Lancelot is the central romance of the Vulgate Cycle, in which the chivalric elements in Arthur's court come to the fore. These chivalric elements contain the seeds of Arthur's destruction and the dissolution of the Round Table, as Lancelot's love for Guinevere undermines his bond to Arthur; the tension between love, prowess and loyalty is the undercurrent of the long romance which describes the exploits which he performs in her service. It also includes many stories which are chivalric adventures largely unrelated to the main theme, and uses the device of interweaving these stories to form a huge stream of narrative. This series of episodic pictures leads ultimately to the birth of Lancelot's son Galahad, who is destined to become the hero of the Grail. Parts five and six of Lancelot move nearer to the beginning of the Grail quest; Lancelot comes to the Grail castle, and is deceived into sleeping with Elaine, thinking that she is Guinevere; Galahad is born of their union. Arthur's wars with Rome are retold from the original chronicle versions, and Lancelot plays a major part in the king's victory. Lancelot is deceived again when Elaine comes to Arthur's court, and when Guinevere realises that he has slept with Elaine; she banishes him from court, and he goes mad with grief. The romance ends with Lancelot's return to sanity and the arrival of Galahad at court. For a full description of the Vulgate Cycle see the blurb for the complete set.

Lancelot is the central romance of the Vulgate Cycle, in which the chivalric elements in Arthur's court come to the fore. These chivalric elements contain the seeds of Arthur's destruction and the dissolution of the Round Table, as Lancelot's love for Guinevere undermines his bond to Arthur; the tension between love, prowess and loyalty is the undercurrent of the long romance which describes the exploits which he performs in her service. It also includes many stories which are chivalric adventures largely unrelated to the main theme, and uses the device of interweaving these stories to form a huge stream of narrative. This series of episodic pictures leads ultimately to the birth of Lancelot's son Galahad, who is destined to become the hero of the Grail. Parts one and two of l>Lancelot/l> cover Lancelot's boyhood and his admission to Arthur's court, where he falls immediately in love with Guinevere. The adventures and quests which follow take us to the point where he becomes a companion of the Round Table. For a full description of the Vulgate Cycle see the blurb for the complete set.

Epitomises what is best in Arthurian scholarship today. ZEITSCHRIFT FUER ROMANISCHE PHILOLOGIE This latest issue of Arthurian Literaturecontinues the tradition of the journal, combining critical studies with editions of primary Arthurian texts. Varied in their linguistic and chronological coverage, the articles dealwith major areas of Arthurian studies, from early French romance through late medieval English chronicle to contemporary fiction. Topics include Beroul's Tristan, Tristan de Nanteuil, the Anglo-Norman Brut, and the Morte, while an edition of the text of an extrait of Chretien's Erec et Enide prepared by the eighteenth-century scholar La Curne de Sainte-Palaye offers important insights into both scholarship on Chretien, and our understanding of the Enlightenment. The volume is completed with an encyclopaedic treatment of Arthurian literature, art and film produced between 1995 and 1995, acting as an update to The New Arthurian Encyclopedia.Contributors: RICHARD ILLINGWORTH, JANE TAYLOR, CARLETON CARROLL, MARIA COLOMBO TIMELLI, RALUCA RADULESCU, JULIA MARVIN, NORRIS LACY, RAYMOND THOMPSON.

29 studies of courtly literature from six different traditions in four languages. The essays presented here study the different linguistic and literary traditions of courtly literature, across four languages, using a wide range of approaches and taking a number of different perspectives; they reflect both current preoccupations in scholarship and perennial concerns, and use both traditional and new methodologies to study a variety of texts. Topics covered include ideologies of love and courtliness; women's voices and roles; incest and identity; poetics; historical approaches; and adaptations and transformations. First delivered at the 1998 meeting of the International Courtly Literature Society at Vancouver, the articles demonstrate the vitality of the field andoffer fresh new insights into the tradition of courtly literature as a whole.