His uncle, the loyal and gifted warlord Arthur, now rules as caretaker for a country which has fallen into chaos - threats emerge from within the British kingdoms while vicious Saxon armies stand ready to invade. As he struggles to unite Britain and hold back the enemy at the gates, Arthur is embroiled in a doomed romance with beautiful Guinevere. Will the old-world magic of Merlin be enough to turn the tide of war in his favour?

    Perhaps you have in mind the beautiful lords and ladies of the round table. Or maybe you think of the Quest for the Holy Grail. Perhaps you think of the early Celtic legends about him. Whatever you associate with the stories that surround this legendary king, you are sure to agree that these myths have fascinated Westerners for up to 1500 years.The Tarot has been popular for only half that time, but it, too, has caught the fascination of people in the West. Now you can see how easily these two spiritual paths can be combined thanks to Anna-Marie Ferguson's A Keeper of Words. Although designed to accompany and enhance her Legend Tarot deck (available separately), this book is also a great way to get to the core of both the Arthurian myths and legends and the Tarot. The book is based upon Ferguson's amazing seventy-eight watercolor Legend illustrations (all are reproduced here in black-and-white). Each of the Tarot cards is associated with an event or person in the Arthurian legends. By combining the two you will have a new perspective on the Tarot and a deeper understanding of the mythic symbolism of the tales of King Arthur.For example, the book associates the Major Arcana card the Hierophant with Taliesin. The image shows Taliesin introducing children to his lady, the harp. You will learn that Taliesin encourages questions from all and fosters their creative, artistic talents. Thus, the meaning of the card is A person with experience he or she is willing to share. An authority. A kind and generous mentor who nurtures spiritual awareness. Reversed it means Rigid thinking with no room for growth.The description and symbolism for this and all seventy-eight images, as well as the meanings of the images in a Tarot reading, go into far more detail. In this way your readings become deeper, more intuitive and multilayered.For anyone interested in the Tarot (especially the Legend Tarot), or King Arthur, this book is a must.

    Includes The Wedding of Sir Gawain and Dame Ragnelle; Sir Gawain and the Carle of Carlisle; The Avowyng of Arthur; The Awntyrs off Arthur; The Knightly Tale of Gologras and Gawain; The Greene Knight; The Turke and Sir Gawain; The Marriage of Sir Gawain; The Carle of Carlisle; The Jeaste of Sir Gawain; and King Arthur and King Cornwall.

    Now in a one-volume edition, The Prophetic Vision of Merlin and The Mystic Life of Merlin comprise a complete working guide to the life and teachings of the famous prophet as based on the twelfth-century histories of Geoffrey of Monmouth.

    But never before have there been five tellings, each by a witness to the mythical events:Gwennol Far-Sight, Morgan's childhood nurse and a wise woman in the ways of sacred pagan magic.Luned, the young white nun, who fears her own soul has been contaminated by Morgan's passions.Teilo, who was once a proud and powerful Smith of the Old Religion, condemned to live as a woman amongst Morgan's maids, because of his unwise ambition.The bard Taliesin, bred to sing of war and red slaughter and glorious death.And finally Morgan the Fay herself speaks, the Goddess, the witch, whose story has shape-shifted down the centuries, a force for destruction or a force for healing?(Note: this volume collects the whole series).

    This Cri de Merlin still echoes in our ears down the ages and across borders and generations, typifying the fascination which the figure of Merlin still exerts in Western culture.Although Merlin and the Arthurian legends are chiefly British and Celtic in basis, such is his importance that the stories have had a great influence across the English, French and German traditions as well as in the Celtic languages.In Merlin through the Ages, noted experts Bob Stewart and John Matthews have brought together an astonishingly wide range of accounts and depictions of Merlin, from the very earliest records, through the medieval and Victorian re-interpretations to the modern depictions in stories and electronic media. The figure of Merlin remains a strong and influential one throughout, from the ancient Celtic myths to the allegorical characterization as Obi Wan Kenobi in the 'Star Wars' movies.Though the editors present such a valuable and wide-ranging array of texts, this is not primarily a scholarly collection. Instead, it is an overview of the Merlin literature for the general reader as well as for the historian, researcher, Arthurian enthusiast and modern seeker after an older knowledge.Whatever the starting point of any interest in Merlin, be it in his archetypal human wildness, his role of wiseman, as seer, prophet or shaman, this book is surely destined to become the

    Thoughts of this weapon bring to mind images of the Knights of the Round Table, Zorro, the Three Musketeers--the things daydreams are made of. Historically, the fate of the empires revolved around the sword; nations rose and fell based on the power of their swordsmen. For centuries it was the weapon of choice in settling personal disputes. Today, the art of sword fighting has been incarnated as the dynamic, chess-like sport of fencing. It has also played an important part in the history of theatre and film, and it has been part of literature for as long as there have been books. In its varied guises, the sword has for centuries figured in the world's varied cultures, myths, and politics.Yet, there has never been a comprehensive volume on the subject of the sword until the publication of this encyclopedia. For the first time, in a single volume one can locate information on the history of sword types and styles around the world; techniques of combat sword use; techniques and styles of modern sport fencing; names and descriptions of various fencing implements and weapon types; swashbuckler films and the fencing masters who influenced the genre; significant individuals who have taught sword use; the sword at the Olympics; the literature in which the rapier, foil, or broadsword has figured; and much, much more. Essential reading for fencing and military history enthusiasts.

    But did he exist at all? Is he a mixture of several historical figures? What is the origin of those wonderful stories of the Round Table, of Excalibur and the Holy Grail, of Sir Launcelot and Queen Guinevere? Where were Camelot and Camlann? Did Arthur really make conquests from Iceland to the Alps? We shall never really know - but we can examine the facts of the legends in search of the shadow of Arthur looming large behind every record of his time, yet never clearly seen (Morris, The Age of Arthur).

    King Arthur Legend

    The stories, as we know them today, emerged from an eleventh-century melting-pot of folk tradition and myth, refined and changed over the following five hundred-years in poems, dramas and often-repeated tales.The main source for the most commonly told stories remains the early, classic twelfth-century account of Geoffrey of Monmouth and the subsequent embroidery of Thomas Malory and, even later, Tennyson's Idylls of the King, with it s Victorian knights and their silken-clad ladies.Yes these depictions are only a part of the whole phenomena of the legends. Indeed, with Arthur himself a probable composite of at least three different figures from history and legend, there are dozens of other source-texts which begin to give us a different picture and new stories. Yet these important aspects of the Arthurian Legend are scarcely ever even referred to in contemporary versions of the stories.Now, for the first time in a modern readable form, an Arthurian expert produces the fruits of research into these texts, many obscure and some never before translated into English, to provide a whole new collection of tales. No less exciting or intriguing than their more familiar counterparts, the twelve selected here are each retold in a modern style, preceded by a commentary and introduced to their source and significance.Not only will they be a pleasant surprise to even the most knowledgeable Arthurian enthusiast, but they are also an inspiration to re-examine the whole cycle of the legends and to look again at the original sources. With a series of specially created colour plates by artist Mark Robertson, this is both ans an entertaining and informative insight into medieval life, with its dreams and interlinked spirituality of the characters and stories.