The History of the Arthurian Legends in Ten Easy Steps (with Recommended Reading)

[zahrawithaz]

There is no set canon. There never has been.

Unlike many other legends that have been retold repeatedly, there’s no unified original text for the stories about Arthur and his associates. Bear in mind that for most of their history, the Arthurian legends circulated orally and through manuscripts; just as oral traditions can vary over time, different

Comments

[liltipsyfyi]

Wow! This is brilliant! This definatley filled in the gaps for me, cheers!

[parisiennepen]

Aha, finally a summary that *clearly* explains the difference between the Vulgate and Post-Vulgate Cycles! ;D

And Caradoc! ♥. I didn't know that the Beheading Game appeared first in his story and then in the Green Knight stories - that's fascinating.

A couple of questions, if I may:
- since you've studied the literature, do you know where I can find the Caradoc story? I can think of one source - Thomas Bulfinch - but I'd be very interested in knowing if there are others, and what their availability is

Probably more than you wanted to know about the Vulgate Cycle

[zahrawithaz]

So glad you appreciated! The differences between the Vulgate and Post-Vulgate can be incredibly confusing (made MUCH WORSE by the very confusing and varied names used for each part of the Cycles), and a lot of specialist literature sometimes collapses the distinction. (Part of the problem is that we don't have an entire surviving manuscript for the Post-Vulgate, just fragments

Caradoc & the Beheading Game

[zahrawithaz]

Hey, I love questions, in case you couldn't tell! Thanks so much for asking them!

Caradoc is actually a lengthy but detachable section of the First Grail Continuation and hence written in French verse; the English translation I've read can be found in a book called Three Arthurian Romances: Poems from Medieval France published by Everyman. Ross G. Arthur is the translator, though I don't remember his intro and notes being all that extensive.

Wikipedia actually has hilarious but accurate plot summary of Caradoc here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caradoc

(You will notice that this plot summary includes magical bestiality, a vampiric snake, and a woman replacing her amputated nipple with one made of gold. Yes, medieval literature really is this weird.)

It is thought that the author of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight got the idea of the Beheading Game from Caradoc. But the motif--thought to be a Celtic one--appears first in Bricriu's Feast, a Old Irish tale from a

Re: Caradoc & the Beheading Game

[parisiennepen]

Wow, more to look out for at the library/bookshop! Thanks.

[iknowitsmad]

This is a fascinating read, and I thank you for putting it all together like this. It has made me go and dig out Tolkien's translation of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight that I bought years ago and never read.

[zahrawithaz]

You're very welcome. I actually haven't read Tolkien's translation of that text, so I'd love to hear what you think of it!

[thismaz]

How wonderful to see a list that puts the various sources into a form that makes some sort of chronological sense. Thank you and kudos to you.
In case people don't know, there are plenty of Arthurian books available to download at Project Gutenberg. Putting 'Arthur' in the search box brings up a list.
As they say: No fee (although a small donation helps with the work).

[msilverstar]

Sadly, those are all pre-1923 translations and editions, with all their cultural biases and contemporary evidence. There's superb literary and historical scholarship since then that is locked up by copyright.

[catchtheskies]

Thank you for sharing this, it's a really interesting read! Some of this I'm familiar with or have heard of minutely but some areas are completely new. You've certainly given me more books to read and areas to look into; my fascinaion has definately reached a new level! Thank you. =]

[zahrawithaz]

So very glad that you enjoyed it and that it's upped your fascination! I do like to enable Arthurian enthusiasm when I can! :)