New edition, with facing English translation, of one of the most important Arthurian works from the middle ages. Erec is the earliest extant German Arthurian romance, freely adapted and translated into Middle High German by the Swabian knight, Hartmann von Aue, from the first Old French Arthurian romance, Chretien de Troyes' Erec et Enide. Hartmann's work dates from c. 1180, but the only (almost) complete manuscript dates from the early sixteenth century, copied into the huge two-volume Ambraser Heldenbuch, now housed in Vienna - the most comprehensive extant compilation of medieval German romances and epics, commissioned by Emperor Maximilian I. Otherwise, only a few earlier medieval fragments survive. Erec tells the story of a young knight at King Arthur's court, whose early prowess wins him high repute, and a beautiful wife, Enite. He falls into disrepute because of his excessively zealous devotion of his time to her. Alerted to his notoriety, he embarks on a series of symbolic adventures, which eventually lead to his achieving a new balance between the claims of love and those of society. Far more than a simple translation, Hartmann's first attempt at an Arthurian romance is notable for its zest and gusto. This is the first edition with a parallel text translation into English; it is presented with explanatory notes and variant readings. Cyril Edwards is a Senior Research Fellow of Oxford University's Faculty of Medieval and Modern Languages, and an Honorary Research Fellow of University College London.

First English translation of Iwein[B], a German adaptation of Chretien's famous Yvain. Iwein, or The Knight with the Lion, is a free Middle High German adaptation of Chretien de Troyes' Old French Arthurian romance, Yvain. Written c.1200 by a Swabian knight, Hartmann von Aue, Iwein chartsthe development towards maturity of a young knight who falls into error, neglecting his hard-won wife by devoting himself excessively to chivalric pursuits. This parallel-text edition, offering the first English translation,is based on one of the two earliest complete manuscripts, Giessen, University Library, no. 97 (Iwein B), dating from the second quarter of the thirteenth century. It contains a large number of lines, particularly in the later stages of the poem, which are not present in the other early manuscript, A (Heidelberg, cpg 397). These show a special interest in the woman's side of the story, expanding a passage concerned with embroidery and weaving, and adding a marriage for the maidservant Lunet, whose cunning brings about the reconciliation between Iwein and her mistress, Laudine. The authorship of these passages is uncertain, but they may be Hartmann's own revision of his text.The volume is completed with an introduction, notes and bibliography. The late CYRIL EDWARDS was Senior Research Fellow of the Faculty of Medieval and Modern Languages, University of Oxford.

Hartmann von Aue's AErecA is the first Arthurian romance in German and a central work of classical Middle High German literature. The present edition provides a thoroughly revised critical version of the text. The annex supplies a print version of the Middle High German AErecA fragments discovered in 1978 and 2003, which independently of the familiar complete version relate back directly to ChrA(c)tien de Troyes' AErec et EnideA.

This is an EXACT reproduction of a book published before 1923. This IS NOT an OCR'd book with strange characters, introduced typographical errors, and jumbled words. This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process. We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide. We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book.