Ramon LLull (1232-1316) was born the son of a prosperous Catalan merchant and spent his youth pursuing worldly pursuits, until a series of powerful visions of Christ moved him to devote his life entirely to serving God. One of his lifelong ambitions was to write a book to counter the "errors of the infidels," to which end he studied Arabic and immersed himself in whatever arabic texts he could obtain. The Book of the Lover is one of the most celebrated works of medieval mystical literature offering a uniquely expressed and moving testimony to the soul's quest for union with God. The 365 paragraphs of "moral metaphors" intended for daily meditation, are written in the style of the Muslim sufis who offer words of love and brief exampla that inspire great devotion. Professor Johnston concisely explains the peculiarities of Llull's idiosyncratic theological and philosophical system and offers the most comprehensive assessment to date of his debt to the Islamic tradition of devotional discourse. In addition, brief notes help to guide the reader's appreciation of the spiritual insight that Llull sought to stimulate with his text. Contains original Latin and Catalan text, translation and commentary.

The First Crusade was arguably one of the most significant events of the Middle Ages. It was the only event to generate its own epic cycle, the Old French Crusade Cycle. The central trilogy at the heart of the Cycle describes the Crusade from its beginnings to the climactic battle of Ascalon, comprising the Chanson d'Antioche, the Chanson des Chetifs and the Chanson de Jerusalem. This translation of the Chetifs and the Jerusalem accompanies and completes the translation of the Antioche and makes the trilogy available to English readers in its entirety for the first time. The value of the trilogy lies above all in the insight it gives us to medieval perceptions of the Crusade. The events are portrayed as part of a divine plan where even outcasts and captives can achieve salvation through Crusade. This in turn underlies the value of the Cycle as a recruiting and propaganda tool. The trilogy gives a window onto the chivalric preoccupations of thirteenth-century France, exploring concerns about status, heroism and defeat. It portrays the material realities of the era in vivid detail: the minutiae of combat, smoke-filled halls, feasts, prisons and more. And the two newly translated poems are highly entertaining as well, featuring a lubricious Saracen lady not in the first flush of youth, a dragon inhabited by a devil, marauding monkeys, miracles and much more. The historian will find little new about the Crusade itself, but abundant material on how it was perceived, portrayed and performed. The translation is accompanied by an introduction examining the origins of the two poems and their wider place in the cycle. It is supported by extensive footnotes, a comprehensive index of names and places and translations of the main variants.

In his De Bello Civili Lucan tells the story of the civil war between Caesar and Pompey, dealing in Book VIII with the defeat and death of the latter. This edition provides a literary commentary to accompany the Latin text and the revised translation of J.D.Daff. The introduction covers the life of Lucan and the literary revival of Nero's time, the meaning of Lucan's choice of theme, a sketch of the form of the whole poem and the eighth book's place within it, the rhetorical style and the transmission of the text. A glossary of proper names, a select bibliography and index complete this work which will be useful to students of Latin literature and of the literary epic in particular. Latin text with translation, commentary and notes.

This anthology reproduces six plays based on stories of King Arthur from a variety of periods. Originally published in 1991, it offers a comprehensive discussion of Arthurian Drama in introduction and also provides an appendix listing printed scripts in English that address Arthurian legend.

First Published in 2001. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

This translation of Lancelot del Lac was published in 1929 to present easily the essential parts of the history of Sir Lancelot from three thirteenth century romances - Le livre de Lancelot del Lac, Le queste del saint graal, and La mort le roi Artus. The translator summarises the sections not fully translated to link the sections together. This was the first serious attempt to produce a modern English rendering of the French material, as Malory used a relatively small portion of the French trilogy in writing Morte Darthur.

The focus of this book is medieval vernacular literature in Western Europe. Chapters are written by experts in the area and present the current scholarship at the time this book was originally published in 1996. Each chapter has a bibliography of important works in that area as well. This is a thorough and reliable guide to trends in research on medieval Arthuriana.

Originally published in 1996, the articles in this book are revised, expanded papers from a session at the 17th International Congress of the Arthurian Society held in 1993. The chapters cover Arthurian studies' directions at the time, showcasing analysis of varied aspects of visual representation and relation to literary themes. Close attention to the historical context is a key feature of this work, investigating the linkage between texts and images in the Middle Ages and beyond.

This book, first published in 1958, aims to describe Greek art and poetry within this ambiguous period of ancient history (often referred to as the Greek 'Dark Ages'), and to explore the possibilities of learning about Mycenaean civilisation from its own documents and not only from archaeology. Specifically, Webster utilises Michael Ventris' decipherment of Linear B in 1952 - which proved that Greek was spoken in the Mycenaean world - to determine the general contours of aesthetic development from Mycenae to the time of the written composition of the Homeric epics. Because they record Mycenaean civilisation in Mycenaean terminology, while Homer was writing in Ionian Greek at the beginning of the polis civilisation, they show how much in Homer is in fact Mycenaean. Further, where it is clear that these Mycenaean elements cannot have survived until Homer's time, they tell us something about the poetry which connected the two.

Discrete inquiries into 15 forms of the Arthurian legends produced over the last century explore how they have altered the tradition. They consider works from the US and Europe, and those aimed at popular and elite audiences. The overall conclusion is that the "Arthurian revival" is an ongoing event, and has become multivalent, multinational, and multimedia. Originally published in 1992.

Originally published in 1988, this volume contains papers from, and commissioned after, "The Passing of Arthur", a conference on Medieval and Renaissance Studies in November 1986. No Arthurian story is experienced without some foreknowledge of its end, which the text acknowledges through a complex range of methods. This collection takes this as its point of origin, suggesting that all such narratives concern the passing of Arthur, even indirectly, so the chapters not only look at the death of Arthur but the passing on and development of the Arthurian literature. The figure of Arthur and the Round Table continues to fascinate contemporary readers. This interesting collection presents a wide range of Arthurian studies approaches representing some of the vast scholarship on the genre.

First published in 1992. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

First published in 1978, Reading Greek has become a best-selling one-year introductory course in ancient Greek for students and adults. It combines the best of modern and traditional language-learning techniques and is used widely in schools, summer schools and universities across the world. It has also been translated into several foreign languages. This volume provides full grammatical support together with numerous exercises at different levels. For the second edition the presentations of grammar have been substantially revised to meet the needs of today's students and the volume has been completely redesigned, with the use of colour. Greek-English and English-Greek vocabularies are provided, as well as a substantial reference grammar and language surveys. The accompanying Text and Vocabulary volume contains a narrative adapted entirely from ancient authors in order to encourage students rapidly to develop their reading skills, simultaneously receiving a good introduction to Greek culture.

-- 15 original woodcut illustrations

-- 18 photographs of ancient artifacts

This edition aims to reanimate the story of Gilgamesh and Enkidu for modern readers. The poetic rendition brings words to life through indelible images. A learned and lucid historical and cultural introduction fills in background for the narrative. An interpretative essay reviews the themes of Gilgamesh and their echoes in other literature. The total is a new edition that delights, informs, and stimulates readers to a new appreciation of this age-old tale.

First published in 1926, Primitive Culture in Italy intends to determine to what extent there survived, in the ancient civilization with which it deals, any characteristic features of savage life and thought. The primitive man provides an ideal beginning to study the long upward progress of humanity. This book is not for the specialist, but for the general reader who wishes to know something of the beginnings of a great and notable civilization, the effects of which are still to be seen in our modern culture.

This beautiful collection brings together passages from the renowned stories, poems, dramas and myths of South Asian literature, including the Mahabharata and the Ramayana. Drawing on the translations published by the Clay Sanskrit Library, the book presents episodes from the adventures of young Krishna, the life of Prince Rama and Hindu foundational myths, the life of the Buddha, as well as Buddhist and Jaina birth stories. Pairing key excerpts from these wonderful Sanskrit texts with exquisite illustrations from the Bodleian Library's rich manuscript collections, the book includes images of birch-bark and palm-leaf manuscripts, vibrant Mughal miniatures, early printed books, sculptures, watercolour paintings and even early photograph albums. Each extract is presented in both English translation and Sanskrit in Devanagari script, and is accompanied by a commentary on the literature and related books and artworks. The collection is organised by geographical region and includes sections on the Himalayas, North India, Central and South India, Sri Lanka and South East Asia, Tibet, Inner and East Asia, and the Middle East and Europe. This is the perfect introduction for anyone interested in Sanskrit literature and the manuscript art of South Asia - and beyond.

This first translation of Claudian's works since 1922 offers an accessible, comprehensive overview of his varied works, with full English translations, detailed notes, and glossary.

These essays of Sarah Carpenter have been selected to reflect her career's close focus on the relationship of performance and audience. They are drawn from the last 25 years of her writing, and this has enabled the editors to organise them not chronologically but rather to develop her central theme through a range of genres, including morality plays, the interlude, court entertainments, international political spectacle, and the public 'performances' of natural and maintained fools. As a scholar who also has experience of acting and of production, Carpenter is particularly sensitive to the implications of location for creating meaning and generating audience reaction. The essays are focused on a relatively short time-span of 120 years, from the late fifteenth to the turn of the seventeenth century, and thus nuance a period traditionally divided between the late medieval and the early-modern, and between Catholicism and Protestantism. Carpenter shows how the dynamics of theatrical engagement in which the roles of audience and performer are frequently mixed or even reversed offer a more creative route to understanding how the individual and society respond to change. (CS1090)

A TIMES BESTSELLER, January 2022 A TIMES HISTORICAL FICTION BOOK OF THE YEAR SHORTLISTED FOR WATERSTONES BOOK OF THE YEAR A BBC HISTORY MAG BOOK OF THE YEAR A DAILY EXPRESS BOOK OF THE YEAR 'Expressive, bold and quite beautiful' The Lady '[a] delight of a book' Antonia Senior, The Times 'ravishingly lovely' The Times Ireland '[a] lively retelling of British myths' Apollo Magazine Soaked in mist and old magic, Storyland is a new illustrated mythology of Britain, set in its wildest landscapes. It begins between the Creation and Noah's Flood, follows the footsteps of the earliest generation of giants from an age when the children of Cain and the progeny of fallen angels walked the earth, to the founding of Britain, England, Wales and Scotland, the birth of Christ, the wars between Britons, Saxons and Vikings, and closes with the arrival of the Normans. These are retellings of medieval tales of legend, landscape and the yearning to belong, inhabited with characters now half-remembered: Brutus, Albina, Scota, Arthur and Bladud among them. Told with narrative flair, embellished in stunning artworks and glossed with a rich and erudite commentary. We visit beautiful, sacred places that include prehistoric monuments like Stonehenge and Wayland's Smithy, spanning the length of Britain from the archipelago of Orkney to as far south as Cornwall; mountains and lakes such as Snowdon and Loch Etive and rivers including the Ness, the Soar and the story-silted Thames in a vivid, beautiful tale of our land steeped in myth. It Illuminates a collective memory that still informs the identity and political ambition of these places. In Storyland, Jeffs reimagines these myths of homeland, exile and migration, kinship, loyalty, betrayal, love and loss in a landscape brimming with wonder.

The volumes in this set, originally published between 1938 and 1994, draw together research by leading academics in the area of medieval history and medieval literature, and provide a rigorous examination of related key issues. The volume examines medieval history from the early Middle Ages, right up until the Reformation, as well as the effect of the medieval period on later cultures, such as the Victorians. This collection draws together books on the monarchy, medieval philosophy, religion, art, music, psychology and architecture as well as volumes on medieval archeology. The collection also brings together key volumes on medieval literature of the period, with formative works examining medieval religious literature, medieval legends and oral tradition. The collection also includes titles examining specific poems from the period such as Piers Plowman, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight and The Pearl, as well as volumes on influential writers of the period such as Jean Froissant, John Lydgate and Margery Kempe. This collection brings back into print a collection of insightful and detailed books on the diverse medieval period and will be a must have resource for academics and students, not only of history and literature, but of anthropology, music, psychology and religion.

The Story of Garum recounts the convoluted journey of that notorious Roman fish sauce, known as garum, from a smelly Greek fish paste to an expensive luxury at the heart of Roman cuisine and back to obscurity as the Roman empire declines. This book is a unique attempt to meld the very disparate disciplines of ancient history, classical literature, archaeology, zooarchaeology, experimental archaeology, ethnographic studies and modern sciences to illuminate this little understood commodity. Currently Roman fish sauce has many identities depending on which discipline engages with it, in what era and at what level. These identities are often contradictory and confused and as yet no one has attempted a holistic approach where fish sauce has been given centre stage. Roman fish sauce, along with oil and wine, formed a triad of commodities which dominated Mediterranean trade and while oil and wine can be understood, fish sauce was until now a mystery. Students and specialists in the archaeology of ancient Mediterranean trade whether through amphora studies, shipwrecks or zooarchaeology will find this invaluable. Scholars of ancient history and classics wishing to understand the nuances of Roman dining literature and the wider food history discipline will also benefit from this volume.

* This book offers an exciting examination of the theatrical functions of medieval English stage directions as records of earlier performance. * Would be recommended reading in for any undergraduate or master's level students studying the medieval period in Performance studies, English Literature or in History (in particular in the UK and the US). * The closest competitors focus on after 1560 so this project is a first in its time period coverage.

This is an English translation of Aristophanes' popular comedy in which the god Dionysus seeks to bring the great dramatist Euripides from Hades, where he encounters another great Classical playwright, Aeschylus. Includes background material on the historical and cultural context of this work, suggestions for further reading, and notes. The Focus Classical Library provides close translations with notes and essays to provide access to understanding Greek culture and the roots of contemporary thought.

This collection provides an innovative and wide-ranging introduction to the world of Arthur by looking beyond the canonical texts and themes, taking instead a transversal perspective on the Arthurian narrative. Together, its thirty-four chapters explore the continuities that make the material recognizable from one century to another, as well as transformations specific to particular times and places, revealing the astonishing variety of adaptations that have made the Arthurian story popular in large parts of the world. Divided into four parts-The World of Arthur in the British Isles, The European World of Arthur, The Material World of Arthur, and The Transversal World of Arthur - the volume tracks the legend's movement across temporal, geographical, and material boundaries. Broadly chronological, each part views the unfolding Arthurian story through its own lens, while temporal and geographical overlaps between the sections underscore the proximity of these developments in the legend's history. Ranging from early Latin chronicles and Welsh poetry to twenty-first century anime and political conspiracies, this comprehensive and illuminating book will be of interest to anyone researching Arthurian literature or tracing the evolution of medievalism through literature, the visual arts, and popular culture.