Bookbot

Glyn S. Burgess

    The Brendan Legend
    The Song of Roland
    The Lais of Marie de France
    • The Brendan Legend

      Texts and Versions

      • 398 stron
      • 14 godzin czytania

      The Brendan Legend: Texts and Versions deals with the vast textual tradition relating to the Irish Saint Brendan, known as 'The Navigator'. Stories about Brendan have been popular in the whole of Western Europe, from the seventh to the twentieth century. The themes of the book are the interrelated problems of the textual and literary embedding of Brendan texts. For the first time researchers in Celtic, German, Latin and Romance languages and literatures have co-operated on the Brendan tradition, and they have mapped the changes in textual traditions according to different circumstances and audiences. This book will be important to those studying the influence of Celtic literature on the European Continent, and, more generally, to those interested in the versatility of textual traditions in Western Europe.

      The Brendan Legend2006
    • The Song of Roland

      • 208 stron
      • 8 godzin czytania

      One of the crowning achievements of medieval literature, The Song of Roland tells the story of the battle of Roncesvals in 778 and enters into the very soul of a gallant, brutal, and tumultuous age. At the center of this heroic epic is Roland, the supreme embodiment of the chivalric ideal who leads his men into combat and fights valiantly to the death. But Roland is just one of the superbly defined figures in the panoramic drama. The poem’s vivid portrayals of Ganelon’s treason, Roland’s last stand, Charlemagne’s campaign of vengeance, and the final act of retribution are justly famous. Equally fascinating is the sophisticated use of repetition and juxtaposition that gives this work its remarkable organic unity and time-defying dimension of vision. As Robert Harrison, the translator of this acclaimed edition, explains, “The carefully balanced structure of The Song of Roland is designed like a folding mirror to reflect the battle between Good and Evil at all levels of meaning.” Quite possibly the oldest and surely the greatest chanson de geste, The Song of Roland is a sophisticated and enduring work that remains a masterpiece to this day. Translated and with an Introduction by Robert Harrison And an Afterword by Guy Gavriel Kay

      The Song of Roland1990
      3,4
    • The Lais of Marie de France

      • 176 stron
      • 7 godzin czytania

      The leading edition of the work of the earliest known French woman poet—the subject of Lauren Groff’s bestselling novel Matrix Marie de France (fl. late twelfth century) is the earliest known French woman poet and her lais—stories in verse based on Breton tales of chivalry and romance—are among the finest of the genre. Recounting the trials and tribulations of lovers, the lais inhabit a powerfully realized world where very real human protagonists act out their lives against fairy-tale elements of magical beings, potions and beasts. De France takes a subtle and complex view of courtly love, whether telling the story of the knight who betrays his fairy mistress or describing the noblewoman who embroiders her sad tale on the shroud for a nightingale killed by a jealous and suspicious husband. For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.

      The Lais of Marie de France1986
      3,9