If you'd like to know more about how Arthurian Literature changed and evolved throughout the medieval period, check out my Arthurian literature series where I talk about it from century to century, starting with the very origins of the legend: th-cam.com/video/raC1g-8CoM8/w-d-xo.html
Arthur did exist and its a shame your college teaches you otherwise. Although you write a paper on this you are kicked out of college and the pope will start watching you making sure you don't discover history's secret
Shame that it isn’t a legend at all then. Arthur was a real King of Glamorgan and Gwent. Gen up on Wilson and Blackett’s discoveries. Or just Google Pro Anima Artorius and take it from there.
I'm a huge Tolkien nerd, but as i'm kinda studying him i feel in the necesity of studying everything that inspired him. I'm starting with the Arthurian literature and i really want to thank you! I'm recieving Sir Thomas Mallory book today so... Super excited. Thank you again.
Thanks for the recommendations, Arthurian Legend is something I've always been interested in delving into, but it can be intimidating with just how old and expansive it is. Will definitely keep this video in mind when diving in.
Le Morte D'Arthur was my first arthurian book and it gave me such a headache. Lol. But I did enjoy reading it in places and furthered my interest on King Arthur.
Bends Being English iv always love the Arthurian legends but doing my own research into the real King Arthur, Arthur was thought to be a Romano British Generale who fought against the Anglo Saxon invader. A very interesting book to read is The Pennine Dragon.The Pennine Dragon tells the story of the legendary King Arthur. On the 1500th anniversary of Arthur's greatest battle at Badon, his whole life, family history and exploits are finally identified with those of a real historic ruler. Arthur Pendragon was actually a ruler recorded in history as Arthwys of the Pennines. He and his father ruled from the old Roman garrisons of Hadrian's Wall and the City of York and his base was Camulod (Camelot) in the heart of what is now Yorkshire. Arthwys had his Merlin, his Mordred, his Lancelot and his beautiful Irish Queen. His battles were fought across what is now the north of England and lowlands of Scotland. Without the prejudice of placing Arthur in Wales or Cornwall, Pennine Dragon reveals that Arthur was always identified as a man of the north in the earliest historical references. Legendary Arthurian places like Badon, Camlann, Camelot, the Lady of the Lake, Asolat, Joyous Garde, Avalon and the Round Table are all identified in the north. The author, Simon Keegan has identified no fewer than 50 Arthurian characters in real historical figures.We meet Morgan, Gawain, Bedevere, Culhwch, Uther and Igraine - and each character fits in perfectly within the family tree and inner circle of the historic king. We find that Arthwys was at precisely the right time and place and is the only possible man who could have been the King Arthur of legend. This work on the true King Arthur published exactly 1500 years after the historic king's final victory over the Saxons.
Fantastic work, Annie. This (your whole Arthurian series!) is really helping me as I research for a project on the changing symbolism of Arthur's sword. The way that you so clearly link the various texts is masterful. Keep it up!
I enjoyed reading Once and Future King but never really knew where to start with the origins of Arthurian legend, so thank you very much for these reccomendations!
Its so refreshing to find someone who reads and reccomends medieval literature. I'd love to hear more of that! Would you consider reviewing medieval classics and, perhaps, medieval historical fiction?
I'm not an English fellow, not even from Europe, but as an southeast-asian, I'm very interested in Arthurian Legend since I'm researching about celtic mythology for my book. Unlike Greek mythology, Arthurian myth is quite hard to track down, because there are so much version, hard to find your personal "canon".
Excellent review with great enthusiasm. Although I'm a history buff, with a particular fondness for the Middle Ages, I've been away from the subject matter for a huge number of years---until fairly recently, that is. My resurgence of interest in medieval history has led me to rediscovering the Arthurian saga---its legends, lore, who the "real" Arthur may've been in actual history, etc. As for Arthur, specifically, I think it was my reading the great Mark Twain novel "A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court" last year, that got me to thinking about Camelot again. I also would mention the most famous British poet of the Victorian Era, Tennyson, as having much to do with re-igniting the world's interest in the entire Arthurian story-arc, expressed in the beautiful & majestic poem "Idylls of the King". The little I've read from it so far is quite enchanting & easy-to-comprehend. His way of rhyming is wondrously impressive & elegant, along with fine storytelling. Thanks again for a terrific overview!
Thank God for this video. I was interested in reading and diving into arthurian literature. I searched up "arthurian literature books" and to my surprise I see there's a never ending collection priced at $120 and I almost lost hope but miraculously I ended up here. also: you have gorgeous eyes.
1. I think starting with Malory's Le Morte d'Arthur and reading all of it isn't necessarily a bad way to start. However, it takes some time to get used to Malory's style. I think it took me a good 50-100 pages if not more. Nevertheless Le Morte d'Arthur is a very enjoyable read and it has high literary value. 2. Geoffrey of Monmouth and Chretien de Troyes have some good bits, but there is a ton of mundane if not leaden prose to slog through. I know they're indispensable for contributing to the Arthurian tales (e.g. de Troyes's contributions include the Arthur-Lancelot-Guinevere love triangle and the quest for the holy grail), but I wouldn't say they're indispensable in terms of great literature. Geoffrey of Monmouth and de Troyes aren't on par with greats like Homer, Virgil, Dante, Boccaccio, Chaucer, or even Malory. Honestly I think they can be skipped entirely if one simply wants to read good Arthurian tales. I think they're mostly useful for scholars and the like-minded who wish to engage the primary source material. 3. I'd strongly recommend Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. I really loved the Simon Armitage translation, but Bernard O'Donoghue in the Penguin Classics series is second. Tolkien, Merwin, Raffel, and others were good, but I preferred Armitage and O'Donoghue. Armitage (and to a lesser extent O'Donoghue) does a hauntingly beautiful translation; he spins an engrossing sense of magic and mystery with his words. Like other translators, Armitage attempts to capture the original's use of unrhymed alliterative verses followed by five brief rhymed verses ("bob and wheel") for poetic effect, but his work sounds better overall than most others to my ears. And Gawain is quite a short read. If you have an average reading speed (around 250 wpm), then you can easily read the whole tale in an afternoon or less. 4. Tennyson's Idylls of the King is beautiful poetry, though it reflects Victorian sensibilities, for better and for worse. But it's classic and certainly worth reading if one wants to read the best Arthurian literature for pleasure rather than for study. 5. For a modern take, and one of my favorite books of all time, I love The Once and Future King by T.H. White (+/- The Book of Meryln). In fact, I know this is likely sacrilege to most scholars, especially Medievalists, but I think if you can only read one Arthurian tale, ancient or new, then I'd opt for The Once and Future King, followed closely by Malory.
@@Medievalannie she is excited. We are watching Excalibur tonight which got me into it. Thank you and I hope you're smiling and proud and you have a great happy 4th of July!
And Sir Gawain and the green Knight, which was written in the 14th c. in a northern dialect of Middle English. I’m loving it. And especially doping out the original.
Sir Gawain , Lancelot, Galaad, Percival and the Holy Grail'was created by the French writer Chrétien of Troyes in the XIIth century. He also created Tristan and Yseut. In fact it was not creations but old Celtic stories that have absolutely nothing to 'do with England .
This is REALLY cool. You have a great channel!...Thank you for providing easy information on Authurian related content...This is going on my Favorites.
banger. I am wirting a scientific work about arthurian literature for my school finals (?) (it's a thing in austria..) I just wanted to thank you because this video honestly helped me so much to get started + there are great recommandations for literature i can use for this. So again thank you very much ! .)
I loooooove to read, but this seems like a whole different world of literature! Thanks for sharing....who knows, i just might find my way into this genre one say.
What a great video! Funny, I started with an old, old copy of L'Morte de Arthur that my parents had on their bookshelf. I must have been 13 or so when I read it, so I guess I started at the wrong book. I still devoured it many times, though! :)
Read Saint Tysilio's History of the Early Britons, born in 590AD, translated by Bill Cooper, easily found online. Also worth checking out: Wilson and Blackett's work, The King Arthur Conspiracy, Moses in the Hieroglyphics, etc.
Hey Annie great stuff, very interesting. I have always been a huge fan of King Arthur and his noble knights. Right now I am making my way through Jack Whyte's semi historical epic, but I have never read any of the foundational literature about the legend. Thanks for the recommendations. Also I was wondering if you will do anything on what a consider the best most accurate retelling of the Arthurian myth. That being Monty Python and the Holy Grail. Just want to say I am not dead yet, cheers.
I’m reading Half Sick of Shadows, which explores the character of Elaine of Shalott. I’m on the thirteenth chapter and liking it so far. It is reviving my interest in the main source material.
I’m studying applied literature & cultural studies but there sadly hasn’t been a seminar on anything relating to Arthurian literature. I’m kind of hoping to write my thesis on it (not sure yet if that’s possible tbh) and am trying to make my way through this on my own 😄 so thank you for this video!
I have read Le Morte de Arthur and explored the Arthurian legend over the years and my favourite knight is Sir Gawain, Arthur;s best knight before the French created Lancelot, who becomes Arthur's best knight from across the sea (hence a Frenchman is the greatest knight in Britain, which I hate). I think Lancelot is the villain of the story, an adulterer and a traitor, loving another man's wife is adultery, and that woman is his best friend and King's wife make it treason. He also creates the split in the Round Table. I saw on top of your bookcase The Historian, it looks to be the book written by Elizabeth Kostova (cant see the name on your copy) and it is a favourite of mine. Have you done a review of it?
Enjoyed this a lot - I had quite forgotten about Robert de Boron, and this has inspired me to buy the book today. I'm currently looking at Arthur for my Masters, but we tend to end with Geoffrey rather than begin so an interesting perspective. I grew up reading these but it's easy to forget. But no Parzival?! Surely not!
Hi there, thanks for doing this video! I came across this after watching The Green Knight and having my interest in the Arthur legends re-kindled. I was impressed by The Green Knight as a standalone film that really shows how the Arthur legend could work as an expanded universe with many user-friendly stories within the whole. Much like you mention in the "spin-off" section of this video. The Green Knight was fantastic as it's own film, building it's own sense of meaning, and then there was a lot of fun to be had in researching deeper and unraveling the hidden layers of meaning beyond the film. I hadn't come across Robert de Boron's work in my own follow up, so thank you for elaborating on it's role in the development of the mythology. I would be interested in if you have thoughts on modern versions of the Arthur story over the last couple decades, in novels and book series, if you make future videos. All the best to you, great video!
Thank you for this video. Very helpful as, personally, I've recently started reading Malory's "Morte Darthur" (in the slightly abridged Helen Cooper rendition of the Winchester Manuscript - while consulting the Norton Critical Edition of the full text on the side). BTW, I wasn't familiar with the origin story of Merlin as told by Robert de Boron: What a mindblowing individual genesis! It actually put me into a state of philosophical wonder as to what messages this story might convey. So now I'm definitely checking out de Boron also.
I hope you enjoy reading Malory and Robert de Boron! They are both amazing works. I also really enjoy Helen Cooper's works, would highly recommend her book on romance if you haven't already read it!!
I've always been interested in Mythology (and Philosophy - ended up with an MA in the latter) - and always read quite a lot about this topic. Apart from Norse Mythology, though, where I am familiar with the "Prose Edda" and the majority of the poems of the "Poetic Edda", I've mostly delved into secondary sources. In recent years, however, I've gone on a regular primary sources reading spree. So far, I've consumed several books of The Old Testament (and there's definitely a lot of Tolkien sources in there!), the "Enuma Elish" and the "Gilgamesh" of ancient Babylon/Sumer, Homer's "Iliad" and the "Odyssey", Hesiod's "Theogony" + "Works and Days", and more. And now, I'm starting to get into the primary sources of the Arthurian Cycles. I also need to re-visit Milton's "Paradise Lost" sometime in the future. It's quite an adventure :-)
That does sound like a great adventure! Primary sources are always a joy to read! I have been meaning to start stepping out of England and France and read more Norse Mythology, it's in my future plans. My next video will be on the very origins of the Arthurian Legend, so I hope it'll be helpful in your journey!
I love literature a lot, I did literature in high school and I loved reading novels, though I loved poetry extremely. I loved to find out the literal meaning behind the poems. it was for me the most interesting part of literature.
Thanks for your video! I will be picking Le Morte D'Arthur soon and I wanted to hear people's experience with it. Also, what is that poster/scroll behind you?
Hi Annie! Thank you so much for this video. I'm about to embark on a deep research quest regarding Arthurian Literature for an upcoming TCG called Sorcery: Contested Realm, and badly needed some guidance with exactly this. Public domain works are preferred. I was aware of selections #1 and #4, but not #2 or #3, which I will be pursuing copies of right away. I doubt you'll see this comment since the video is older, but if you have any other suggestions to make, I would greatly appreciate it! Thank you again!
I recommend David Staines translation to Chrétien De Troyes works - Better than most. Also the movie 'Excalibur' will help to get the spirit of the Arthurian world.
Hi!!! Are you studying purely arthurian literature? (assuming at uni?) because i am really interested in arthurian literature - its one of the only genres that i will sit and read things about for hours. I study English Literature in A-levels at the moment but i think it would be really cool to study in Uni. I also do A-level art and alot of my inspiration for my artwork comes from arthurian legends and its really hard to kind of pin the idea down and make it as meaningful as possible... Are there any modern day problems in society today that you think link directly to arthurian literature. I have a few ideas, such as how the knight in morte de arthur is sort of dismissed slightly as a lower class person and (like you said in your video) how he ends up working in the kitchens but gradually steps up on trying to show/prove that he is worthy of being a Knight. I find that in society today there seems to be alot of prejudice which comes about the steriotypes of 'people' but its really hard to link that kind of thing visually into art. My project is purely landscapes atm with distant figures in the background... Just- yeah. What do you think?
You forgot the most important one who created all the Arthurian legend: Chretien of Troyes : it is Chretien who spoke of Lancelot, Galaad, Percival, Gawain, the quest of the Grail. Chretien chansons de geste include Tristan and Yseut. The sources of Chretien are Celtic ( Cornwall, Brittany, Wales) and absolutely have nothing to do with the Anglo-Saxon.
If you'd like to know more about how Arthurian Literature changed and evolved throughout the medieval period, check out my Arthurian literature series where I talk about it from century to century, starting with the very origins of the legend: th-cam.com/video/raC1g-8CoM8/w-d-xo.html
Arthur did exist and its a shame your college teaches you otherwise. Although you write a paper on this you are kicked out of college and the pope will start watching you making sure you don't discover history's secret
Excuse me miss what is the name of the music playing in the background.
In a land of myth and a time of magic, the destiny of a great kingdom rested on the shoulders of a young man his name.....
Merlin!
I absolutely love that show, rewatching it yet again right now.
*cue best theme song in television history*
What show?
@@Nico-nb1ut bbc's merlin. it's on netflix.
@@Nico-nb1ut merlin it's on netflix its a super emotional heavy show I highly recommend
I have been fascinated with Arthurian legend since I was a little girl. Great video
I hope you give them a read! The Arthurian legend is so rich, it's absolutely wonderful.
Shame that it isn’t a legend at all then. Arthur was a real King of Glamorgan and Gwent. Gen up on Wilson and Blackett’s discoveries. Or just Google Pro Anima Artorius and take it from there.
I'm a huge Tolkien nerd, but as i'm kinda studying him i feel in the necesity of studying everything that inspired him. I'm starting with the Arthurian literature and i really want to thank you! I'm recieving Sir Thomas Mallory book today so... Super excited. Thank you again.
Arthurian literature is so underrated. I love it so much
I'm so glad you like it too, it's my absolute favourite to read and study!
Thanks for the recommendations, Arthurian Legend is something I've always been interested in delving into, but it can be intimidating with just how old and expansive it is. Will definitely keep this video in mind when diving in.
It can definitely be intimidating, I certainly felt that way at first! I hope you give it a shot and that you have fun reading!
Le Morte D'Arthur was my first arthurian book and it gave me such a headache. Lol. But I did enjoy reading it in places and furthered my interest on King Arthur.
Bends
Being English iv always love the Arthurian legends but doing my own research into the real King Arthur, Arthur was thought to be a Romano British Generale who fought against the Anglo Saxon invader.
A very interesting book to read is The Pennine Dragon.The Pennine Dragon tells the story of the legendary King Arthur. On the 1500th anniversary of Arthur's greatest battle at Badon, his whole life, family history and exploits are finally identified with those of a real historic ruler. Arthur Pendragon was actually a ruler recorded in history as Arthwys of the Pennines. He and his father ruled from the old Roman garrisons of Hadrian's Wall and the City of York and his base was Camulod (Camelot) in the heart of what is now Yorkshire. Arthwys had his Merlin, his Mordred, his Lancelot and his beautiful Irish Queen. His battles were fought across what is now the north of England and lowlands of Scotland. Without the prejudice of placing Arthur in Wales or Cornwall, Pennine Dragon reveals that Arthur was always identified as a man of the north in the earliest historical references. Legendary Arthurian places like Badon, Camlann, Camelot, the Lady of the Lake, Asolat, Joyous Garde, Avalon and the Round Table are all identified in the north. The author, Simon Keegan has identified no fewer than 50 Arthurian characters in real historical figures.We meet Morgan, Gawain, Bedevere, Culhwch, Uther and Igraine - and each character fits in perfectly within the family tree and inner circle of the historic king. We find that Arthwys was at precisely the right time and place and is the only possible man who could have been the King Arthur of legend. This work on the true King Arthur published exactly 1500 years after the historic king's final victory over the Saxons.
Fantastic work, Annie. This (your whole Arthurian series!) is really helping me as I research for a project on the changing symbolism of Arthur's sword. The way that you so clearly link the various texts is masterful. Keep it up!
I enjoyed reading Once and Future King but never really knew where to start with the origins of Arthurian legend, so thank you very much for these reccomendations!
I hope you enjoy reading them! I read Once and Future King before and after getting into the medieval legend, and it really changed the way I read it!
Its so refreshing to find someone who reads and reccomends medieval literature. I'd love to hear more of that! Would you consider reviewing medieval classics and, perhaps, medieval historical fiction?
Un abrazo desde México, lo mejor de lo mejor, muchas gracias, y muchas gracias Merlín por traerme aquí.
Muchas gracias! A mí también me gusta mucho Merlin!
I'm not an English fellow, not even from Europe, but as an southeast-asian, I'm very interested in Arthurian Legend since I'm researching about celtic mythology for my book.
Unlike Greek mythology, Arthurian myth is quite hard to track down, because there are so much version, hard to find your personal "canon".
Excellent review with great enthusiasm. Although I'm a history buff, with a particular fondness for the Middle Ages, I've been away from the subject matter for a huge number of years---until fairly recently, that is. My resurgence of interest in medieval history has led me to rediscovering the Arthurian saga---its legends, lore, who the "real" Arthur may've been in actual history, etc. As for Arthur, specifically, I think it was my reading the great Mark Twain novel "A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court" last year, that got me to thinking about Camelot again. I also would mention the most famous British poet of the Victorian Era, Tennyson, as having much to do with re-igniting the world's interest in the entire Arthurian story-arc, expressed in the beautiful & majestic poem "Idylls of the King". The little I've read from it so far is quite enchanting & easy-to-comprehend. His way of rhyming is wondrously impressive & elegant, along with fine storytelling. Thanks again for a terrific overview!
Thank God for this video. I was interested in reading and diving into arthurian literature. I searched up "arthurian literature books" and to my surprise I see there's a never ending collection priced at $120 and I almost lost hope but miraculously I ended up here.
also: you have gorgeous eyes.
1. I think starting with Malory's Le Morte d'Arthur and reading all of it isn't necessarily a bad way to start. However, it takes some time to get used to Malory's style. I think it took me a good 50-100 pages if not more. Nevertheless Le Morte d'Arthur is a very enjoyable read and it has high literary value.
2. Geoffrey of Monmouth and Chretien de Troyes have some good bits, but there is a ton of mundane if not leaden prose to slog through. I know they're indispensable for contributing to the Arthurian tales (e.g. de Troyes's contributions include the Arthur-Lancelot-Guinevere love triangle and the quest for the holy grail), but I wouldn't say they're indispensable in terms of great literature. Geoffrey of Monmouth and de Troyes aren't on par with greats like Homer, Virgil, Dante, Boccaccio, Chaucer, or even Malory. Honestly I think they can be skipped entirely if one simply wants to read good Arthurian tales. I think they're mostly useful for scholars and the like-minded who wish to engage the primary source material.
3. I'd strongly recommend Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. I really loved the Simon Armitage translation, but Bernard O'Donoghue in the Penguin Classics series is second. Tolkien, Merwin, Raffel, and others were good, but I preferred Armitage and O'Donoghue. Armitage (and to a lesser extent O'Donoghue) does a hauntingly beautiful translation; he spins an engrossing sense of magic and mystery with his words. Like other translators, Armitage attempts to capture the original's use of unrhymed alliterative verses followed by five brief rhymed verses ("bob and wheel") for poetic effect, but his work sounds better overall than most others to my ears. And Gawain is quite a short read. If you have an average reading speed (around 250 wpm), then you can easily read the whole tale in an afternoon or less.
4. Tennyson's Idylls of the King is beautiful poetry, though it reflects Victorian sensibilities, for better and for worse. But it's classic and certainly worth reading if one wants to read the best Arthurian literature for pleasure rather than for study.
5. For a modern take, and one of my favorite books of all time, I love The Once and Future King by T.H. White (+/- The Book of Meryln). In fact, I know this is likely sacrilege to most scholars, especially Medievalists, but I think if you can only read one Arthurian tale, ancient or new, then I'd opt for The Once and Future King, followed closely by Malory.
Good list and I am glad u are referring to older books and the sources rather then modern ones.
Thank you for the detailed and inspiring explanation! It's a complete privilege to be listening to you.
Thank you so much!! I’m glad you enjoyed it :)
Thank you for recommending that Merlin work, I always wanted to know more about the original Grail story!
I'm so glad it was helpful!
Grew up on Arthur and the mythology, my daughter has been asking about everything and I found this. Thank you.
I hope it helped you and that your daughter gets into Arthurian literature as well! :)
@@Medievalannie she is excited. We are watching Excalibur tonight which got me into it. Thank you and I hope you're smiling and proud and you have a great happy 4th of July!
Great recommendations! I love ANYTHING Arthurian Legend!
I'm so glad you liked it! The Arthurian legend is so fun and there's so much to explore!!
You convinced me. I'm going to read LE MORTE DARTHUR. Thanks for the recommendation.
I hope you enjoy it! It's one of my favourites!
Perfect! Ive been amassing a lot these books and wasnt sure where to (or not to) start.
thank you so much for this video!!!!! i have a fixation on king arthur but have been overwhelmed by the huge amount of arthurian texts!!! thank you!!
Please update this channel! Love your content!
And Sir Gawain and the green Knight, which was written in the 14th c. in a northern dialect of Middle English. I’m loving it. And especially doping out the original.
Sir Gawain , Lancelot, Galaad, Percival and the Holy Grail'was created by the French writer Chrétien of Troyes in the XIIth century. He also created Tristan and Yseut. In fact it was not creations but old Celtic stories that have absolutely nothing to 'do with England .
Ahh great recommendations! I love how passionate you are about literature!
Thank you!! 😊
I’m writing a book on Arthurian timeline with Merlin in it this was so helpful 😌
I'm so glad it was helpful! Best of luck with your book!
Ahhh! I honestly hate Literature class during my college days but upon watching your video, it looks interesting! 😱 Thank you for sharing. ☺️
This is REALLY cool. You have a great channel!...Thank you for providing easy information on Authurian related content...This is going on my Favorites.
Awesome! Been wanting to get into this and had no idea where to start!
I hope it was helpful and that you have fun reading these works!
That Merlin origin sounds WILD, I had no clue. Will definitely be checking that out
banger. I am wirting a scientific work about arthurian literature for my school finals (?) (it's a thing in austria..) I just wanted to thank you because this video honestly helped me so much to get started + there are great recommandations for literature i can use for this. So again thank you very much ! .)
I loooooove to read, but this seems like a whole different world of literature! Thanks for sharing....who knows, i just might find my way into this genre one say.
You absolutely should! It may seem a bit daunting as it is medieval, but it's really fun to read.
Love your channel darling!
Are you planning to make a video about the different versions of Tristan and Isolde tale?
Keep up the great work. ⭐⭐⭐
What a great video! Funny, I started with an old, old copy of L'Morte de Arthur that my parents had on their bookshelf. I must have been 13 or so when I read it, so I guess I started at the wrong book. I still devoured it many times, though! :)
That can be such a great way to start for the right person! I'm so glad you read it over and over, it's such a great work!
The intro of this video alone immediately got me thinking "YES, OH YES. I found the right Arthurian lit recommendation video."
Read Saint Tysilio's History of the Early Britons, born in 590AD, translated by Bill Cooper, easily found online. Also worth checking out: Wilson and Blackett's work, The King Arthur Conspiracy, Moses in the Hieroglyphics, etc.
Hey Annie great stuff, very interesting. I have always been a huge fan of King Arthur and his noble knights. Right now I am making my way through Jack Whyte's semi historical epic, but I have never read any of the foundational literature about the legend. Thanks for the recommendations. Also I was wondering if you will do anything on what a consider the best most accurate retelling of the Arthurian myth. That being Monty Python and the Holy Grail. Just want to say I am not dead yet, cheers.
wow you have such a unique channel! I've never seen someone rate medieval books!! super cool dude
Thank you so much!! Glad you liked it!
I’m reading Half Sick of Shadows, which explores the character of Elaine of Shalott. I’m on the thirteenth chapter and liking it so far. It is reviving my interest in the main source material.
This channel is a gem!
I’m studying applied literature & cultural studies but there sadly hasn’t been a seminar on anything relating to Arthurian literature. I’m kind of hoping to write my thesis on it (not sure yet if that’s possible tbh) and am trying to make my way through this on my own 😄 so thank you for this video!
Much thanks for recommending the good versions of these translations Annie. Saved me time from sifting through the bad versions :)
I have read Le Morte de Arthur and explored the Arthurian legend over the years and my favourite knight is Sir Gawain, Arthur;s best knight before the French created Lancelot, who becomes Arthur's best knight from across the sea (hence a Frenchman is the greatest knight in Britain, which I hate).
I think Lancelot is the villain of the story, an adulterer and a traitor, loving another man's wife is adultery, and that woman is his best friend and King's wife make it treason. He also creates the split in the Round Table.
I saw on top of your bookcase The Historian, it looks to be the book written by Elizabeth Kostova (cant see the name on your copy) and it is a favourite of mine. Have you done a review of it?
Another great video - thank you!
I'm glad you liked it! :)
Read the Warlord trilogy by Bernard Cornwell.Starts with The Winter King.They`re great
Love your Canterbury parchment 📜 on your wall
Thank you! Love having the Wife of Bath's Tale right there
Thank you so much for this video, I hope you continue to post new videos someday!
I’m so glad you liked it! I am planning on starting to upload again soon!
Just started consuming your content after I decided to rabbit hole Arthurian legend after seeing The Green Knight. I’d love to hear your take on it!
I don't know much about the Arthurian literature. Thanks for the summary and your recommendation.
I hope it was helpful!!
Definitely enjoyed it. Very informative, thank you.
Enjoyed this a lot - I had quite forgotten about Robert de Boron, and this has inspired me to buy the book today. I'm currently looking at Arthur for my Masters, but we tend to end with Geoffrey rather than begin so an interesting perspective. I grew up reading these but it's easy to forget. But no Parzival?! Surely not!
Hi there, thanks for doing this video! I came across this after watching The Green Knight and having my interest in the Arthur legends re-kindled. I was impressed by The Green Knight as a standalone film that really shows how the Arthur legend could work as an expanded universe with many user-friendly stories within the whole. Much like you mention in the "spin-off" section of this video. The Green Knight was fantastic as it's own film, building it's own sense of meaning, and then there was a lot of fun to be had in researching deeper and unraveling the hidden layers of meaning beyond the film.
I hadn't come across Robert de Boron's work in my own follow up, so thank you for elaborating on it's role in the development of the mythology.
I would be interested in if you have thoughts on modern versions of the Arthur story over the last couple decades, in novels and book series, if you make future videos. All the best to you, great video!
Awesome! Been wanting to get into this and had no idea where to start! Glad that I do now
Thank you for this video. Very helpful as, personally, I've recently started reading Malory's "Morte Darthur" (in the slightly abridged Helen Cooper rendition of the Winchester Manuscript - while consulting the Norton Critical Edition of the full text on the side). BTW, I wasn't familiar with the origin story of Merlin as told by Robert de Boron: What a mindblowing individual genesis! It actually put me into a state of philosophical wonder as to what messages this story might convey. So now I'm definitely checking out de Boron also.
I hope you enjoy reading Malory and Robert de Boron! They are both amazing works. I also really enjoy Helen Cooper's works, would highly recommend her book on romance if you haven't already read it!!
@@Medievalannie I'll check it out :-)
I've always been interested in Mythology (and Philosophy - ended up with an MA in the latter) - and always read quite a lot about this topic. Apart from Norse Mythology, though, where I am familiar with the "Prose Edda" and the majority of the poems of the "Poetic Edda", I've mostly delved into secondary sources. In recent years, however, I've gone on a regular primary sources reading spree. So far, I've consumed several books of The Old Testament (and there's definitely a lot of Tolkien sources in there!), the "Enuma Elish" and the "Gilgamesh" of ancient Babylon/Sumer, Homer's "Iliad" and the "Odyssey", Hesiod's "Theogony" + "Works and Days", and more. And now, I'm starting to get into the primary sources of the Arthurian Cycles. I also need to re-visit Milton's "Paradise Lost" sometime in the future. It's quite an adventure :-)
That does sound like a great adventure! Primary sources are always a joy to read! I have been meaning to start stepping out of England and France and read more Norse Mythology, it's in my future plans.
My next video will be on the very origins of the Arthurian Legend, so I hope it'll be helpful in your journey!
@@Medievalannie I'll make sure to watch it :-)
I love literature a lot, I did literature in high school and I loved reading novels, though I loved poetry extremely. I loved to find out the literal meaning behind the poems. it was for me the most interesting part of literature.
It's so fun to find the hidden and ambiguous meanings of certain phrases and words in a text, it's one of my favorite parts too!
Good reading & good recommendations. Thanks for sharing! 😊
Wow man what an informative video my dear..I loved your recommendations and I I wll try to get my hands on them..!!
You should! I hope you enjoy reading them!
Thank you for sharing this information
I love reading but Romance Novel. Lol. Nice to hear about your love for literature!
Thanks for your video! I will be picking Le Morte D'Arthur soon and I wanted to hear people's experience with it. Also, what is that poster/scroll behind you?
thanks so much for making this!!
I’ve never read these but adding them to my list ASAP
Hope you give them a read and have fun!!
I love literature to study as a course subject or otherwise as well... Nice recommendations of Arthurian literature thanx
I'm glad you liked it! :)
Ohh really good recommendations! Its super well explained 🙌 Love it❤
I'm so glad! :)
Just to note that King Arthur is not the most outrageous and most fictional part in Geoffrey of Monmouth's Historia.
Hi Annie! Thank you so much for this video. I'm about to embark on a deep research quest regarding Arthurian Literature for an upcoming TCG called Sorcery: Contested Realm, and badly needed some guidance with exactly this. Public domain works are preferred. I was aware of selections #1 and #4, but not #2 or #3, which I will be pursuing copies of right away. I doubt you'll see this comment since the video is older, but if you have any other suggestions to make, I would greatly appreciate it! Thank you again!
Just ordered Le morte of king arthur! Im going all in baby
Wow this is a great video!
I recommend David Staines translation to Chrétien De Troyes works - Better than most. Also the movie 'Excalibur' will help to get the spirit of the Arthurian world.
Never Know about this before ! but I have a bit interest in history..so I really loved your video nice Recommendation!!
Hi!!! Are you studying purely arthurian literature? (assuming at uni?) because i am really interested in arthurian literature - its one of the only genres that i will sit and read things about for hours. I study English Literature in A-levels at the moment but i think it would be really cool to study in Uni. I also do A-level art and alot of my inspiration for my artwork comes from arthurian legends and its really hard to kind of pin the idea down and make it as meaningful as possible... Are there any modern day problems in society today that you think link directly to arthurian literature. I have a few ideas, such as how the knight in morte de arthur is sort of dismissed slightly as a lower class person and (like you said in your video) how he ends up working in the kitchens but gradually steps up on trying to show/prove that he is worthy of being a Knight. I find that in society today there seems to be alot of prejudice which comes about the steriotypes of 'people' but its really hard to link that kind of thing visually into art. My project is purely landscapes atm with distant figures in the background... Just- yeah. What do you think?
This is a great literature book. Thanks for sharing☺️
Interesting stuff! I'll check some of these out :)
Great vid, keep it going
do you play/recommend any ttrpg's in the genre?
Do you have any section in your videos where you teach Middle English?
If you haven't read the Pendragon Cycle by Stephen Law head I highly recommend it
I don't have a real interest in books but was enjoyable to watch 💕💕
thanks for the recommendation
ESPETACULAR . INCRÍVEL MARAVILHOSA
Omg the content in this chanel is perfect!
I tried to read the Idylls of the King, but the language was hard to me, so I left it, I think i should try my luck with something easier
You forgot the most important one who created all the Arthurian legend: Chretien of Troyes : it is Chretien who spoke of Lancelot, Galaad, Percival, Gawain, the quest of the Grail. Chretien chansons de geste include Tristan and Yseut. The sources of Chretien are Celtic ( Cornwall, Brittany, Wales) and absolutely have nothing to do with the Anglo-Saxon.
She mentioned Chretien from 6:00 onwards.
This is so interesting!
Hi there, I’m writing a musical named “Avalon” all based on the arthurian legend and found this really helpful for some reference points!
Are you gonna make another video
Alan Wilson and Baram Blackett books. Arthur II king of Glamorgan
Is the books of marion zimmer good to know the arturian legends?
Arthur lived
What about the once and future king ?
King Arthur shall one day come, and unite the true Britons!
The Arthurian legend is 100 % Celtic. Known in both sides of the Channel.
Ur smile is beautiful
a beautiful smile not everyone has
Unrelated but your hairs so nice!
When people try to tell me which is the 'real' version, I just laugh 😂♥️
Love the explanation :)
I'm so glad you liked it! :)
Great books choice!
That's so informative 👍
So glad it was helpful!
What a good video, I'm so glad I randomly found this!
Question: Have you read the Mists of Avalon? If so what do you think about it? 😊
I'm glad you liked it! I read it a very long time ago, probably should give it a re-read, but I remember enjoying it!