: 9780415782883 (hbk)
ISBN: 9780415782890 (pbk)

Typeset in Garamond and Frutiger
by Keystroke, Station Road, Codsall, Wolverhampton

James J. Wilhelm

Norris J. Lacy

James J. Wilhelm

John K. Bollard

Richard M. Loomis

Richard M. Loomis

James J. Wilhelm

James J. Wilhelm

William W. Kibler

Norris J. Lacy

Introduction by Norris J. Lacy

Introduction by Norris J. Lacy

James J. Wilhelm

Marianne E. Kalinke

Norris J. Lacy

Norris J. Lacy

James J. Wilhelm

The Prose Merlin and the Suite du Merlin
Episodes
Samuel N. Rosenberg

Mildred Leake Day

James J. Wilhelm

Alan Lupack

Valerie Krishna

Dorsey Armstrong

The following figures appear between

This volume has its roots in a smaller Romance of Arthur that was published in 1983. The purpose then was to offer some of the most important works of medieval Arthurian literature in fresh, new translations that would convey some sense of the development of King Arthur from Latin chronicles and Celtic mythology into the romantic king of late-medieval literature. My fellow editors decided to end the work with Sir Thomas Malorys Morte DArthur and to highlight such works as Chrtien de Troyess Lancelot, or The Knight of the Cart and the anonymous Sir Gawain and the Green Knight.

This work was so enthusiastically received that we followed it with Romance of Arthur II, an anthology that sought to fill in some of the obvious gaps, such as adding selections from Wace and Layamon between the seminal history of Geoffrey of Monmouth and Chrtien. We also added Brouls version of the Tristan and Isolde love tragedy, along with Thomas of Britain, and works that stressed the ever-popular Merlin.

When this work was equally well received, we followed it with Romance of Arthur III, which stressed lesser-known Arthurian works from Old Norse, Russian, Italian, and Spanish.

In combining the major works from these three volumes, it was often hard to select what to include and what to omit, but we feel that we have made selections that convey a broad range of development, including works written in Latin, Welsh, French, Middle English, Old Norse, Italian, and Provenal. New to this volume are poems of the Provenal troubadours, along with a few lyrics from Germany, Italy, and Spain. It was felt that we had to supply a bridge between the earlier histories and chronicles and the sudden blossoming of romantic narratives in the twelfth century, and it was the lyric writers who filled this gap.

I would like to thank the many colleagues who offered their opinions concerning what works should be included, as well as those who did the actual translating and wrote the introductions. Our Garland editor, Gary Kuris, was as helpful here as he was from the very start. I would also like to thank the now-deceased president of Garland Publishing, Gavin Borden, who supported us throughout this venture. Gavin was, as Hugh Kenner said, the prince of publishers.

James J. Wilhelm
New York City
1993

The success of The Romance of Arthur has been impressive and gratifying; it is an anthology used in the majority of Arthurian courses offered in Humanities, English, and Comparative Literature programs. Naturally, many instructors, including those most enthusiastic about the contents and presentation of the volume, have wished that other texts had been included, and we have attempted to address their preferences. One of the requests we received most often concerned the Grail material (entirely lacking from the previous edition), and we have included the Grail excerpts of three major texts: the two Grail scenes from Chrtiens