"Between these two extremes, the main body of the book deals largely with opera, from Wagner's 'Tristan' and 'Parsifal' to Harrison Birtwistle's 'Sir Gawain and the Green Knight'. Some works have never been performed, such as Hubert Parry's 'Guenever' and Rutland Boughton's Arthurian cycle, while others have only recently been staged or revived, such as Isaac Albeniz's 'Merlin' and Ernest Chausson's 'Le roi Artus', both striking post-Wagnerian works in very different styles - 'Merlin', for instance, beginning with a passage based on Gregorian chant. The range of music is wider than one might at first suspect."--BOOK JACKET.

The author offers convincing proof that King Arthur existed by tracing the legend of King Arthur to its roots in the 12th century chronicles of Geoffrey of Monmouth.

Foreword by Neil Gaiman The world’s leading Arthurian authority reimagines one of the most beloved and influential legends—the story of King Arthur and his Knights—for a new century in this gorgeous keepsake edition, illustrated with luminous full-color paintings and drawings by internationally acclaimed Tolkien artist John Howe. The stories of King Arthur and Merlin, Lancelot and Guinevere, Galahad, Gawain, Tristan and the rest of the Knights of the Roundtable, and the search for the Holy Grail have been beloved for centuries and are the inspiration of many modern fantasy novels, films, and shows. These legends began when an obscure Celtic hero named Arthur stepped on to the stage of history sometime in the sixth century, generating a host of oral tales that would be inscribed some 900 years later by Thomas Malory in his classic Morte D’Arthur (The Death of Arthur). The Great Book of King Arthur brings these legends into the modern age, using accessible prose for contemporary readers for the first time. In addition to the stories in Morte D’Arthur, John Matthews includes many tales of Arthur and his knights either unknown to Malory or written in other languages, such as the story of Avenable, the girl brought up as a boy who becomes a famous knight; Morien, whose adventures are as fantastic and exciting as any found in Malory’s work; and a retelling of the life of Round Table favorite Gawain, from his strange birth to his upbringing among the poor to his ascension to the highest position—Emperor of Rome. In addition, there are some of the earliest tales of Arthur, deriving from the tradition of Celtic storytelling. The epic hero is represented in such powerful stories as “The Adventures of Eagle-boy” and “The Coming of Merlin,” which is based on the early medieval text Vita Merlini and tells a completely new version of the great enchanter’s story. The Great Book of King Arthur includes 15 full-color paintings and 25 pencil drawings.

The image of Arthur has haunted the poets and writers of western Europe for nearly nine centuries, and there is no sign of an end to the reign of the "once and future king" in the world of literature. The Arthurian epic is as popular a subject now as it was when it was first fashioned, and the stories about Arthur and the heroes associated with him come in a bewildering number of guises. The sheer variety of the legends, both in style and content, is extraordinary; and this collection attempts to present, in a small space, something of this diversity. Sir Thomas Malory, half a millennium ago, plundered a whole range of sources to create his masterpiece, Le Morte Darthur; but he did so to weld them together within the framework of Arthur's own career. Legends of Arthur draws on different sources, but emphasizes the way in which writers have created new stories around the great heroes, or have told the stories in different ways. So there are two versions of each hero's exploits. Arthur is shown as emperor and warlord, and as the triumphant and tragic king of the romances, betrayed by Lancelot and Guinevere. Gawain is the central figure of the wonderful adventures of a Dutch romance, and the courtly and subtle hero of the English masterpiece Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. Tristan appears as the single-minded lover of Iseult in the original version of his story, and then as a knight of the Round Table whose devotion to chivalry is almost as great as his passion for his beloved. In these differing versions, we can see how the Arthurian romances held the medieval world spellbound for so long, in all their color and variety.

A rousing postscript to Lawhead's bardic Pendragon Cycle . . . Playing off snappy contemporary derring-do against the powerful shining glimpses of the historical Arthur he created, Lawhead pulls off a genuinely moving parable of good and evil.'Â Publishers Weekly It has been foretold: In the hour of Britain's greatest need, King Arthur will return to rescue his people. In Portugal, the reprobate King Edward the Ninth has died by his own hand. In England, the British monarchy teeters on the edge of total destruction. And in the Scottish Highlands, a mystical emissary named Mr. Embries-better known as "Merlin"-informs a young captain that he is next in line to the throne. For James Arthur Stuart is not the commoner he has always believed himself to be-he is Arthur, the legendary King of Summer, reborn. But the road to England's salvation is dangerous, with powerful enemies waiting in ambush. For Arthur is not the only one who has returned from the mists of legend. And Merlin's magic is not the only sorcery that has survived the centuries.

Seeking to regain the sword Excalibur from Mordred, who has traveled into a time of war and demons using Merlin's book of spells, King Arthur must pursue his bastard son in a future world where he is not recognized. Original.

The definitive modern take on the timeless tale of King Arthur and his Knights of the Round table. The legends of King Arthur date back to medieval Europe, and have become some of the dominant myths of Western culture. In The Once & Future King, T. H. White reinvents the story for a modern audience. The novel starts by introducing the reader to a young Arthur – just a child, and far from the King he will become – as he is raised by the wizard Merlyn, and moves on to chronicle his rise to Kingship, the affair between Guinevere and Lancelot, and the eventual destruction of the round table. The first section, released independently as The Sword in the Stone, was adapted into an animated film by Walt Disney Pictures. Penguin Random House Canada is proud to bring you classic works of literature in e-book form, with the highest quality production values. Find more today and rediscover books you never knew you loved.

When he pulls a sword from a stone, Arthur fulfills his destiny to become king of England and together with his knights of the Round Table ushers in a golden age of chivalry.

Relates how Arthur became a king, married Guinevere, and suffered his downfall through treachery.