Although mathematics has long been considered an arcane, inaccessible discipline, it has maintained a surprising presence in popular media for over a century. In recent years, the movies Good Will Hunting, A Beautiful Mind, and Stand and Deliver, the stage plays Breaking the Code and Proof, the novella Flatland, and the hugely successful TV crime series NUMB3RS all weave mathematics prominently into their storylines. Less obvious but pivotal references to the subject appear in the blockbuster TV show Lost, the cult movie The Princess Bride, and even Tolstoy's War and Peace. In this compendium, contributors consider the role of math in everything from blockbuster films, baseball, crossword puzzles, fantasy role-playing games, and television shows to science fiction tales, award-winning plays, and classic works of literature. Revealing the broad range of intersections between mathematics and mainstream culture, this collection demonstrates that even ""mass entertainment"" can have a hidden depth.

Articles on comedy in Arthurian romance - French, Dutch, Italian, Scottish and English. The texts analyzed underline the wide dissemination of the Arthurian story in medieval and post-medieval Europe, from Scotland to Italy, while the various analyses of the manifestations of comedy refute the notion of romance as ahumourless genre. Indeed, the comic treatment of conventional themes and motifs appears to be not only characteristic of later romance but an essential element of the genre from its beginnings and from its earliest development. Authors of Arthurian romance, from Chretien de Troyes to Malory, writing in French, Italian, Middle Dutch, and Middle English, and the creators of an Irish prose-tale, all question the fundamental assumptions of romance and romancevalues through the medium of comedy. The theme of comedy in Arthurian romance has been developed from the orignal session at the Arthurian Congress in Toulouse. Contributors: ELIZABETH ARCHIBALD, FRANK BRANDSMA, CHRISTINE FERLAMPIN-ACHER, LINDA GOWANS, DONALD L. HOFFMAN, MARGOLEIN HOGENBIRK, NORRIS J. LACY, MARILYN LAWRENCE, BENEDICTE MILLAND-BOVE, PETER S. NOBLE, KAREN PRATT, ANGELICA RIEGER, ELIZABETH S. SKLAR, FRANCESCO ZAMBON.

The legend of King Arthur has embedded itself in British and American culture. Twentieth century and contemporary America, in particular, has proved to be a rich breeding ground for the Arthurian mythos, not only in films, novels, short stories, and fantasy and science fiction, but in other areas of popular and mass culture as well.

This work is a collection of 19 previously unpublished essays by the authors that demonstrate the great extent to which the Arthurian legend continues to permeate contemporary culture beyond film and literature. The essays cover the Arthurian legend in economics, ethics, education, entertainment, music, fun and games, the Internet, and esoterica.