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Of Arthour and of Merlin: Volume 1: Text
386 pages, Hardcover
First published November 1, 1973
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
June 27, 2022
Translating from Wace's Roman de Brut (for the first part) and the French Suite de Merlin (or Les premiers faits du roi Artus), this Middle English verse story is one of the earliest versions of an Arthur story in the English language. Its oldest and most complete version dates to c. 1330 in the Auchinleck manuscript (see www.auchinleck.nls.uk for a full edition and scan of the actual manuscript).
The first part deals with the interesting story of Merlin's conception and early life, his dealings with British kings and his actions that lead to Arthur's conception and accession to the throne.
The second part was written late in the development of the French prose cycle of Arthurian stories, serving as a fill-the-gap prequel/origins story where all the major protagonists from the later installments get to be introduced and have their first adventures. Arthur gets Guinevere in this part too. Think X-Men First Class meets any series of war/action films: we are led deftly from one battle to another as each set of knights takes the stage and the camera zooms in then on this fight, then on that, giving panoramic views in between. This section is not perhaps the most interesting but I did appreciate the cinematic quality, how the text manages to handle enormous battle scenes by zooming in on various scenes.
The first part deals with the interesting story of Merlin's conception and early life, his dealings with British kings and his actions that lead to Arthur's conception and accession to the throne.
The second part was written late in the development of the French prose cycle of Arthurian stories, serving as a fill-the-gap prequel/origins story where all the major protagonists from the later installments get to be introduced and have their first adventures. Arthur gets Guinevere in this part too. Think X-Men First Class meets any series of war/action films: we are led deftly from one battle to another as each set of knights takes the stage and the camera zooms in then on this fight, then on that, giving panoramic views in between. This section is not perhaps the most interesting but I did appreciate the cinematic quality, how the text manages to handle enormous battle scenes by zooming in on various scenes.
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February 21, 2023This was a pretty well-edited print text portraying the original middle English in three manuscripts, mostly the Auchinleck, which is the bulk of the book. Sourced from the French Vulgate Merlin, this middle English couplet romance is at its best when describing the battles, with evocative imagery of bodies cut and hewn from head to chin, through the teeth, cut in half, bodies strewn all over the battlefield - it's like the anti-war Vietnam version of romance caught in the 13th century.
Many of the foes faced in this telling of the early battles are actually named, which is something that Malory, who also sourced the French Vulgate glossed over for many. Also of interest is the number of "geauntes" (giants) who are described as being "xiii fet long" (13 feet tall) or "xiiii fet long (14 feet long - note four i's instead of iv). Our poet seems most at home describing battles than court situations. We spend very little time in the audience of lords, with the exception of the beginning, which tells the tale of how Merlin was begotten and how he was brought to the attention of the treacherous Vortigern.
I recommend this text as interest primarily to other readers with a more than cursory interest in the Arthurian literature, especially if you have enough savvy with middle English. If you are just looking for a light read, this isn't for you. I'm not imposing any kind of elitism here, just saying that unless you are OK with wading through thorns and yogs and slowly parsing older English poetic constructs, you are not going to get much out of this book.
Many of the foes faced in this telling of the early battles are actually named, which is something that Malory, who also sourced the French Vulgate glossed over for many. Also of interest is the number of "geauntes" (giants) who are described as being "xiii fet long" (13 feet tall) or "xiiii fet long (14 feet long - note four i's instead of iv). Our poet seems most at home describing battles than court situations. We spend very little time in the audience of lords, with the exception of the beginning, which tells the tale of how Merlin was begotten and how he was brought to the attention of the treacherous Vortigern.
I recommend this text as interest primarily to other readers with a more than cursory interest in the Arthurian literature, especially if you have enough savvy with middle English. If you are just looking for a light read, this isn't for you. I'm not imposing any kind of elitism here, just saying that unless you are OK with wading through thorns and yogs and slowly parsing older English poetic constructs, you are not going to get much out of this book.
December 13, 2024
An early Arthurian romance in English, vivid battle scenes and worth the read in the Middle English it was written in.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews