No other sacred object has inspired such longing or such dread. The Grail is the archetype of the marvelous object in which each individual can enclose the goal of his own personal quest. For some the goal of this quest has been divine grace or the Philosophers' Stone, for others it is simply a treasure that connects various episodes of the King Arthur legend.Yet the Grail, as an object that is both close and unapproachable, was not the original focus of these stories. The Celtic tales on which the Grail legend is based emphasize the theme of the Quest. Through his exploration of several versions of this myth that appeared in the Middle Ages, Jean Markale digs deep beneath the Christian veneer of these tales, allowing us to penetrate to the true meaning of the Grail and its Quest, legacies of a rich Celtic spirituality that has nourished the Western psyche for centuries. He also examines how these myths were later used by the Knights Templar, as well as how their links with Alchemy and Catharism played a decisive role in the shaping of Western Hermetic thought.

    It contains prose translations of three of Chr�tien de Troyes's Arthurian romances: -vens saga, the Norse translation of Yvain; Parcevals saga and Valvens p�ttr ("The Tale of Gawain"), translations of Perceval; and Erex saga, an adaptation of Erec et Enide. While the first two works, produced in Norway, are fairly faithful to their sources, Erex saga diverges considerably in content and structure from the French source and most likely represents a thorough revision by an Icelander of what was originally a Norwegian translation. Additionally, the volume contains both an Old Norse translation and an Icelandic adaptation of the French Lai du cort mantel, the ribald story of a chastity-testing mantle at King Arthur's court. The Norse prose translation M�ttuls saga was produced at the behest of the same King H�kon who ordered the translation of the Tristan legend. In the fourteenth century a rhymed version of the saga, Skkikkju r�mur, was produced in Iceland. The translators are: MARIANNE E. KALINKE, KIRSTEN WOLF, HELEN MACLEAN and MATTHEW JAMES DRISCOLL Professor MARIANNE E. KALINKE teaches in the Department of Germanic Languages and Literatures at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

    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.AVALON“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.”—Publishers Weekly

    thus the entire set of texts can be read as a study in Norse literary patronage, of literary renewal and transformation... A major contribution, not only to the Old Norse field, but to the broader world of medieval literature and culture. Norse Romance will endure for years to come. SPECULUM Norse Romances comprises a three-volume set, making available for the first time critical editions and translations of important medieval Arthurian texts from Iceland, Norway and Sweden, under the general editorship of Marianne Kalinke. This volume is devoted to the Tristan legend. It contains Geitarlauf and Janual, Old Norse translations of the French lais Lanval and Chevrefeuil; Tristrams saga ok Is�ndar, Brother Thomas's Old Norse translationof Thomas's Tristan, dated 1226 and commissioned by King H�kon H�konarson the Old of Norway; "Tristrams kv�di", a fourteenth-century Icelandic "Tristan" ballad; and the Saga af Tristram ok Isodd, a fourteenth-century Icelandic version of the Old Norse Tristrams saga ok Is�ndar.The translators are: ROBERT COOK, PETER JORGENSEN, JOYCE HILL, MARIANNE E. KALINKE.Professor MARIANNE KALINKE teaches in the Department of Germanic Languages and Literatures at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

    From the land of the Holy Grail comes this new book and deck set, created by an artist and tarot reader who knows Glastonbury like the back of her hand. The deck includes 78 3-1/4" X 4-3/4" full color cards created from original oil paintings of mythological figures and symbolic landscapes. The book explains the divinatory and archetypal meanings of all 78 cards, the authentic ways of reading and using this particular tarot deck, and several sample layouts.

    From the earliest of Georges Melies's films in 1897, to a 1996 animated Hunchback of Notre Dame, film has offered not just fantasy but exploration of these roles so vital to the modern psyche. St. Joan has undergone the transition from peasant girl to self-assured saint, and Camelot has transcended the soundstage to evoke the Kennedys in the White House. Here is the first comprehensive survey of more than 900 cinematic depictions of the European Middle Ages--date of production, country of origin, director, production company, cast, and a synopsis and commentary. A bibliography, index, and over 100 stills complete this remarkable work.

    This book, which brings together the work of leading international scholars, is the first comprehensive treatment of Arthurian legend in English life and literature. Literary studies are interspersed with chapters on the political and social manifestations of the Arthurian legend, the influence of continental romance tradition, and the impact of the medieval legacy to later centuries of English literature. This edition also includes a chapter dealing with questions of production, circulation, and readership of the Arthurian tales.