I'm trying to get into the King Arthur stories, but there are so fucking many. What are the bare essentials? So far I'm going on:
>Geoffrey of Monmouth's "Historia Regum Brittaniae" and "Vita Merlini"
>Cretien de Troyes' "Perceval" et al.
>Sir Gawain and the Green Knight
>Mabinogion
>Sir Thomas Malory's "Le Morte D'Arthur"
>Edmund Spenser's "The Faerie Queene"
>Alfred, Lord Tennyson's "Idylls of the King" et al.
>Mark Twain's "A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court
>Howard Pyle's Arthurian stories
>T.H. White's "The Once and Future King"
>C.S. Lewis' Space Trilogy (it has Merlin)
>Mary Stewart's "The Crystal Cave" et al.
>Marion Zimmer Bradley's "Avalon Series" (noh8, I thought it influential enough to include)
Am I missing anything or are these all the absolute bare necessities? Are there any I should cut out of my list?
Arthurian Mythos
medievalists are the ponyfags of literature go ask Veeky Forums or some shit
Add The Wizard Knight by Gene Wolfe
You could have just said "I don't know, I've never read any of them."
Thanks, I'll check it out.
Whatever you do, start with this one first.
>You could have just said "I don't know, I've never read any of them."
i've read too many shitty french romances to be sympathetic to your plight.
Oh. I was going to start with Geoffrey of Monmouth and didn't really plan on touching Charlemagne just yet, but alright.
Well, I only asked about what people consider the essential Arthurian texts.
But are you saying they're all shitty? And all French?
Meh.
Yvain the knight of the lion?
Lancelot the knight of the cart?
From what you listed I only know Cretien and the HRB, and the mabinogion. Don't know what all the other mumbo jumbo is nor what you're trying to do but I'd stick strictly to literature, so Perceval, Lancelot and Yvain are good enough to me.
> Yvain and Slutlot
He already listed those.
I'd add to your list Parzival by Wolfram von Eschenbach.
Fuck C.S. Lewis, Mary Stewart and Marion Z.B., stick to the real thing.
Oh and btw, you'll need to read the various continuations of Chretien's Perceval, becaus he died before ending it. Read the one where Percival does it ll, and read the other one in which Peredur helps in the quest but Galahad and co. do the job.
Oh good, I have Parzival on my list but wasn't sure if I should list it here.
I know modern fantasy variants are kind of bullshit, but I think it would be interesting to see how they progressed from the old works.
Damn, people really liked Percival. Should be fun.
If you have the time, you can never go wrong with Wagner's versions of Tristan and Parsifal. Syberburg's film version of Parsifal is a great place to start.
>Mark Twain's "A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court
I really enjoyed it because Twain, but I'd herdly call it essential to the Arthurian canon
>Marion Zimmer Bradley's "Avalon Series"
if this is the one that starts with the Mists Of Avalon… personally I only got past the first few chapters. I dunno, it was sort of an interesting take but I couldn't see myself working thru that doorstopper. It was many years ago that I cracked it open, but yeah, nah. and again, hardly canon.
I don't know why I'm so eager to avoid the whole Tristan stuff... that's what inspired Romeo & Juliet, isn't it? I can look into Wagner though, I kept meaning to look into his stuff but never finished the Volsunga Saga like I wanted to before touching his Ring Cycle.
Yeah, again, I know the trouble with touching more modern fantasy depictions, and I was worried a bit about the Mists of Avalon (you're right, it does start with that) because from what I remember of the miniseries, there's a bit of a weird feminist/neopagan bias to it all. But eh, might as screw around at some point.
I plan on going in chronological order though, so that's really all going to be at the end. I'll also touch on movies and TV, but as this is Veeky Forums and not /tv/, I decided not to bother asking and going off-topic.
Not that they'd be of any help.
Good plan, make sure you've started with the Greeks as well as the Lais of Marie de France. Also Beowulf isn't a bad shout.
Tristan is a knight of the Table Round, so read it.
Forget chronological order, there is none. Just dive in.
Oh and watch Excalibur, great adaptation of Le Morte d'Arthur, it might entertain AND instruct you.
Fate ;^)
Le Morte d'Arthur is one of the best things I've ever read. I'm not too knowledgable about Arthurian lore overall but Malory was excellent.
>Forget chronological order, there is none.
I meant in terms of publication. But I'll give Tristan a shot.
Thanks, that's on my list. I've seen a few Arthurian movies, but not that one, so it should be interesting.
?
Yeah, I remember reading a bit back in I think high school? So it'll be nice to read the whole thing.
The only inspiration the Shakeman has from Tristan is that their love was forbidden, so don't worry.
Gosh, people are stacking it on OP's desk. My suggestion is to start with the anthology I used for the Arthurian Lit course I taught:
Wilhelm, James J. (Editor). The Romance of Arthur, New, Expanded Edition: An Anthology of Medieval Texts in Translation [paperback] Routledge, 3rd edition 2013. 572 pgs.
I'm sure folks will scorn the translations and excerpts, but it's a great efficient starting point, and tells you where you want to focus future efforts. There's no need to read all of Gildas or Bede for a few mentions of Arthur, for instance, and the texts have very useful intros. From there you can read full texts in original forms as you wish, but you'll be nicely oriented.
Grab a used copy on amazon for $20 and get:
1. Arthur in the Latin Chronicles
2. Arthur in the Early Welsh Tradition
3. Culhwch and Olwen
4. Arthur in Geoffrey of Monmouth
5. Wace: Roman de Brut (Merlin Episodes and "he Birth and Rise of Arthur)
6. Layamon: Brut (The Death of Arthur)
7. Chrétien de Troyes: Lancelot, or The Knight of the Cart
8. Chrétien de Troyes: Perceval, or The Story of the Grail (Grail excerpts)
9. Wolfram von Eschenbach, Parzival (From Book IX)
10. The Quest for the Holy Grail (The Grail Liturgy)
11.Selected Lyrics
12. The Saga of the Mantle Marianne
13. Béroul: The Romance of Tristran
14. Marie de France: Chievrefueil (The Honeysuckle)
15. Thomas of Britain: Tristran (The Marriage Soliloquy and the Ending) (with the Hall of Statues episode from the Norse Tristrams saga
16. Cantare on the Death of Tristan
17. The Prose Merlin and The Suite du Merlin (Episodes)
18. The Rise of Gawain, Nephew of Arthur
19. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight
20. The Wedding of Sir Gawain and Dame Ragnell
21. The Alliterative Morte Arthure (Excerpts)
22. Sir Thomas Malory: Le Morte Darthur (The Sword in the Stone and the Death of Arthur)
the once and future king is the best one
Fate/stay night, the japanese "softcore" porn VN that lets you have tender loving sex with King Arthur.
Hi James. How's it hanging?
>Marion Zimmer Bradley's "Avalon Series" (noh8, I thought it influential enough to include)
lol no