false http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171533009m/104894.jpg 104894 1 It is hard to overstate the importance of this trilogy of prose romances in the development of the legend of the Holy Grail and in the evolution of Arthurian literature as a whole. They give a crucial new impetus to the story of the Grail by establishing a provenance for the sacred vessel - and for the Round Table itself - in the Biblical past; and through the controlling figure of Merlin they link the story of Joseph of Arimathea with the mythical British history of Vortigern and Utherpendragon, the birth of Arthur, and the sword in the stone, and then with the knightly adventures of Perceval's Grail quest and the betrayal and death of Arthur, creating the very first Arthurian cycle. Ambitious, original and complete in its conception, this trilogy - translated here for the first time - is a finely paced, vigorous piece of storytelling that provides an outstanding example of the essentially oral nature of early prose.NIGEL BRYANT is head of drama at Marlborough College. He has also provided editions in English of the anonymous thirteenth-century romance Perlesvaus, published as The High Book of the Grail, and Chretien's Perceval: The Story of the Grail. 101119 4 8 2007 Merlin and the Grail: Joseph of Arimathea, Merlin, Perceval: The Trilogy of Arthurian Prose Romances attributed to Robert de Boron (Arthurian Studies) total:5|4:2|3:3| 5 17 7 0 0 0 false false Fri Nov 27 22:36:42 -0800 2009 Fri Nov 27 22:36:42 -0800 2009 0 0 false false Wed Oct 28 08:08:18 -0700 2009 Wed Oct 28 08:08:27 -0700 2009 4 0 false false Tue Feb 24 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Sun Mar 08 13:35:46 -0700 2009 Sun Mar 08 15:25:00 -0700 2009 4 0 false false Sat Sep 06 13:42:28 -0700 2008 Sat Sep 06 13:42:28 -0700 2008 3 0 false false Mon Jun 02 08:28:34 -0700 2008 Mon Jun 02 08:28:34 -0700 2008 3 0 false false Sun Jun 01 18:37:58 -0700 2008 Sun Jun 01 18:37:58 -0700 2008 3 0 false false Tue Aug 21 15:07:04 -0700 2007 Tue Aug 21 15:07:04 -0700 2007 http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=104894