For most modern readers, the words 'Round Table' and 'Arthurian Romance' conjure up images of an enchanted kingdom peopled with virtous knights and damsels in distress. Some medieval texts do indeed offer such a picture, but they are decidedly in the minority. The adventure romances brought together in this collection tell instead of villains and heroes whose stories are built upon the concerns, dreams and failures of their intended readers. Throughout these tales morality is complicated by desire in ways which find many modern parallels; whereas the priest in church preached about the salvation of souls, the poet in the hall told of how to acquire a wife, a castle and all the trappings of earthly prosperity...Available for the first time in new translations and accompanied by an incisive introduction, Ross G Arthurs colourful selection of texts is an invaluable work for the student and layman alike.
