Historical Arthur and The Gawain Poet

Studies on Arthurian and Other Traditions

AvAndrew Breeze

Inbunden, Engelska, 2023

Del i serien Studies in Medieval Literature

1 160 kr

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Beskrivning

The Historical Arthur and The Gawain Poet: Studies on Arthurian and Other Traditions delves into the origins of Arthur and reveals the author of the famous Gawain Manuscript. Its first part contains evidence for the Arthur of film and legend as a real person, a Celtic commander (not a king) who fought battles in North Britain during the terrible volcanic winter of 536-7, before dying a hero's death in a conflict on Hadrian's Wall. Its second part moves on to Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, an Arthurian poem on magic, near-death, and near-seduction. Its author has always been unknown, but Dr. Breeze uses arguments of the US scholar Ann W. Astell to date the text to 1387 and name the poet as Sir John Stanley (d. 1414), a Cheshire and Lancashire grandee. He can now be recognized as an artist of genius, comparable to Chaucer himself. What is said in this book on John Stanley and his circle thus allows the greatest advance in Arthurian Studies since 1934, when Walter Oakeshott discovered the Winchester Malory amongst manuscripts of an English school library.

Produktinformation

Utgivningsdatum:2023-02-15
Mått:159 x 237 x 18 mm
Vikt:435 g
Format:Inbunden
Språk:Engelska
Serie:Studies in Medieval Literature
Antal sidor:164
Förlag:Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
ISBN:9781666929546

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Mer om författaren

Andrew Breeze is professor of philology at the University of Navarra.

Recensioner i media

One of the most well-known—if often neglected mythological traditions—is the collection of King Arthur stories. Although the stories themselves are often set in the world of the high or late Middle Ages, it is generally assumed tat the historical Arthur was a Romanized Celtic Christian king who resisted pagan Saxon invasions of Great Britain. Over time, in popular understanding, Arthur’s narrative was imbued with various mythic elements and the ornaments and aesthetics (as well as the technology) of the High Middle Ages, making the Arthur we know today. However, in his recent work, The Historical Arthur and the Gawain Poet, Andrew Breeze of the University of Navarra attempts to topple this popular view, providing a historically accurate but nonetheless fascinating portrait of Arthur.

Innehållsförteckning

PrefacePart 1: ArthurChapter One: The Historical ArthurChapter Two: Arthur Dux Bellorum and Welsh Penteulu "Chief of the Royal Warband"Part Two: The Gawain Poet and His SchoolChapter Three: Was Sir John Stanley (d. 1414) the Gawain Poet?Chapter Four: 1387: Year of Sir Gawain and the Green KnightChapter Five: Sir Gawain and the Green Knight Predates PearlChapter Six: Italy, Pearl, St Erkenwald, and Sir William StanleyChapter Seven: Place-Names and Politics in The Awntyrs off ArthureBibliographyAbout the Author