ABSTRACT

The Romance of Arthur, James J. Wilhelm’s 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 Chrétien 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 Arthurian romance.

Norris J. Lacy builds on the book’s 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.

chapter |30 pages

Culhwch and Olwen

chapter |12 pages

Wace, Roman de Brut

Merlin Episodes and “The Birth and Rise of Arthur”

chapter |12 pages

Layamon, Brut

“The Death of Arthur”

chapter |14 pages

Wolfram von Eschenbach, Parzival

Excerpt from Book IX, translated by Cyril Edwards

chapter |8 pages

The Quest for the Holy Grail

“The Grail Liturgy,” translated by E. Jane Burns

chapter |8 pages

Selected Lyrics

chapter |13 pages

The Saga of the Mantle

chapter |12 pages

Thomas of Britain, Romance of Tristran

Tristran's “Marriage Soliloquy” and “The Ending,” translated by Joan Tasker Grimbert / With the “Hall of Statues” episode from the Norse Tristrams saga ok Ísöndar, translated by Peter Jorgensen

chapter |41 pages

The Alliterative Morte Arthure

Excerpts

chapter |11 pages

Sir Thomas Malory, Le Morte Darthur

“The Sword in the Stone” and “Arthur's dream, his battle with Mordred, and his death”